News and Events 2012

Christmas Opening Dates

We will be closed from mid day on 24 December 2012 and will re-open on 2 January 2013.

Launch of New website! December 2012

We hope you like our new website which was launched this month. It has a lot more features and we will be launching a client area shortly for our clients' convenience.

We have moved - November 2012

From December 2012, our new postal address will change. For details click here. Our telephone number remains the same, although we now have a new switchboard number click here.

Legal News: Employment Law - Professional Misconduct - Appeals Process - November 2012

In the recent case of Siddiqui v Health Professions Council [2012] EWHC 2863, a radiographer (“R”) sought to appeal against the decision whereby he was struck off the register by the Health Professions Council, specifically the Conduct and Competence Committee Panel (“the Panel”), due to misconduct which impaired his fitness to practice.

For more, click here.

Legal News: Intellectual Property - Trade Marks - Colour Marks - November 2012

A recent decision in favour of Cadbury broadened its trade mark rights with regards to protecting its use of the colour purple for its chocolate. For more, click here.

Legal News: Employment Law – Breach of Contract – Facebook – Wrongful Dismissal – Contract of Employment – Social Media

In the recent case of Smith v. Trafford Housing Trust [2012] EWHC 3221, the Court held that a housing trust had acted in breach of contract by demoting a manager because he made comments on his Facebook page opposing gay marriages in church. For more, click here.

We are launching new websites! October 2012

We are pleased to announce that work is currently under way in relation to the the following new websites, which we hope to launch at the beginning of 2013:

Online start ups - this is dedicated to clients looking to launch their own online businesses.
IP Law - although we have been running www.rtcoopersiplaw.com for some time now, the site is undergoing a makeover for its launch in the new year.
Pharma - this site is currently under construction and will be aimed at those operating within the specialised pharma industry. The site will serve to demonstrate our well-established expertise in this area in one place.

Legal News: Data Protection - ICO Penalty – Council – Stoke-on-Trent – Sensitive Personal Data – Encryption – Data Protection Act 1998 - October 2012

The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) recently sent out another reminder to organisations of the importance of data encryption.

This reminder comes off the back of a serious breach of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “DPA”) by Stoke-on-Trent Council, where the council received a penalty of £120,000 for a breach which led to sensitive information about a child protection legal case being emailed to the wrong person. This was considered to be a serious breach of the DPA. Click here for more.

Legal News: Commercial Law – Agency – Termination – Conditions – Repudiation – Commercial Agents

In the recent case of Crocs Europe BV v. Anderson (t/a Spectrum Agencies (A Partnership)) [2012] EWCA Civ 1400, it was held that the regulation 3 of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 did not create a condition that in the event of a breach of an agency contract, the contract would be automatically terminated. For more, click here.

Appointment of Compliance Officer for Finance Administration ("COFA") and Compliance Officer for Legal Practice ("COLP") - September 2012

Jenny Cooper and Rosanna Cooper were recently appointed as the firm's COFA and COLP respectively. Congratulations to them both. The firm takes its responsibilty for compliance with the SRA's rules and the solicitors accounts rules very seriously. Further information about their roles can be found here.

Editorial in the Business & Lifestyle Magazine - September 2012

After being approached by the Business & Lifestyle Magazine, RT Coopers wrote a brief editorial for publication in the magazine. The editorial is aimed at business people, particularly those looking to conduct business abroad. The editorial can be found here.

Legal News: Data Protection - ICO Gudiance - Personal Information - Data Security - Deleting Personal Data - Data Protection Act 1998

The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) recently published guidance on deleting personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) ensuring compliance with the fifth data protection principle.

The ICO’s guidance addresses the distinction that many organisations make in practice, between deleting information and archiving it. For more, click here.

Conference: PIPA's 7th Annual Conference - 10 July, 2012, Beamont Estate, Windsor, UK

We are proud to announce that Dr Rosanna Cooper has been asked to conduct a presentation to over 100 delegates at PIPA's 7th Annual Conference. Dr Cooper will be presenting on the intricacies of Data Protection, including:

The eight Data Protection Principles
What constitutes personal and sensitive data?
The data controller
The data processor
Legal requirement for data processing agreement
Data controller agreement
Data privacy, opt-in and opt-out
The role the above play in the realm of pharmacovigilance and medical information professionals by way of case studies as well as good practice

The slides can be found here.

Legal News: Internet Law - E-Commerce - Cookies - Directive 2009/136/EC - May 2012

As we have consistently been telling our clients since last April, the law on cookies and e-commerce is changing. These new laws will come into effect on 26 May 2012. For more, click here.

Legal News: Intellectual Property –Trade Mark – Passing Off – Misrepresentation - Goodwill - May 2012

In the recent case of Lumos Skincare Ltd v. Sweet Squared Ltd and others [2012] EWPCC 22, it was held that the claimant in this case (“L”) failed to show that the defendants’ actions would cause the relevant consumers to be deceived, as is a required element in a claim for passing off. For more, click here.

Excellent Client Feedback - RT Coopers - April 2012

We continue to receive excellent feedback about the services we provide from our clients. You can view these here.

Legal News: Civil Procedure Rules - CPR Amendments - CPR - March 2012

The Civil Procedure Rules will be amended by the Civil Procedure (Amendment No 4) Rules 2011.

The amendments to the Rules are to facilitate the processing of work through the County Court Money Claims Centre and come into force on 19 March 2011.

For more, click here.

New Consultant joins RT Coopers - February 2012

RT Coopers would like to welcome Matthew Schrader to the team as a consultant. We are delighted to have Matthew back with us as he trained with the firm as a trainee solicitor. He is an asset to the team. For further information, Matthew's profile can be found here.

New Paralegal - Roya Zohrabi - January 2012

We are pleased to announce that Roya Zohrabi has joined the firm as a paralegal. Roya scientific background brings an added dimension to the team. Roya's profile can be found here.

New Trainee Solicitor - Tariq Sayfoo - January 2012

We are pleased to announce that Tariq Sayfoo has now joined the firm as a trainee solicitor. Congratulations to Tariq. Prior to this, Tariq was with RT Coopers as a paralegal. Tariq is one to watch as he is a bright young trainee solicitor. His profile can be found here.

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