AgentLaw - News

Briefing notes

The Bribery Act 2010
What is the Bribery Act? The Bribery Act 2010, which became law in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2010 and will be in force from April 2011, is a new piece of legislation designed to combat the ris...
Written by Agentlaw Team
20 July 10

Governing law and jurisdiction: Getting it right is crucial
It is essential that when you are negotiating the terms of your agency contract with a principal or agent based in another country, you do not forget to sort out jurisdiction and governing law. ...
Written by Agentlaw Team
20 July 10

Commercial Agents Newsletter May 2010
In this issue... Is your agency agreement covered by the Commercial Agents Regulations? Surprisingly, the Regulations do not cover all...
Written by Agentlaw Team
10 May 10

After the Event Insurance, Third Party Funding and Conditional Fee Agreements
Are you involved in a commercial dispute and want to know how to fund it, or how to manage the financial risks? We have all the necessary expertise to advise you on what funding opti...
Written by Agentlaw Team
10 May 10

Q&A: How best to deal with an agent/supplier relationship ‘breakdown’
QUESTION: I was wondering if you could give me any advice on a problem I'm having with an agent. I make and sell handbags. I recently received a re-order from a company my agent had int...
Written by Agentlaw Team
29 April 10

What is mediation and how does it work?
Mediation is a voluntary, confidential process of negotiation that is facilitated by an independent and impartial third person, a mediator. It is often an effective method of resolving disputes betw...
Written by Rod Dykins
29 April 10

Are commercial agents selling services protected under English law?
It may come as a surprise to learn that the Commercial Agents Regulations do not cover all agency agreements. They apply only to agreements where the agent is a “commercial agent”...
Written by Jane Elliot
29 April 10

Commercial Agents Regulations Seminar 2009 Podcast
If you missed our annual Commercial Agents seminar you are now able to listen to an audio recording of the event here Also attached are the slides from the event.
Written by Agentlaw Team
12 January 10

Using swine flu to avoid contractual obligations?
In determining whether an agent can use swine flu in order to avoid contractual obligations, it is necessary to consider the concept of force majeure and whether swine flu can be an event of force m...
Written by Jane Elliot
5 January 10

Top Tips for Giving Notice of an Intention to Claim Compensation
Following two recent cases, it is now apparent that agents must be very clear when they are giving notice to their principals of their intention to claim for compensation or an indemnity under the C...
Written by Jane Elliot
29 December 09

Top tips for dealing with agency disputes
Whether you are an agent or a principal, when a dispute gets serious, the first steps you take can have a profound impact on how the dispute unfolds and who will achieve the better outcome. Below ar...
Written by Rod Dykins
29 December 09

Commercial Agents Regulations Seminar 2009
Seminar Thursday 26 November 2009 Getting it Right! The last 12 months’ have resulted in a multitude of cases where principals and agents have made mistakes which could have been avoided.&n...
Written by Agentlaw Team
3 November 09

“Taking back the keys to the castle”
Even if the wording of a retention of title clause is effective, the enforcement of it will still exist within practical and commercial limitations. Reclaim the goods v. debt claim Broadly, whe...
Written by Rachel Cook
16 September 09

A failure of performance
When an agent’s performance has dropped off as a result of his contracting an incurable illness, the position of the principal is a difficult one under the Commercial Agents Regulations. This...
Written by Agentlaw Team
2 March 09

UK Fashion Exports Legal Update Seminar
UK Fashion Exports in assocation with Fox Williams is hosting a legal update seminar at 4pm, on Thursday, 18 September at 5 Portland Place, London. If you are a designer, sell through an agent or...
Written by Roshan Khan
28 September 07

Brand names can impact on indemnity payments to agents
Brand names can impact on indemnity payments to agents One of the principal entitlements of an agent on termination of the agency is that of indemnity. Under English law, the impact of the pr...
Written by Jane Elliot
20 August 07

