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Thinking - Blog
The clock is ticking very loudly
Brexit may have taken a backseat over the last few months whilst governments and businesses have responded to the impact of Covid-19, but as the final deadline to request an extension to the transition deadline has now passed, Brexit is back fighting for top spot on the agenda. We get an insight from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) on key issues for the retail sector.
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Thinking - Blog
Roundup of ASA guidance on advertising responsibly in relation to COVID-19
Retailers seeking to reference the Covid-19 pandemic in their advertising should be aware of the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) recent guidance and robust enforcement activity in this area.
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Thinking - Blog
Return of the MAC (clauses) and practical steps for the retail world
The Covid-19 crisis is putting Material Adverse Change (or material adverse effect) (MAC) clauses back in the spotlight, none more so than in the world of retail.
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Thinking - Blog
Force majeure in a retail context in light of COVID-19
In general commercial contracts, force majeure clauses can often be overlooked as standard ‘boilerplate’ with little negotiation between the parties. Covid-19 and the disruption caused to businesses has highlighted how important these clauses can be for all types of commercial agreements and we anticipate that there will be significant focus on force majeure wording going forwards.
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Thinking - Blog
Consumers return to retail. The retail story in China…where are things now?
Globally, the retail sector has been heavily impacted by Covid-19. As the epicentre for the outbreak of the virus in January 2020. China is now one of the first economies showing signs of recovery, and retailers are looking to understand the pattern there, in order to help predict how retail will recover (and how long it will take to do so) following enforced store closures and restrictions on people’s daily lives.
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Thinking - Blog
Livestream shopping: making platform partnerships a success
Livestream shopping is a live shopping event – think QVC - hosted by a brand on its own, or a third party website/mobile app. Usually, a celebrity, social media influencer or brand worker demonstrates a product and answers questions from a digital audience in real-time. Viewers are able to immediately purchase the item from an embedded link online. Just like presenters on QVC, livestreaming hosts sell a wide range of products, from apparel and cosmetics to electronics and even cars. In China, live streaming is a wildly popular way to shop, with the market worth an estimated US$63bn to its economy in 2019. (but the technology is starting to catch on in the US and UK too). The first major livestream shopping player emerged in China in 2016 when Alibaba first launched Taobao Live. Since then, platforms like Tmall, Douyin or Xiaohongshu have become key Chinese e-commerce sites and saw a big spike in demand during lockdown as shoppers were forced to shop from home
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Thinking - Blog
Retail returns in light of COVID-19
Many retail businesses have reopened/are preparing to reopen as the Covid-19 lockdown eases. Whilst retailers hope that sales will surge as consumers rush to the shops that they have been unable to visit since March, some fear that a large percentage of transactions will be returns of goods purchased pre-lockdown.
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Thinking - Blog
Stores in focus; reopenings, safety and single use (plastic) setback
With stores reopened, retailers face an unprecedented operational challenge in delivering the retail experience.
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Thinking - Blog
Furlough fraud and Government clawback: managing the risk
HMRC has the right to go back up to five years when considering businesses’ (including retailers’) records relating to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the “furlough scheme”) and will be able to clawback funds which have been claimed in error, or fraudulently, under new powers contained in the Finance Bill 2020, which is expected to become law in the latter half of 2020.
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Thinking - Blog
Furlough forecast: What kind of employment law claims are on the horizon?
As retail workforces continue to be re-organised, what kind of employment claims could be brought by employees in the coming months, in light of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (or furlough scheme) and what can you do in anticipation?
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Thinking - Blog
Temporary COVID-19 measures in respect of AGMs and other general meetings
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA), which came into force on 26 June 2020, provides temporary measures which enable companies to comply with their legal requirements on holding annual general meetings (AGMs) and other meetings whilst still respecting social distancing legislation and guidance.
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Thinking - Blog
Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act – Supplier Terms
On 26 June 2020 the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act (CIGA) came into force. The CIGA has made both permanent and short-term changes to the insolvency regime in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences.
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Thinking - Blog
UK Government introduces “suspension” of wrongful trading provisions
In March 2020, Business Secretary Alok Sharma announced that provisions on wrongful trading would be suspended. The move came as part of a wider package of measures that sought to provide assistance to businesses – and their beleaguered boards – experiencing financial distress due to Covid-19. Now set out in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA), which was passed on 26 June 2020, the provisions adapt the wrongful trading regime making directors’ liability for the “relevant period” unlikely.
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Thinking - Publication
Retail Compass Summer edition 2020
Welcome to the Summer 2020 edition of Retail Compass – our guide to key upcoming legal and policy changes affecting Retail and our thoughts on the need-to-know issues.
