Lego loses trademark challenge at top EU court September 14, 2010 DANISH toymaker Lego has lost a court battle to have its snap-together plastic bricks registered as an exclusive trademark in the European Union. Lego argued that studs on top of the bricks made them highly distinctive and, thus, eligible for trademark rights. The European Union Court of Justice upheld a 2008 ruling by the General [...]
BA halts strike in court victory May 17, 2010 BRITISH Airways (BA) last night won an eleventh-hour reprieve in its bid to stop cabin crew from walking out, after the High Court granted an injunction on grounds that the strike was unlawful. The judgment ruled that Unite, the union representing cabin crew, did not communicate ballot results to members, meaning the strike – which [...]
Citi and Hands arrive in court October 18, 2010 A NEW York jury was yesterday asked to decide who is lying in a dispute between Guy Hands and Citigroup over Hands’s £4bn buyout of embattled record label EMI in 2007. Hands and his onetime Citigroup banker David Wormsley sat feet away from each other as the trial, which is expected to last three weeks, [...]
Citi and Hands arrive in court October 18, 2010 A NEW York jury was yesterday asked to decide who is lying in a dispute between Guy Hands and Citigroup over Hands’s £4bn buyout of embattled record label EMI in 2007. Hands and his onetime Citigroup banker David Wormsley sat feet away from each other as the trial, which is expected to last three weeks, [...]
Legal eagle: how London’s top law firm retained its grip on the City February 20, 2011 The head of law firm Slaughter and May is two minutes late for his interview with City A.M., for which he immediately apologies. The first thing is surprising; the second is not. The partners in this blueblooded City institution have spent a lifetime doing things correctly. Even among other Magic Circle outfits, this firm manages [...]
Two arrested after German and UK insider trading probe November 2, 2010 Two people have been arrested in London on suspicion of insider trading after investigators raided two addresses in the UK and one in Germany, the City watchdog said yesterday. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said that a 37-year-old professional man and a 28-year-old woman had been arrested after the joint operation with the police and [...]
Pre-nups get legal status October 20, 2010 THE AGE of the pre-nup has finally arrived in the UK. The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a landmark ruling that gives credence to prenuptial agreements in England and Wales. The case examined whether the pre-marriage pact between German heiress Katrin Radmacher and Frenchman Nicolas Granatino should be considered as part of their divorce settlement. The [...]
Moving in on Britain’s top private schools January 20, 2011 SETTING your child up as a day boy or girl can be the perfect compromise for parents who want to give their child a private education, but can’t bear the idea of letting them live away from home. While independent schools tend not to require you to live within a certain distance, parents determined not [...]
BA in record £531m loss as new strike looms May 21, 2010 BRITISH Airways has reported a record annual loss of £531m. Lower passenger numbers and the impact of strike action contributed to the bleak figures. The results – the worst since BA was privatized in 1987 – were issued as BA faces 15 more days of strike action by cabin crew after the High Court overturned [...]
BHP Billiton foiled again November 3, 2010 Canada’s rejection of BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£24.7bn) hostile bid for Potash Corp leaves the Anglo-American mining giant adrift. Chief executive Marius Kloppers has been extolling the importance of the takeover for months, but with just 30 days to deal with the government’s serious objections, it seems the blockbuster bid has all but run out of [...]