Business Law Library & Tracker
Standards, Accreditation & Certification
Technical standards, accredited services, certification and quality claims.
Sources last reviewed 28 July 2026
Main law guides
122
Acts, regulations and codes worth reading first
Topics
60
Plain-English clusters
Published case explainers
143
Selected cases with a business lesson
Tracked updates
11
New, amended & reviewed
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
Get legal helpMain laws
Consumer Rights Act 2015
UKPGA 2015 c 15
Food Safety Act 1990
UKPGA 1990 c 16
Payment Services Regulations 2017
SI 2017/752
Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982
UKPGA 1982 c 29
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
UKPGA 1977 c 50
Care Standards Act 2000
2000 c. 14
European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020
2020 c. 29
Energy Act 2013
2013 c. 32
Energy Act 2023
2023 c. 52
Cases
Acer Incorporated & Anor v Nokia Technologies Oy
If your products rely on standardised technology, do not treat a licence offer as just a pricing discussion. This case shows that the structure of the offer can be...
Dairy UK Ltd v Oatly AB
If you sell plant-based food or drink in the UK, do not assume a creative slogan, campaign line or trade mark is safe just because it is obviously non-dairy in...
DSG Retail Limited v The Information Commissioner
If your business can identify a person from information in its systems, you should usually treat that information as needing appropriate protection, even where an...
Easygroup Limited v Easyfeetstore OÜ & Ors
For business owners, the lesson cuts both ways. If you are launching a brand, do proper trade mark checks before going live, especially if your name starts with a...
Great Asia Maritime Ltd v Orion Shipping and Trading LLC
An express termination clause does more than decide whether a party can exit. Its compensation language can create a separate damages right. Draft the trigger,...
Handy Cross Dev Co Ltd v Vanni Properties Ltd
If you are buying land for a development, do not assume your planning drawings, engineering plans or later design changes will fix an unclear legal boundary. The...
Providence Building Services Ltd v Hexagon Housing Association Ltd
A termination clause is a sequence, not a general fairness test. Before ending a contract, trace every notice, deadline, cure period and precondition in order. A...
The Financial Conduct Authority v Argento Wealth Limited & Anor
The lasting value of this case is practical rather than technical. If your business raises money, do not assume that a purpose clause automatically ring-fences...
Alcatel Lucent SAS v Amazon Digital UK Limited & Ors
Read this as a case about litigation strategy and business continuity, not a final win on licence terms. Amazon improved its position by doing more than saying it...
Andrew Cannestra v Mclaren Automotive Events Limited
If you sell premium experiences, especially overseas or through local suppliers, do not assume the local operator alone carries the risk. The court treated the...
Angela Emmerson v Human Givens Institute Limited
For ordinary businesses, the durable lesson is simple: do not assume you can share information just because one person involved says yes. If your business holds...
easyGroup Limited v Easy Live (Services) Limited & Ors
The practical lesson is not simply ‘avoid famous brands’. It is more specific: test the exact wording you want to use, not just your full company name or logo. In...
InterDigital, Inc & Ors v Optis Cellular Technology LLC & Ors
If your business signs contracts with sensitive pricing, royalty structures or negotiated rates, this case is a useful guide to how courts may treat that...
Justin Gutmann v Apple Inc & Ors
If your business runs a platform, marketplace or other model that could attract a competition class action, this case is a reminder that funding challenges may not...
Optis Cellular Technology LLC & Ors v Apple Retail UK Ltd & Ors
If your products use standardised technology, do not leave SEP licensing until after launch or until litigation is well underway. This case shows that once a...
Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited & Anor v Alex Neill Class Representative Limited
If your business faces a funded competition claim, assume the claimant may still have workable third-party funding even after PACCAR. You can still review the...
Tesla Inc & Anor v InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc & Ors
For ordinary businesses, the durable lesson is about licensing structure, not electric cars. If your product depends on standard-essential patents, the legal route...
Christine Self v Santander Cards UK Limited
For small and mid-sized businesses in consumer finance, the practical lesson is not that any standard form will always block later claims. The lesson is narrower...
Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs v Professional Game Match Officials Ltd
Flexibility before an assignment does not prevent employment obligations arising during an accepted assignment. Businesses using casual or assignment-by-assignment...
Domestic & General Group Limited & Ors v Premier Protect Holdings Limited & Ors
If your business sells plans, subscriptions or cover products by phone, this case shows that the biggest legal risk is not just what your own staff say, but what...
Marcus Gervase Johnson v Firstrand Bank Limited (London Branch) t/a Motonovo Finance
If your business arranges consumer finance as part of a sale, do not assume the lender carries all the legal risk. In the court’s scenario, the dealer was a credit...
Meta Platforms Inc & Ors v Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen
If your business runs a digital service, this case is a warning not to treat user data as a free add-on just because your service has no cash price. The court...
P Patel v DPD Group UK Limited
The practical point is not that any substitution clause will do. A clause only helps if it is genuine, broad enough to matter, and consistent with how the...
Panasonic Holdings Corporation v Xiaomi Technology UK Limited & Ors
If your business uses standardised technology and is prepared to take a court-determined FRAND licence, say so early, document it clearly and keep that position...
Rajinder Kumar & Ors v LSC Finance Limited
If your business lends or borrows against land, do not treat purpose wording as boilerplate. A court will look at the actual intended use of the land and the real...
Canada Square Operations Ltd v Potter
The safest reading for business owners is straightforward. Do not assume that six years automatically closes off risk if your business model depended on not telling...
Sara & Hossein Asset Holdings Ltd v Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd
Commercial lease service charge clauses can control cash flow first and arguments later. Tenants should understand certification, payment timing and dispute rights...
Credico Marketing Limited & Anor. v Benjamin Gregory Lambert & Anor.
If your agreement contains both an exclusivity clause and a post-termination non-compete, assess them separately. This case shows that a court may uphold the first...
Dwyer (UK Franchising) Limited v Fredbar Limited & Anor.
If you use franchise agreements, do not assume a 12 month restraint is safe just because similar clauses have been upheld elsewhere. The court said each case turns...
London & South Eastern Railway Limited & Ors v Justin Gutmann
Read this case as a warning about pricing operations and channel design, not as a final statement that the defendants acted unlawfully. The Court of Appeal did not...
Zoe Evans & Ors. v Anytime Clubs UK Limited & Anor.
If you run a franchise, keep clear records showing who controls local marketing in practice, not just on paper. A general right to protect brand standards is not...