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The "gay cake" case - is it discriminatory to refuse to supply a cake with a message supporting gay marriage?
18 Oct 2018
Mr Lee, a gay man, had submitted an order to Ashers bakery for a cake to display a design showing fictional characters "Bert and Ernie" from the children's television show Sesame Street and the tagline – "Support Gay Marriage" (the creators of the show, Sesame Workshop, always deny that these characters are supposed to be gay – they say "they remain puppets and do not have a sexual orientation"). The bakery informed Mr Lee that Ashers would not print the requested slogan, as the concept of gay marriage was fundamentally at odds with the religious beliefs of its owners.
Building strategic partnerships with your business
17 Oct 2018
Last week (10 October), Womble Bond Dickinson hosted its annual GC Dinner in London, bringing together leading UK General Counsels (GCs) to discuss how legal teams can build strategic partnerships to help support growth and underpin corporate goals.
LGPS: Consultation on amendments to survivors' pensions
17 Oct 2018
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) is consulting on proposals to amend the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The draft amendments are in response to two legal judgments - Walker v Innospec and R (on the application of Nicola Elmes) v Essex County Council - relating to survivors' benefits on the death of a member.
Watch the clock - and this space - if making a contribution claim!
17 Oct 2018
Following the High Court ruling in RSA Insurance plc v Assicurazoni Generali SpA [2018] EWHC 1237, insurers have two years from judgment or settlement to bring contribution claims in mesothelioma cases. However, this is subject to an appeal which is expected to be heard in February 2019.
WBD wins Intellectual Property Team of the Year at Yorkshire Legal Awards
16 Oct 2018
Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has won the Intellectual Property award at the Yorkshire Legal Awards. The firm's extensive Intellectual Property (IP) Department based in Leeds and led by Patrick Cantrill, who heads up IP for WBD in the UK, is made up of a team of solicitors, CITMA qualified trade mark attorneys and other specialists. A number of the team's members have practised in other jurisdictions.
WBD supports Mayflower 400 Business Event to kick start transatlantic opportunities
15 Oct 2018
Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) and The City of London are both supporting the inaugural Mayflower 400 Business Networking Event, taking place at Guildhall this week on Thursday 18 October.
Brexit and… patents
15 Oct 2018
Following publication of the 'agreed' text of the draft Withdrawal Agreement (the "Draft Text") between the United Kingdom ("UK") and the remainder of the European Union ("EU") on 19 March 2018, our intellectual property ("IP") team has produced a suite of briefings on key aspects of the likely implications of Brexit for IP rights and systems across the EU, to inform our clients what changes they will need to consider making to their existing IP strategies and protocols to continue dealing in post-Brexit UK and Europe. The topic of this note is how Brexit is likely to impact upon patents and related rights.
RICS Professional Statement: service charges in commercial property
15 Oct 2018
Last month, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors ("RICS") published its latest Professional Statement, entitled "Service Charges in Commercial Property" (the "Statement"). The Statement re-states updates and replaces the existing Service Charge Code (the "Code"), and has the regulatory effect of formalising the Code within the RICS best practice framework. The Statement is effective from 1 April 2019 and will apply to all Service Charges across the UK.
