Independent legal and business news: reporting on the deals, disputes, regulation and moves shaping cross-border business.
There is no worldwide patent, but one PCT application can hold your place in 159 countries for up to 31 months. We set out the eight steps, the 2026 fees and the national phase deadlines that catch applicants out.
Ship arrest lets an unpaid creditor detain a vessel until its claim is secured. We explain which maritime claims qualify under English law and the Arrest Conventions, how security and release work, when an arrest is wrongful and what happens at a judicial sale.
The Central Bank of Ireland has reprimanded and fined Coinbase Ireland €3.25m for safeguarding and outsourcing failures, its second Coinbase sanction in under a year. We explain what it found, how the fine was calculated and what group-reliant payment and e-money firms should change.
The UK failure to prevent fraud offence has applied to large organisations since 1 September 2025, and the only defence is reasonable prevention procedures. Here is who is caught, what is at stake and the eight steps to build a defensible programme.
Saudi Arabia joined WIPO's Madrid System on 8 October 2026, taking it to 133 countries. We explain how to register a trademark internationally through Madrid, the EUIPO and the UKIPO, the official fees, timelines, the five-year central attack risk, China's first-to-file rules and when to instruct a local attorney.
A San Diego jury has ordered Apple to pay Taction Technology $5.72bn for infringing two haptics patents with its Taptic Engine, a record US patent verdict. We explain what the jury found and how post-trial motions and a Federal Circuit appeal could change the award.
On 2 September 2026 the Unified Patent Court granted InterDigital a third injunction against Disney, and Disney+ switched off casting in Germany and the Netherlands. We explain how UPC patent litigation works, how far its long-arm jurisdiction reaches and where FRAND defences fit.
Apple is appealing a $502 million FRAND patent award to Optis at the UK Supreme Court — a case that will test how, and how high, English courts set the global royalty rate for standard-essential patents, with implications for the whole technology industry.
English courts held Samsung liable for third-party watch-face apps on its store that copied Swatch group trade marks — finding it was no neutral host. The decision is a warning to every app store and marketplace that curates and profits from third-party content.
Tomás Niembro Concha, former CEO of Puerto Rico's Nodus International Bank, was sentenced on 21 September to 112 months for a $24.9m fraud on the bank and a scheme to evade US sanctions on Venezuela. We explain how both schemes worked, what the penalty law allows and what boards should learn.
China's legislature has published a draft Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law that would bar foreign anti-corruption investigations on Chinese soil without consent and impose compliance duties on foreign groups' China subsidiaries. We explain how it fits with China's existing laws, the FCPA and the UK Bribery Act.
Alabama defence contractor LOGZONE Inc. has agreed to pay $507,144 to resolve allegations that it billed two US Navy contracts while falling short of mandatory cybersecurity standards, in the latest action under the government's cyber-fraud enforcement drive.
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that £28m of redress payments ScottishPower made under Ofgem settlements cannot be deducted for corporation tax. We explain why fines and penalties are not tax deductible, what still is, and what businesses settling with regulators should do now.
Since April 2025, UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets follows long-term residence, not domicile, and leavers stay in scope for three to ten years. As Chris Rokos heads for Greece and the October Budget nears, we explain how the tail works and what still gets taxed.
The UAE and Qatar published new Pillar Two filing rules in late August, joining Bahrain and Kuwait in running 15% domestic minimum top-up taxes. We explain what a DMTT is, who must register and file, the deadlines ahead, and why US groups still pay.
