Archive for the ‘James Sarjantson’ Category

Cookies: Are you prepared for the new law?

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Last Cawthra Feather Solicitors Intellectual PropertyIf you operate a website, the chances are that your website will use “cookies”. Cookies are small files that are downloaded onto a user’s computer when the user accesses a website. They allow the originating website to recognise the user’s device and can collect information about the user.

There are different types of cookies: For example, “session” cookies, which expire at the end of a user’s browsing session (such as cookies that enable a website to remember that a user has placed items in an online shopping basket) and “persistent” cookies, which survive between browsing sessions (such as cookies that recognise a user’s log-in details when he returns to a previously-visited website).

As a result of concerns around privacy on the internet (and in particular the profiling of users’ habits without their knowledge) the EU has established new rules relating to cookies. The use of cookies is now only allowed if the user (i) has been provided with clear and comprehensive information about the purposes for which the cookie is stored and accessed, and (ii) has given his consent. The requirement to obtain consent – which in practice generally means consent prior to the cookie being placed – is likely to present website operators with the most difficulty. There is an exception to these requirements where the cookie is strictly necessary for the provision of a service requested by the user, however this exception is likely to be given a very narrow interpretation.

Although the new laws came into effect in May 2011, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) will not start to enforce the new law until May 2012. The ICO does, however, expect companies to be takings steps now to ensure compliance by May 2012. The ICO’s powers of enforcement include the ability to levy fines of up to £500,000.

Prior to May 2012, businesses who operate websites should therefore (i) identify which cookies operate on their website, and remove cookies that serve no useful purpose (ii) confirm the type and purpose of each cookie, assessing in particular how “intrusive” each cookie is (iii) amend their online privacy policies to provide clear and comprehensive information about those cookies and (iv) ensure that they obtain users’ consent to the use of cookies – this may be done by, for example, the use of static information banners on the home page of websites or (on websites requiring registration by users) by providing the relevant information in website terms and conditions which must be accepted by users before they proceed to access the site.

Last Cawthra Feather LLP (LCF) is a leading and award winning law firm. The firm has offices throughout Yorkshire.  It has 12 partners and 115 employees. Visit www.lcf.co.uk for more information.

James Sarjantson is a Commercial & IP partner, based in LCF’s Leeds office. James has 11 years experience in specialising commercial contracts, including IT and web contracts, franchise agreements and high value supply contracts.

For further information and assistance in complying with the new law, please contact James Sarjantson on jsarjantson@lcf.co.uk

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Growing your business using someone else’s cash

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Last Cawthra Feather SolicitorsJames Sarjantson, Company/Commercial Partner at Leeds firm Last Cawthra Feather considers alternative methods for expanding your business.

With traditional bank lending currently very difficult to obtain on reasonable terms, businesses are increasingly looking at alternative ways to fund growth and expansion.  One option to consider is franchising.

Although franchising is often seen as the preserve of large multi-national businesses, it can actually be a very efficient way of growing a small business as well.  The primary advantage is that much of the funding for a franchise operation will come from the franchisee, who is effectively buying into the right to operate the franchised business.

The key benefits of franchising are therefore:

  1. Using the franchisee’s capital to expand your business;
  2. Franchisees share in the success of the franchised business and therefore tend to be well motivated;
  3. Regular payments from franchisees to the franchisor can provide robust cash flow;
  4. Franchising can give you a quicker return on investment than if you were to grow the business organically.

Franchising can work equally well for providers of services as it can for sellers of goods. If a potential franchisee would be in a better position by paying for a franchise from you than they would be if they simply set up their own business, then the franchising model may be one of your options for growth.

James Sarjantson, Company/Commercial Partner at Leeds firm Last Cawthra Feather

Last Cawthra Feather LLP (LCF) a leading and an award winning law firm. The firm has offices throughout Yorkshire.  It now has 12 partners and 115 employees. Visit www.lcf.co.uk for more information.

James Sarjantson is a Commercial & IP partner at LCF’s Leeds Office. James specialises IT/IP matters, commercial contracts, including IT and web contracts, franchise agreements and high value supply contracts.

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Public sector websites out of line with cookies law

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

James Sarjantson, Last Cawthra Feathers’, IP expert looks at the issues surrounding the new cookie law.

A cookie is a small text file which can be automatically implanted by a website onto the hard disk of visitors to the site. They are designed to collect information about such users, often so as to enhance the user’s experience (e.g. by remembering their password details when they log in again). However, privacy concerns about their widespread use has prompted the EU to enact a new directive, which essentially provides that, unless the cookie is strictly necessary for the service requested by the user, a website operator must obtain the user’s consent before installing any cookies on their computer.

Many website operators have argued that the new law will be a significant burden for them, and will adversely impact upon the user experience of those websites that are prepared to comply with the law. In particular, they claim that many operators will have to replicate large parts of their websites without the benefit of cookies for those users who refuse to accept them or from whom consent to the use of cookies cannot be obtained. Furthermore, cookies such as Google Analytics, which provide website owners with useful information about visits to their site, will be rendered inaccurate if they cannot pick up those visitors who refuse to enable cookies.

Although this new law came into force in the UK in May of this year, recent research suggests that the websites of a large number of public sector institutions fail to comply. This may not be surprising because the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”), who are tasked with enforcing the new law, have given website owners a grace period of one year (until May 2012) to comply with the new law before they will start enforcement action. Many in the private sector are taking advantage of this grace period to see how others will comply and in particular what techniques they will use to get the consent of users to the cookies on their sites.

However, the failure of the public sector to take the lead on compliance is telling, particularly now they are (in some cases) coming under the same kind of costs pressure that private sector website operators have to cope with. The ICO may well be faced with very high levels of non-compliance with this law when the grace period runs out next year. They are unlikely to have the resources to take action against too many non-compliant sites. Nevertheless, that will be no comfort if it is your site that they go after.

If you need any advice on compliance with the new cookie law, please contact James Sarjantson on jsarjantson@lcf.co.uk or 0113 202 0401 or visit www.lcf.co.uk

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