Q&As

View Life Sciences by content type:

Practice notes

Precedents

Q&As

News

Latest Life Sciences News

Impact of the EU-UK Trade Cooperation Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol on life sciences

The following Life Sciences news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Impact of the EU-UK Trade Cooperation Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol on life sciences

What does IP completion day mean for the status of EU law in the UK?

The following Banking & Finance news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on What does IP completion day mean for the status of EU law in the UK?

Life Sciences weekly highlights—21 January 2021

The following Life Sciences news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Life Sciences weekly highlights—21 January 2021

How to approach and interpret retained EU law—a practical guide

The following Employment news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on How to approach and interpret retained EU law—a practical guide

Featured Life Sciences content

Joint, several, and joint and several liability

ContractWhere a contract is made by two or more parties it may contain a promise or obligation made by two or more of those parties. Any such promise...

Introduction to passing off

Unlike many other countries, the UK has no unfair competition law. Brand owners seeking to prevent competitors from marketing ‘copycat’ products or...

Conditions precedent in commercial contracts

This Practice Note considers the meaning and use of conditions precedent in commercial arrangements. It also considers typical conditions precedent...

A company’s constitution

What is a company's constitution?A company’s 'constitution' is defined under the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) as including:•the company’s articles of...

Practice notes

Declaration of a director's interests—the statutory provisions

A director who is in any way, directly or indirectly, interested in:•a proposed transaction or arrangement with the company of which they are a...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Patent infringement

In order to establish that an unauthorised use or dealing in a product or process amounts to infringement of a patent it is necessary to prove that:•a...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Arbitration—an introduction to the key features of arbitration

This Practice Note provides an introduction to arbitration and its key features, with a particular focus on arbitration under the law of England and...

Produced in partnership with Simmons & Simmons LLP 12th Jan

Practice notes

Rome Convention—introduction and interpretation

Brexit: The UK's departure from the EU on exit day, ie Friday 31 January 2020, has implications for practitioners considering applicable law. For...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Sub-licensing intellectual property rights

An intellectual property (IP) owner may choose to license its IP to a third party. This can be an effective route to generating revenue while...

Produced in partnership with Jessica Stretch 12th Jan

In-house

Practice notes

Introduction to retained EU law

This Practice Note provides an introduction to retained EU law, which is an entirely new legal concept introduced to UK domestic law in preparation...

9th Nov

Brexit

Practice notes

Patent infringement—remedies

As of exit day (31 January 2020) the UK is no longer an EU Member State. However, in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK has entered an...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Model ADR clauses

Brexit: The UK's departure from the EU on exit day ie Friday 31 January 2020 has implications for practitioners considering the use of ADR as it may...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Indirect infringement of patents

Introduction to infringementA patent owner has to prove two elements before it can secure an infringement finding (and then an injunction, damages,...

9th Nov

In-house

Practice notes

Sale of counterfeit goods online

As of exit day (31 January 2020) the UK is no longer an EU Member State. However, in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK has entered an...

9th Nov

Precedents

Execution clause—company—deed

Option 1—deed executed by a company under its common seal (model articles, where the authorised signatory is an...

9th Nov

In-house

Precedents

Third party intellectual property rights indemnity clause—pro-supplier

1 Intellectual property rights indemnity 1.1 The Supplier shall defend the Customer against any third party claim that...

9th Nov

In-house

Practice notes

Applicable law clauses

Brexit: The UK's departure from the EU on exit day, ie Friday 31 January 2020, has implications for practitioners considering applicable law. For...

9th Nov

Precedents

Month definition

Month means a calendar month; Close This is a suggested definition for the term 'month', which...

9th Nov

Most recent Q&As content

Q&As

Can two attorneys sign a deed in lieu of two directors signing, or does it have to be one attorney and one witness?

Documents executed as deeds must be expressed as being executed by the company. A document will be deemed to be executed as a deed if it is duly...

22nd Jan

Q&As

How does a deal/no deal outcome at the end of the Brexit transition period impact the Northern Ireland Protocol?

The Northern Ireland Protocol (the Protocol) is contained in the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern...

22nd Jan

Q&As

What is the impact of Brexit on international transfers of personal data?

This Q&A looks at the impact of Brexit on cross-border transfers of personal data involving the UK and EEA, under the General Data Protection...

20th Jan

Brexit

Q&As

Have the standard contractual clauses (model clauses) been updated for the General Data Protection Regulation?

Background to the standard contractual clausesThere was a general prohibition in Directive 95/46/EC (the Data Protection Directive), on controllers...

20th Jan

Q&As

Organisation A (Host Organisation) was allowing Organisation B (Abandoning Organisation) to use its office space. Abandoning Organisation has now ceased trading and disappeared. Abandoning Organisation left various computer equipment (which is suspected to contain personal and other business data) at Host Organisation’s premises. What are Host Organisation’s obligations in respect of any such personal data on the equipment under the general data protection regulation (GDPR)? What steps can Host Organisation take to dispose of Abandoning Organisation’s equipment (and any associated personal data) in compliance with the GDPR?