Lonsdale v Howard & Hallam – The House of Lords
Last month there took place the long awaited hearing of the appeal to the House of Lords of last year’s decision of the Court of Appeal in Lonsdale v Howard & Hallam. The appeal was made...
Written by Steve Sidkin
4 June 07

A Green Light for Principals
Please see attached PDF.
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 February 07

Fifth Annual Commercial Agents' Regulations Seminar
In this, our fifth annual Commercial Agents Regulations seminar, lawyers from the well-regarded Fox Williams’ agentlaw team will take you through some of the recent cases and how principals an...
Written by Steve Sidkin
3 November 06

Working with Commercial Agents - Marketing solution or Minefield?
Whether or not you have a written agreement with an agent who sells for you, don’t forget that both you and the agent are subject to EU Commercial Agency Regulations - even if you only have ag...
Written by Steve Sidkin
4 October 06

Commercial Agents Conference 2006
Fox Williams' agentlaw team will be speaking at the Commercial Agents Conference to be held on 5 October 2006 at Jurys Great Russell Street Hotel, London. Topics to be covered include: Employee v...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 August 06

The principal's obligations in respect of commission
The obligation on the principal to pay commission to the agent should be straightforward. The agent takes the order which the principal accepts or confirms. The principal supplies the go...
Written by Steve Sidkin
19 July 05

The age of wealth
A significant difference between being self-employed as opposed to an employee is that the self-employed can chose when to stop work because of retirement. In contrast stopping work because of...
Written by Steve Sidkin
19 July 05

Employees and commercial agents
Determining whether an individual is an employee or a commercial agent will usually be obvious – but as with many legal issues, things are not always that simple and there is a big “grey...
Written by Steve Sidkin
19 July 05

In sickness and in wealth
The Commercial Agents Regulations address what happens when an agent dies, retires or is prevented from working due to illness or injury. Yet whilst the Regulations deal briefly with each of t...
Written by Jane Elliot
19 July 05

The Tax Consequences of Payments Under The Commercial Agents Regulations
It is common for principals to have to pay a sum to their agents upon the termination of an agency agreement. Despite the regularity with which this situation arises, there remains confusion as to t...
Written by Steve Sidkin
5 May 05

TUPE and commercial agents
TUPE is shorthand for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. When will TUPE apply? TUPE applies to the transfer of a business, or a part of a business, situa...
Written by Steve Sidkin
18 October 04

A servant of two masters
It is extremely common for an agent to have a number of agencies. Indeed it would appear to make good business sense for an agent to act for a group of principals selling the same, similar or “...
Written by Jane Elliot
16 September 04

Regulating Distributorship Agreements
Since the Treaty of Rome was signed the question of the compliance of distributorship and supply agreements with EC competition law has proved troublesome. For many years, those agreements have been...
Written by Steve Sidkin
16 September 04

Alternatives to litigation
The popular perception about court litigation is that it is time consuming, stressful, costly, risky and only the lawyers ultimately benefit. Unfortunately, those assumptions are largely correct. ...
Written by Sarah Pooley
16 September 04

What is Reasonable Notice in a Distributorship Agreement?
Although it is often found surprising, and it is clearly different to the position of commercial agency agreements, the fact is that there is no statutory requirement for the length of notice requir...
Written by Steve Sidkin
16 September 04

Using force majeure to protect your business
Whatever the nature of your business, you need to consider whether you should be using force majeure clauses in your agreements to protect you operations. What is force majeure? The literal interpr...
Written by Jane Elliot
24 August 04

The Sub-Agent's Enigma
According to the old adage, two's company, three's a crowd. The trouble is that whilst that might be correct in respect of certain personal relationships, in business it is often the case that an ag...
Written by Steve Sidkin
25 June 04

Distributorship Agreement Checklist
1. Parties state clearly the identity of the parties. If a company, state the place of incorporation, registered/principal office and any registered number. are the obligations of the distributo...
Written by Steve Sidkin
25 June 04

