Tuesday February 14, 2012 at 8:07pm
Many SME businesses like to offer a range of services to their clients, with the aim of remaining the preferred go-to provider. At the same time they usually want to avoid taking on a large staff in order to provide all those services. That would simply not be feasible for many business owners, especially at a time when costs need to be tightly controlled. I’m finding that a business model which seems to be increasingly favoured is for a business to work with a number of independent provid....
(read more...)Thursday January 26, 2012 at 11:00am
If your website uses cookies or similar technology you need to comply with the new cookies rules introduced last year by 26th May 2012. This means that you need to tell users what cookies your site uses, explain what those cookies do and, unless certain very narrow exceptions apply (read Can you rely on exceptions to the cookie regs? ), obtain consent for any that are stored on the users’ computer, mobile phone or other web-enabled device. Previous blogs have dealt with the rules and ....
(read more...)Wednesday January 18, 2012 at 10:00am
The new regulations relating to cookies which came into force last year basically requires website owners not only to provide information about cookies they use and a mechanism to opt out, but to obtain consent from users of the site before a cookie is used. The only circumstances where this does not apply are very limited.
The only exception to the requirement to provide information and obtain consent is where the use of the cookie is:
for the sole purpose of carrying out the tran....
(read more...)Thursday January 12, 2012 at 9:00am
In my last blog (Website owners are warned by Information Commissioner) I mentioned that the ICO had issued updated guidance on compliance with the new cookies regulations introduced last year. This new version of the guidance is much more detailed than the original version and, along with the report from the Information Commissioner which I talked about previously, also warns that, if your website uses cookies or similar technology for storing information, you should not simply ignore the regul....
(read more...)Wednesday January 4, 2012 at 10:34am
Whilst most of us were preparing for the Christmas and New Year festivities, the Information Commissioner issued his half term report about the preparations for complying with the cookie regulations which came into force last year. Details of those new regulations were given in my blogs at the time - there are links to them below if you’d like a recap. Basically, if your website uses cookies you now not only need to give details, but you also need consent from visitors to the site for most....
(read more...)Friday December 23, 2011 at 4:23pm
You’ve got a great business idea - are you going to give it away for free? Have you just had a ‘light bulb’ moment when an idea for a great new business, product or service came to you? If so, your natural inclination is probably to go and share your brainwave with someone. Don’t do it! At least, not until you have a proper confidentiality agreement in place to protect it. The same warning applies if you’ve spent ages developing your idea and now want to reap your r....
(read more...)Thursday December 15, 2011 at 12:16pm
Businesses are constantly juggling resources to survive and grow. One of the decisions they have to make is when to take legal advice when entering into contracts. The reason they may choose to do without advice is the perceived cost. But the consequences can in many cases be more costly than the initial saving. I even come across businesses that fail following a costly court case when they thought they were adequately covered by a simple contract that didn’t in fact do the job it was supp....
(read more...)Friday November 25, 2011 at 5:22pm
The only people who needn’t read any further are those who are the sole shareholder in their company - unless you might be issuing shares to someone else at some stage, in which case carry on so that you will be prepared. Everyone else should have a shareholders’ agreement in place. Read on and I’ll explain why.
1. The earlier the better.
The number one reason to put an agreement in place now, rather than waiting is that it is much easier to get an agreement in place whilst....
(read more...)Wednesday November 16, 2011 at 4:28pm
Navigating my way around Linked In recently I spotted a question in one of my groups which highlighted a real misunderstanding about the important issue of copyright. From the answers given I suspected the questioner would be no clearer, as many seemed to be contradictory. So I thought I’d dedicate this blog to trying to unravel the complex area of copyright law and provide simple answers to what seem to be the most common questions.
The original question was asked in a very particular w....
(read more...)Thursday October 27, 2011 at 10:19am
What are your plans for the future? At the present time it might be simply to hang on in there and stay in business. Despite that most business plans will include future expansion and/or exit strategies at some stage. In either case, those plans should include making sure the business is legally prepared for the expansion or exit process and all it entails. At an early stage the process is likely to involve an investigation by any potential investor or purchaser into the business, often referred....
(read more...)Thursday October 20, 2011 at 10:20am
Despite initiatives such as the government’s Red Tape Challenge , all businesses seem to have increasing amounts of red tape that they have to comply with in order to keep on the right side of the law. Solicitors certainly aren’t immune – in fact we are affected by a whole new set of regulations that came into force only recently. One of the details was that we now all have to make it clear that we are not only ‘regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority’ as b....
(read more...)Monday October 3, 2011 at 9:00am
One of the consequences we have seen as a result of the current recession is a rise in the number of people who have come out of employment and set up as independent consultants in their chosen field. You may be one of them. If so, then you will also have had a whole range of issues to deal with from setting up an office and your online and social networking presence, opening up a business account and possibly a company, to marketing your new business to bring in those much needed clients. Among....
