Legal briefings from the world's leading law firms

Significant narrative reporting requirements have been introduced in the draft of The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors' Report) Regulations 2013, published by the BIS. This article outlines what's changed, what to report and what companies should be doing now to prepare.

The CJEU has provided some helpful guidance on the interpretation of the Council Directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts - confirming its broad scope and limiting the effect of unilateral variation clauses. The case has important implications for any business supplying consumers in the EU.

In BMA Special Opportunity Hub Fund Ltd v African Minerals Finance Ltd, the Court of Appeal cosidered the "business common sense" approach to contractual interpretation as expounded by the Supreme Court in Rainy Sky v Kookmin. Allen & Overy offers analysis and comment on the decision.

A&O's global tax practice have prepared an overview of the most relevant tax considerations for inbound acquisitions. For each jurisdiction, the guide outlines the respective transaction taxes and provides guidance on structuring inbound acquisitions in the most tax-efficient way.

Intellectual property issues in the cloud continue to be one of the 'cloudiest' legal areas for customers and suppliers alike. In this article, Allen & Overy identify and discuss a range of IP hot topics, with a particular focus on UK copyright issues, and offer suggestions to mitigate risk.

A commercial supply contract was enforceable despite there being provisions that still had to be agreed. The parties intended the contract to be enforceable, as evidenced by the nature of the wording used, the history of their relationship and the fact that substantial matters had been agreed.

In late 2012, a recast Brussels Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters was approved at EU level. The recast Regulation changes the rules determining which national courts have jurisdiction over employment contract disputes.

If commentators are to be believed, 2013 will see the long-awaited revival of global M&A transactions. Yet the first quarter tells a very different story. Having reviewed each region and sector in depth, Allen & Overy detail their key observations about the current state of the global M&A market.

In the recent case of Cadogan Petroleum Holdings Ltd v Global Process Systems LLC, the termination of a sale contract for two gas plants resulted in the innocent party keeping all the instalments paid by the buyer, the gas plants, and also entitled the seller to the remaining instalments.

As of 26 March 2013, trademark owners can register their trademarks with the Trademark Clearinghouse - a central repository of trademark rights set up by ICANN to protect trademark holders' rights on the introduction of the new gTLDs. This briefing outlines the registration process.