Agency Agreement Checklist
Parties state clearly the identity of the parties. If a company, state the place of incorporation, registered/principal office and any registered number. are the obligations of the agent t...
Written by Steve Sidkin
25 June 04

Goods v Services
The term “goods” forms a key part in the definition of a commercial agent under The Commercial Agents Regulations. Unfortunately the Regulations fail to define by what is meant by “...
Written by Steve Sidkin
21 April 04

Termination of agency agreement without liability for compensation
The Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (as amended) provide for a commercial agent to be entitled to compensation for damage suffered as a result of termination of the agency agr...
Written by Steve Sidkin
18 March 04

Failing to provide for retiring agents
Should there be a statutory right to compensation when a fixed term contract comes to an end? Most companies would probably answer with a resounding “no”. But in respect of commercial a...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 December 03

Data protection - are you adequately protecting personal information?
Do you keep a list of contact information on your customers or suppliers? Do you have employees or agents? If so, then you are likely to be subject to the requirements of current UK data protection...
Written by Steve Sidkin
18 November 03

A curates egg
With the confused decision in Ingmar v Eaton Leonard the pendulum which had been swinging between agent and principal was sent into a spin. Accordingly it was hoped that the next High Court decision...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 April 03

Agents behaving badly - A practical guide to the Commercial Agents Regulations for principals contemplating termination
Planning termination In today’s difficult economy it is important that all parts of a business are working as hard as they can in order to contribute to the bottom line. Clearly this in...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 April 03

Agency in tatters? — top 10 practical tips when things start to go wrong
How can you deal with disputes concerning your commercial agency, or avoid them altogether? John Greager of City law firm Fox Williams gives some practical guidance when it all starts to go wrong. ...
Written by John Greager
20 March 03

When is an agent not a distributor
Two of the most common forms of commercial relationships are supplier and distributor and principal and agent. In some parts of the European Union the protection afforded to distributor and ag...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 April 02

Equal Opportunities for Agents?
Over the last eight years, many principals have realised that they cannot afford to ignore the provisions of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (as amended) when dealing with...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 April 02

Calculating Compensation for Commercial Agents
When a Judge commences his judgment by explaining that he is giving it with some trepidation and that the area of law is not one in which he considers himself to be “over-practised”, it...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 November 01

Know Where You Stand
In a perfect world the relationship between principal and agent should be a win-win relationship. The better the principal does, the better the agent does and vice versa. But the world is not perfec...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 November 01

A Breeding Ground for Uncertainty
The concept of no fault compensation being payable by one business to another was always likely to be a breeding ground for concern and uncertainty. It is unlike other areas of English common law wh...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 July 01

Distributorship Agreements in the EU
Provides an insight into the EC Regulation exempting certain categories of distribution and supply agreements from the application of Article 81 of the EC Treaty. Sets out the criteria with which th...
Written by Jane Elliot
1 June 01

A Game of Two Halves
English lawyers are taught to strive for certainty. This concept operates hand in glove with the common law system which is precedent based. When it rubs up against a civil law system, however, the...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 May 01

The Applicability of the Regulations
The dominance of national law over what the contracting parties have agreed is a well understood issue. By way of example, it has been the case for many years that an employer cannot avoid a claim f...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 May 01

The spinning pendulum
During the 1970's and early 1980's employment law swung from being pro-employer to pro-employee and back again. In comparison the pro-agent decision last year of the Scottish Court of Session...
Written by Jane Elliot
11 April 01

Compensation for Commercial Agents
The European Commission’s Report published three years ago examined the application of Article 17 of the European Self-Employed Agents Directive (86/653/EEC). Article 17 requires member state...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 March 01

Agency & Distributorship Agreements
Discusses the principal items to be dealt with in an agreement between a supplier and his agent or distributor, focussing on the key differences between an agent and a distributor and competition la...
Written by Jane Elliot
1 March 01

One Step Back
When an agency agreement is terminated the parties to it will want to know if the Commercial Agents Regulations 1993 apply. This involves examining whether the agent is a commercial agent. In order...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 November 00