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Thinking - Blog
'Nosecco' is a no-no, says the High Court
In recent years, health and wellbeing has been big business in the UK. The COVID-19 outbreak has only further stoked the desire to obtain and maintain healthy minds and bodies and the trend looks set to continue, across the retail sector.
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Thinking - Video
TerraLex virtual meeting: The new wave of M&A
In this video presentation, RPC's Neil Brown and Paul Joukador meet with Lori Green and Rick McGuirk to discuss issues related to force majeure, frustration of purpose, material adverse change, and how they’ve been impacted and will likely change in the post-pandemic world.
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Thinking - Blog
The ASA bites back – Burger King 'Rebel Whopper' ads ruled to be misleading and in breach of advertising rules
At the start of the year, Veganuary hit the headlines, with the British public challenged to ditch animal by-products in favour of a plant-based diet for the month of January.
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Thinking - Blog
The ASA bites back – Burger King 'Rebel Whopper' ads ruled to be misleading and in breach of advertising rules
At the start of the year, Veganuary hit the headlines, with the British public challenged to ditch animal by-products in favour of a plant-based diet for the month of January.
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Thinking - Blog
Give retailers a break, lawyers tell creditors
Lawyers have called for a break on winding-up petitions against retailers as they fail to pay creditors due to the outbreak. So far, retailers have been hit with 52 winding-up petitions since the beginning of the year, with the numbers accelerating since the coronavirus outbreak took hold, according to lawyers at RPC.
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Thinking - Blog
Could I mitigate my losses by using my premises for other purposes?
With the inevitable impact of the coronavirus on retail businesses, many will be looking to mitigate their losses. One obvious way of doing this would be to use their premises, often their single largest overhead, for other uses. But is this possible and what must you consider?
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Thinking - Blog
COVID-19: The groceries sector - temporary competition law exemption comes into force
In light of "exceptional and compelling reasons of public policy" arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Secretary of State (the "SoS") has announced temporary competition law arrangements in the groceries sector.
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Thinking - Blog
Changing retail landscape leads to decline in employee numbers
The retail sector continues to face change and challenge from every conceivable angle and employment within the sector is following this trend.
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Thinking - Blog
Fixing Fast Fashion: Parliament aims to put the brakes on retailers
'Fast fashion' has been providing inexpensive, up to date styles to the mass market for decades, keeping the consumer both on trend, and in the black. However, as society becomes increasingly aware of the environmental and social impact of the retail sector, Parliament has thrown a spotlight upon the sustainability of 'fast fashion' and the modern retailing practices which underpin it.
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Thinking - Blog
Advertisement consent – five rules for retailers
A summary of advertisement control for retailers in England, including deemed consent provisions, applications, standard conditions and discontinuance orders.
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Profile
Thinking - Publication
Data Dispatch - March 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of Data Dispatch from the Data Advisory team at RPC. Our aim is to provide you on a regular basis with an easy-to-digest summary of key developments in data protection law.
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Thinking - Publication
Cyber_Bytes Issue 72
Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.
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Thinking - Publication
AI-as-a-Service – Key Issues
Artificial Intelligence-as-a-Service (AIaaS), in the same vein as Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service, refers to cloud-based tools that allow businesses to gain access to an AI model hosted by a third party provider.
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Thinking - Publication
Procuring AI – Commercial Considerations Checklist
Many companies will no doubt be considering using AI within their business to take advantage of the massive opportunities for increased productivity and cost efficiencies promised.
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Thinking - Publication
AI and Privacy – 10 Questions to Ask
We set out in this section 10 key questions to ask yourself at the outset when developing or deploying AI solutions in your business.
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Thinking - Publication
The Ethics of AI - The Digital Dilemma
This is Part 6 of 'Regulation of AI – raising the trillion dollar bAIby'
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Thinking - Publication
Part 5 – AI Regulation Globally
On 30 October 2023 the G7 published its international guiding principles on AI, in addition to a voluntary code of conduct for AI developers. The G7 principles are a non-exhaustive list of guiding principles aimed at promoting safe, secure and trustworthy AI and are intended to build on the OECD's AI Principles, adopted back in May 2019.
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Thinking - Publication
Part 3 - AI regulation in the US
Back in October 2022, the White House published federal guidance – a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights identifying five principles aiming to guide the design, use, and deployment of automated systems. It was designed to operate as a roadmap to protect the public from AI harms and was followed in October 2023 by the US President's Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. The Executive Order sets out eight "guiding principles and priorities", detailing how those principles and priorities should be put into effect, and reporting requirements
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Thinking - Publication
Part 2 - AI regulation in the EU
The EU AI Act, the main elements of which are covered in our previous article, entered into force on 1 August 2024. Most provisions apply from August 2026 but some apply earlier, or later.
