The makers of the board game Scrabble have lost a trademark dispute involving an online game named Scramble. Scrabble argued that the use of the word Scramble, and the presentation of the word in the game’s logo, with the ‘M’ turned on its side so as to look like a capital letter B, would cause
The government is increasing the number of sensitive words that can be used in company names. Words such as Authority, Board, European, Group, National and International are being taken off the restricted list. It means businesses will be able to use them without getting prior permission from Companies House. However, words that could be misused
The government is proposing to scrap mandatory annual returns to help companies save time and money. Under company law at present, companies must provide details every year about matters such as the business address, business type, names of directors and information about shareholders and shares. For most businesses, this information barely changes from one year
More than 102,000 new businesses were set up in theUKlast year, according to the latest government figures. The total number of businesses now stands at a record level of 4.9million. Business Secretary Vince Cable said the figures “are a timely reminder of the number of people willing to try their hand at business”. The government
The Government is making an extra £69m available for loans to start-up businesses as a way of creating jobs and boosting the economy, Ministers say more than 30,000 new businesses have been created over the last two years with support from government schemes including Start-Up Loans and the New Enterprise Allowance. It’s hoped the new
A businessman has won the right to buy his brother’s share of a jointly owned company after a breakdown in their relationship. The case involved two brothers who had a holding company involving several businesses. The most valuable asset was a hotel valued at £4.65m. The other assets were valued at a total of £1.4m
A publishing company has failed in its bid to stop a former employee hiring some of its staff and contacting its customers. A court ruled that a restrictive covenant designed to prevent the employee setting up a rival business was too broad to be enforced. The case involved a company that published free electronic magazines.
The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark ruling that divorcing husbands cannot protect their assets by signing them over to companies – a practice described as a “cheat’s charter” by some lawyers. The case involved the high profile couple, Michael and Yasmin Prest. Last year the High Court ordered that Mrs Prest should receive £17.5m
The celebrity chef Marco Pierre White has lost a claim for damages against two former business partners in a dispute centred on an oral contract. As is often the case with oral contracts, the details of what was agreed were hotly disputed by the two sides. Mr White said he had entered into an agreement
The Government is introducing new measures which it says will both simplify and strengthen company reporting. The reforms mean that annual reports will include additional information on human rights issues, gender representation across the company and disclosures on greenhouse gas emissions. Ministers say the changes are designed to address concerns that reports from public listed