The Laws of Intermediation
The idea of using middlemen in business is centuries old. Commonly, middlemen have been agents and distributors. In some economies, they occupy a powerful position. For example, in Japan wholesalers...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 October 00

Staying in Harmony
The rights given to agents by the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (as amended) have caused many principals to look at a variety of methods of circumvention. One in particular...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 August 00

Trade Names, Distributorship and Agency Agreements
There are many advantages for a company in appointing an agent or distributor. Correspondingly there are some disadvantages. One that is often overlooked is the possibility that the prod...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 April 00

Disintermediation
“Disintermediation” is the elimination of intermediaries from supply chains. As a result of the growth in e-commerce, more and more suppliers are looking to cut out the middleman a...
Written by Jane Elliot
11 April 00

Commercial Agents Regulations
Reviews the main provisions of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (as amended), highlighting the areas of: what constitutes a commercial agent; the statutory rights and d...
Written by Jane Elliot
1 March 00

Closing the Holes in the Gruyere
It is possible to compare the Commercial Agents Regulations to Gruyère. Despite the fact that the Regulations closely track the European Self-employed Agents Directive that they implement, many hole...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 November 99

Principles of Competition
In every litter there is a runt. At every ball there is a Cinderella. Invariably in every law there are provisions which tend to be overlooked or forgotten about. In this respect the Commercial Agents...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 November 99

Agents' Angle on Consolidation
In the last eighteen months the headlines have come thick and fast. Alcoa acquiring Inespal. Pechiney, Alcan and Algroup joining together. Alcoa bidding for Reynolds. The effect of consolidation in...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 November 99

Push Me, Pull You
Footwear suppliers are under great pressure. Retailers are now being forced by incessant competition to compete in the area which has the greatest potential to self-inflict pain – prices. Everyo...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 September 99

The Extent of the Regulations
Examines the issue of the law applicable to agency contracts and whether parties can exclude the application of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (as amended) in the light o...
Written by Jane Elliot
2 August 99

Courts Clarify Commercial Agents Regulations
Just over three years ago the European Commission drew attention to the problems facing lawyers in the United Kingdom in trying to interpret the provisions of Article 17 of the Self-Employed Agents Di...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 July 99

The Extent Of The Regulations
One of the main purposes of the European Self-Employed Agents Directive was to harmonise the laws of member states of the European Union. Whilst this has been achieved to some extent, in the c...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 April 99

I Think That's What We Said
It’s a phrase that we often hear when a client is asked to recall the details of an agreement. Many agreements exist without the need for written documentation. But, the protection enjoyed by...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 September 98

The Legacy of Botched Drafting
The most controversial provisions of the Commercial Agents Regulations are those concerning the payment of compensation or the giving of an indemnity to a terminated agent. This is understandable. The...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 July 98

The First Cases
Are commercial agents a down-trodden race? A recent Court of Appeal judgment concerning the Commercial Agents Regulations suggests that they are. The nature of the judgment was such that, if it i...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 June 98

Secondary Activities of Commercial Agents
It is now more than 4 years since the Commercial Agents Regulations came into force. Since that time few cases have reached the British courts. Indeed, up until the end of 1996 none had been satisfact...
Written by Steve Sidkin
1 May 98

Principals Behaving Badly? A practical guide for agents to the Commercial Agents Regulations
The issue The Regulations give agents many rights. Some during the continuance of the agency agreement; others when it has come to an end. In either case the issue is what can the age...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 April 98

Clarifying commission
In December 1996 the European Court of Justice made its first decision concerning the European Self-employed Agents Directive. Its judgement was published in 1997. Whilst concerning the entit...
Written by Steve Sidkin
11 September 97

The Commercial Agents Regulations
New Years Day 1994 saw a revolution in UK agency law with the coming into effect of the Commercial Agents Regulations based on a 1986 EC Directive. The salient points of the Regulations may be summ...
Written by Jane Elliot
2 March 94