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Thinking - Publication
Part 1 - UK AI regulation
There has been consistent messaging from the UK Conservative-led government that the UK has decided to adopt a light touch approach to regulating AI. This was evident in the AI white paper published in March 2023 which outlined a principles based framework (see ['The Ethics of AI – the Digital Dilemma'] for more information about the principles themselves and see here for additional coverage of the AI white paper). The UK government held a consultation on the AI white paper in 2023 and published a response on 6 February 2024 that adds slightly more flesh to the bones of the UK framework.
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Thinking - Publication
Generative AI – Addressing Copyright
When it comes to the interaction of AI and IP rights, bar a flurry of activity surrounding the inevitable outcome by the courts in the Thaler, Dabus case (see here) and the Court of Appeal's ruling on the potential for exclusion from patentability of artificial neural networks in the Emotional Perception case, most attention has been focused on copyright issues. There are three main potentially thorny issues and all have been extensively covered by the mainstream media.
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Thinking - Publication
Regulation of AI - introduction
As with any new technology, existing data protection and privacy, intellectual property, competition, product liability, data security and consumer laws apply to its application in each jurisdiction. This has thrown up a number of important and newsworthy issues and considerations for AI developers and providers, legislators, consumers and rights holders. There are also several sets of high profile legal proceedings both decided and ongoing in several jurisdictions. These issues and legal proceedings are discussed in other sections of this AI Guide.
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Thinking - Publication
Cyber_Bytes Issue 71
Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.
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Thinking - Publication
Data Dispatch - January 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of Data Dispatch from the Data Advisory team at RPC. Our aim is to provide you on a regular basis with an easy-to-digest summary of key developments in data protection law.
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Thinking - Blog
Key cyber developments: looking back over 2024
For the cyber market, 2024 brought with it many legislative and regulatory changes, as well as sophisticated cyber-attacks and ground-breaking law enforcement activity.
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Thinking - Publication
Cyber_Bytes Issue 70
Welcome to Cyber_Bytes, our regular round-up of key developments in cyber, tech and evolving risks.
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Thinking - Publication
New guidance on balancing data protection with the FCA's Consumer Duty and the TPR's Code of Practice
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have published welcome guidance (Joint Statement) aimed at retail investment firms and pension providers on how to ensure their customer communications comply with the FCA's Consumer Duty (Consumer Duty) and the TPR’s Code of Practice (Code of Practice), whilst ensuring they follow the rules on direct marketing and data protection.
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Thinking - Blog
Privacy developments – looking back and looking forward
In this article, we give you a high-level snapshot of the key data protection and privacy developments in the UK and EU in 2024 as well as developments we anticipate for 2025.
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Thinking - Snapshot
EU publishes draft Code for general-purpose AI models
What measures are proposed by the EU AI Office to regulate general-purpose AI (GPAI) models?
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Thinking - Snapshot
Ofcom rolls out implementation phases for compliance with the Online Safety Act
What is Ofcom’s timeframe for implementation of the Online Safety Act (OSA) and what actions will in-scope services need to take to ensure compliance?
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Thinking - Snapshot
New Safer Phones Bill aims at “making social media less addictive” for young people
How does the Safer Phones Bill intend to protect young people online?
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Thinking - Snapshot
Two years on from the Digital Services Act
How has the European Commission (Commission) enforced the Digital Services Act (DSA) since its inception?
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Thinking - Snapshot
New Standard Contractual Clauses for data importers outside the EAA but subject to the GDPR
Are the EU’s Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) needed if a data importer is located outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and already directly subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR)? In other words, where third party controllers and processors are based outside the EAA but subject to the GDPR, do you still need the SCCs to enable a lawful international transfer to them?
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Thinking - Snapshot
The UK’s new Data (Use and Access) Bill
What does the UK’s new Data (Use and Access) Bill (the Data Bill) mean for businesses?
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Thinking - Blog
The EU's Cyber Resilience Act: 10 on the 10
Today the EU's Cyber Resilience Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2847) ('CRA') enters into force. The CRA recognises that the continuously evolving world of smart products is frequently challenged by vulnerabilities which can potentially lead to cyber-security incidents. Whilst most of the Act's obligations will not be applicable until three years from now, 10 December is the day when the EU takes a big step towards it's ten-year Cybersecurity Strategy. To mark the occasion, we have outlined ten key points that entities in scope must be aware of in preparation for compliance with the CRA.
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