This Q&A assumes that:•Host Organisation is based in the UK•Abandoning Organisation is a data controller in respect of at least some of the personal...

Produced in partnership with Sam Morrow 20th Jan

Q&As

What are the formalities for an attorney executing a deed on behalf of a company?

Execution of deeds by companiesDocuments executed as deeds must be expressed as being executed by the company. A document will be deemed to be...

18th Jan

Q&As

Can a deed be signed abroad and witnessed by a foreign national?

This response assumes that the deed is executed by an individual.This response excludes execution under seal, by electronic signatures, by...

Produced in partnership with Cecilia Xu Lindsey of 9 Stone Buildings 8th Jan

Q&As

Quantum, in an intellectual property claim, is often difficult to predict at the time a claim is being issued. What are the practical options for those seeking to issue a claim in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court?

What is the problem?In an intellectual property (IP) claim, it is often difficult to predict quantum at the time the claim is issued.Why does the...

Produced in partnership with Daniel Byrne of AA Thornton 8th Jan

Q&As

Can an employer rely on a general IPR indemnity not to infringe third party IPR against the contractor, when they directed the contractor to breach the patent?

For the purposes of this Q&A, we have focused on the scenario where the principal (not necessarily as an employer) has an IPR indemnity clause in its...

Produced in partnership with Shobana Iyer of Swan Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

When drafting an Ordinary Power of Attorney specifically in relation to operation of a donor’s business, do the general powers under section 10 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1971 cover any type of decision to be made about the business (eg employment of staff or dealing with the lease of the business premises) or should these be included as separate clauses?

A power of attorney is a document which enables a person (the donee) to take steps as if those steps were taken by another person (the donor). It is...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

In a situation where a customer of a potential outsourcing shares information with a tenderer in an invitation to tender (ITT) so the tender can consider TUPE liabilities or obligations in relation to the salary of the role, average length of service and staff location for the role, is the information likely to be personal data as defined under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? If so, what provisions should be included in the ITT to protect the customer in view of its obligations under the GDPR?

In summary, there is an initial query arising from the above scenario as to whether the information being shared is personal data under the General...

Produced in partnership with Jack Roberts of Shoosmiths 8th Jan

Q&As

Is exchange of scanned copies (in whole or in part) sufficient for execution of an agreement in counterpart or are originals required?

Counterpart agreementsBoth deeds and contracts can be executed in counterparts. A counterpart essentially means a duplicate document. Every party to...

Produced in partnership with Lynne Counsell of 9 Stone Buildings 8th Jan

Q&As

A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) relates to a merger of two companies. The person receiving the document must not share any information about the merger with anyone else without the permission of the trustees. There is no time limit, nor the section that relates to disclosing information for legal requirements, if it's already in the public domain etc. What would be needed to show that the NDA is unenforceable?

Any obligations in relation to confidential information will endure for as long as that information remains confidential. Accordingly, if the...

Produced in partnership with Tim Herbert of Ignition Law 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a prime contractor contracts with a customer (acting as controller) to provide services involving processing of personal data, but the personal data will not be shared with the prime contractor, is the customer obliged by Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to enter into a direct agreement containing the mandatory processor clauses under Article 28 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, GDPR, with the sub-contractor rather than the prime contractor?

The General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), will replace Directive 95/46/EC, the Data Protection Directive and all...

Produced in partnership with Shobana Iyer of Swan Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

What are the rules regarding the advertising of medical devices?

What constitutes a medical device?A 'medical device' is defined in the Medical Devices Regulations 2002 (the Regulations), SI 2002/618, which...

Produced in partnership with Sarah MacDonald of Wiggin 8th Jan

Q&As

Can I rely on ‘Certificates of Force Majeure’ issued by the Chinese government confirming that coronavirus (COVID-19) is force majeure as a force majeure event under English law?

While a force majeure certificate from China could not bind the English courts in their determination of whether such an event had occurred for the...

Produced in partnership with Richard Colbey of Lamb Chambers 8th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

What are the implications for an insured who participates in clinical trials but fails to notify his insurers of any existing health conditions or potential changes to his health which he discovers as a result?

The following questions potentially arise:•has there been an increase in risk which the insured is obliged to disclose during the currency of the...

Produced in partnership with Julia Dias QC of 7KBW 8th Jan

Q&As

What impact will Brexit have on patents and SPCs?

How will European patents and the UK patent system be affected, if at all? What will happen to existing Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs)...

Produced in partnership with Joshua Marshall of Fieldfisher 8th Jan

Brexit

Q&As

Are there any circumstances in which parties would not use ‘and delivered’ when executing a deed?

Under section 1(2) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, a deed must be:•in writing•clear on its face that it is intended to be...

Produced in partnership with Hannah Maidment of HRC Law 8th Jan

Q&As

Is a contract enforceable if it has been signed but not dated?

It is difficult to envisage any circumstances where a contract would be void or unenforceable for lack of a date. Most contracts are not required to...

Produced in partnership with Richard Colbey of Lamb Chambers 8th Jan