(read more...)Sunday September 25, 2011 at 5:05pm
Working with a lot of IT companies and web developers I’ve realised over recent years how many leave themselves open to potential legal difficulties.
It goes without saying that most modern businesses rely heavily on their IT systems to run their business and on their websites for showcasing their products and services, if not also directly for sales. So, if your business provides IT or website development services, you are responsible for a critical component in your clients’ busi....
(read more...)Wednesday September 14, 2011 at 7:48pm
Any business owner who’s been approached by a potential investor or partner is always initially pretty flattered. It’s great to have someone else show an interest and see the potential of your business.
But if you’re talking to a potential investor, partner, licensee, buyer or supplier you’ll want to make sure your interests are adequately protected. Providing free access to business and financial information is certainly NOT recommended unless you have a proper agreeme....
(read more...)Tuesday August 23, 2011 at 6:54pm
More than you might think and yours might be one of them!
Now I’ve got your attention, let me explain. Every website should have a set of policies, designed to protect you and also the visitors to your site. If you sell products or services via your website, the requirement is even greater; not only do you need a Terms of Use and Privacy Policy but you also need detailed Terms and Conditions which need to cover such things as delivery arrangements, the refund process and policy as well a....
(read more...)Wednesday August 17, 2011 at 9:00am
I have blogged previously about the pros and cons of doing business without properly drawn up contracts - Contracts – insurance for business and Beware contracting by email. From 1 October 2011 the issue of how you contract becomes even more important for companies in the construction and engineering sectors.Changes to the Construction Act mean that informal and verbal construction contracts will fall within the auspices of the Act and this has significant consequences for smaller constru....
(read more...)Wednesday August 3, 2011 at 10:00am
It never fails to surprise me how many small businesses appear to have been misinformed when it comes to how they use their standard terms of business. I’ve seen them printed on the reverse of an invoice, included with a delivery note, even a payment reminder. If you have gone to the trouble of preparing standard terms and conditions for your business, it is usually because you want to cover yourself legally. Whether your business is the supply or purchase of goods or services, your terms ....
(read more...)Wednesday June 1, 2011 at 4:50pm
I talked in an earlier blog (New rules on the use of cookies) about the new rules affecting website owners which came into force on 26th May 2011. Since writing the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has provided a little more clarity about how the new rules will be policed. The good news is that organisations and businesses which run websites aimed at UK consumers will be given up to 12 months to get their house in order before enforcement of the new EU cookies law begins. As a brief....
(read more...)Wednesday May 25, 2011 at 4:13pm
Details about new rules on the use of cookies by website operators have recently been published. There’s not much time to get to grips with them as they come into force on 26th May 2011. Initial guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued only last week provides a few pointers on how we can expect the rules to be interpreted. The main effect of the new rules is that if you are a website owner you will need consent from a user of your site to store a cookie on the....
(read more...)Wednesday May 18, 2011 at 11:25am
The age of emails has blurred the boundaries of what is a contract and what is not. It’s very easy to fire off an email quickly, but do you realise that such an email has the same status as a proper legal contract? Without expert legal input and advice on terms, businesses could be leaving themselves open to problems. A response to an email outlining details of an agreement, and agreeing to undertake the work, is effectively a binding contract, but it is unlikely to be a ‘watertight ....
(read more...)Tuesday May 3, 2011 at 4:00pm
Acts of war, extreme weather conditions or a terrorist attack might seem like good enough reasons not to be held to deadlines or the precise terms of a contract. But this is not always so. Volcanic ash clouds, prolonged severe winter weather and flooding, the terrible impact of the earthquake, resulting tsunami and nuclear problems in Japan, tornadoes in the USA and uprisings in various North African and Middle Eastern states, have peppered news reports for the last 12 months. But it may surpris....
(read more...)Thursday April 21, 2011 at 3:21pm
If you run an e-commerce business and sell goods online new EU rules could have a significant impact. The rules in question would be under a planned EU Consumer Rights Directive which concerns contracts for the sale of goods by businesses to consumers (B2C). The draft Directive is not a new proposal – it was issued in 2008. Since then it has been going through various discussion and consultation processes, but recently it moved a step closer when endorsed by the European Parliament which a....
(read more...)Monday March 28, 2011 at 12:23pm
Business owners often dismiss the need for formal contracts with their customers or suppliers, seeing them as a barrier to getting on with their day-to-day activities. But maybe if they viewed them as a form of insurance their opinion would be slightly different. Business people often say to me that they don’t have or even need contracts. What they usually mean is that they don’t have formal written contracts. Instead they proceed on the basis of verbal negotiations or perhaps exchan....
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