Kent Solicitors

Normally when a buyer enters into a transaction, he is responsible for checking out matters himself - 'caveat emptor' or 'let the buyer beware'.  However, in a franchise situation, the Courts may well hold that the experienced franchisor has a duty of care to a novice prospective franchisee e.g. in such matters as advising them of the likely cost of a shop fit

It is tempting to paint too rosy a picture when trying to entice a prospective franchisee into paying a franchise fee and a recent court case has shown how dangerous that can be

Call Michael Breeze 07 900 195 195 for advice on commercial matters

Labels: franchise, legal advice Kings Hill

The court can only make a Possession Order in respect of the land actually occupied and cannot make an order against unoccupied land, simply because it was feared that the squatters might move over to it.

The appropriate course is to seek an injunction preventing them from entering the neighbouring land.

Labels: legal advice Kings Hill, possession orders

The court will look to comparative rents when deciding on damages for trespass.

In a recent case, the court rejected comparable rents after the end of the five-year trespass period in question as there was no evidence as to the historical movement of rents since the beginning of the period. The court preferred comparable rents from shortly before the commencement of the period in question and averaged them. Having done that, it made no further discount for the unauthorised planning situation or legal difficulties over access to the site.

Labels: legal advice Kings Hill, Trespass

In March 2010, three Google executives have controversially been convicted of privacy law offences by an Italian court in a recent case, a decision which could be potentially damaging to a large number of companies who host content online.

The case involved a video which was posted on Google Videos on 8 September 2006, showing a number of Turin schoolchildren bullying another child who suffers from autism. The video remained on Google Videos until 7 November 2006, when it was removed by Google following a complaint from the Italian police.

Italian prosecutors brought charges against four Google employees under Italian defamation and invasion of privacy laws for hosting the offending video. Google sought to defend the claim on the basis that under the EU E-Commerce Directive, service providers are exempt from prosecution for offensive content as long as they remove the content once they are notified of its existence. However, the Italian authorities found that three of the four employees were guilty of breaching Italian privacy laws, and imposed suspended six month sentences on each of them. All of the employees were cleared of defamation.

This decision horrified Google and a number of other leading web service providers, who feel that the case has set an alarming precedent. Googles lawyer, Matt Sucherman described it as 'attacking the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built'.

In the UK, the former Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, described the Italian courts findings as 'ridiculous' and stated that it 'brings privacy laws into disrepute'. He added that the decision is 'like prosecuting the post office for hate mail that is sent in the post'.

The practicalities of the decision mean that sites such as YouTube and Facebook would be required to monitor all content posted and immediately remove anything which is offensive or illegal. Owing to the sheer number of postings on the sites, this would be impossible with postings to You Tube taking place at a rate of 20 hours of content per minute.

Summary

The decision of the Italian court has been greeted with dismay by businesses and regulators in the rest of Europe. If the decision is upheld on appeal, the hosting of large volumes of user generated content in Italy is likely to become unworkable. In the meantime, businesses hosting third party content in Italy will need to be particularly vigilant to ensure that illegal content is taken down immediately.

In the UK, under the E-Commerce Regulations, service providers will not be liable for defamatory content or content that infringes an individuals privacy on the following conditions:

1. They do not have actual knowledge of illegal user generated content
2. That they act immediately to remove unlawful content upon becoming aware of it.

If your business hosts user generated content, the Italian decision is a timely reminder of the need to have robust monitoring and take-down procedures in place.

For help and legal advice contact Luke English on 0845 270 2513 or for further information visit our website http://www.kentsolicitor.co.uk/

Labels: legal advice Kings Hill, privacy law;

Kaslers Solicitors LLP offer Fixed Fee Meetings to discuss your legal position.

Expert advice is confirmed in writing so you can make an informed decision about your future

To make an appointment please call 0845 270 2511 (local rate)

Local appointments in Churchill Square, Kings Hill (easy parking)

Evening and Saturday appointments are available

Our services include:

Wills, Probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney
Residential and Commercial Property
Road Traffic Accidents and Personal Injury
Media & Intellectual Property Law
Contract Drafting and Licensing
Business Sales and Purchases
Employment Law and Compromise Agreements
Director, Shareholder and Partner Disputes
Contract Arguments and Civil Litigation

Labels: fixed fee meetings, legal advice Kings Hill, solicitors kent

Kaslers Solicitors LLP can provide legal advice on the following areas of law:

• 
  Business advice
  Business Sales and Purchases - assets or shares
  Commercial - factoring / franchising
  Civil Litigation
  Contract drafting / disputes
  Director, Shareholder and Partnership agreements / disputes
  Divorce, unmarried separation and family
  Employment, Discrimination and Harassment
  Insolvency, bankruptcy, voluntary arrangements, repossession
  Media, Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law
  Money generally - borrowing and lending , mortgages or unsecured
  Probate and Intestacy
  Property - Commercial and Residential
  Property disputes - boundaries, rights of way, squatters
  Road Traffic Accidents and Personal Injury
  Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney

Labels: kent, legal advice Kings Hill, Maidstone