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Eurovision contestant “did not copy” track written by ex-Voice UK star, High Court rules

Palmers Solicitors in Essex

Great Britain’s 2021 Eurovision contestant, James Newman, “did not copy” a song performed by ex-Voice UK star, Kelly-Marie Smith, a High Court has ruled.

Ms Smith alleged that Mr Newman – the second British artist to score “nul points” in the international song contest – had breached her intellectual property rights by copying a song she wrote in 2006.

According to reports, Mr Newman co-wrote a number one hit, titled Waiting All Night, with artists Rudimental and Ella Eyre in 2013.

The song won British Single at the Brit awards, while the official music video has been watched more than 220 million times.

But Ms Smith – who appeared on The Voice UK in 2013 – says the work was a replica of her track, Can You Tell Me.

But judge Mr Justice Zacaroli disagreed, citing “important differences” between the two tracks.

The High Court employed the help of musicologists to determine that, while there were some “limited similarities” between the choruses, Waiting All Night was an original work.

Similarities between the lyrics, meanwhile, were attributed to “commonplace expressions”.

Commenting on the ruling, defence lawyers acting on behalf of Mr Newman said the “concocted claim” should “never have been brought”.

Ms Smith also sued Rudimental trio, Kesi Dryden, Piers Aggett and Amir Izadkhah, and co-writer Jonny Harris, but “the allegation of copying” was ultimately pursued against Mr Newman alone, court documents reveal.

For help and advice with related matters, please get in touch with our intellectual property legal team today.

Do I need to pay Inheritance Tax if I leave my estate to a grandchild?

Palmers Solicitors in Essex

Many people are left confused by the thought of Inheritance Tax, and rightly so. Inheritance Tax legislation is notoriously hard to navigate and has tripped up many unsuspecting families.

In this blog, therefore, we are going to explore what happens when an estate – or part of an estate – is passed down directly to a grandchild.

Firstly, we need to understand how Inheritance Tax works.

Inheritance Tax (also known as IHT or the “death tax”) is charged at 40 per cent on the value of your estate that exceeds the Inheritance Tax threshold – currently £325,000, or £750,000 when combined with a spouse or civil partner.

If you are passing down property, you may also benefit from the main residence nil-rate band. This increases your tax-free threshold by £100,000, but only if you leave your home to children (including adopted, foster or stepchildren) or grandchildren and your estate is worth less than £2 million.

So, when passing down your estate to grandchildren, it is only the part of the estate that exceeds the Inheritance Tax threshold – and main residence nil rate band if passing down your home –  that is charged.

But what if you want to pass down property and assets to grandchildren while you’re still alive?

This is known as gifting, and if used correctly, can help you pass down more of your hard-earned estate.

Under the “annual exemption” rule, you can give away up to £3,000 worth of gifts each tax year (spanning 06 April to 05 April) without them being added to the total value of your estate. Any unused annual exemption can be carried forward, but for one year only.

You can also gift a wedding present of up to £1,000 per person (£2,500 for a grandchild or great-grandchild or £5,000 for a child) without attracting tax.

But gifts that do not qualify for relief, exceed your personal threshold, and are made within seven years of your death may attract Inheritance Tax on a sliding scale, known as the “seven-year rule”.

This is illustrated below:

Years between gift and death Tax paid
less than 3 40%
3 to 4 32%
4 to 5 24%
5 to 6 16%
6 to 7 8%
7 or more 0%

Here’s an example:

A gift made to a grandchild – or anyone who isn’t your spouse, civil partner or a charity – two years before your death and exceeds the Inheritance Tax threshold will attract the full 40 per cent rate of tax. But the same gift made between five and six years of your death will only attract a rate of 16 per cent, while any gifts made after seven years are not counted towards the value of your estate.

It is important to note that Inheritance Tax is only payable on death, meaning any large gifts should be given with the caveat that tax may be due in the future.

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For help and advice with related matters, please get in touch with our later life planning team today.

Government joins global Beneficial Ownership Leadership Group in bid to drive transparency in private sector

Palmers Solicitors in Essex

The Government has this week formally joined the Beneficial Ownership Leadership Group as part of plans to drive transparency in the private sector.

It means the UK will adopt best practice beneficial ownership disclosure principles, such as disclosing who owns and controls British companies.

According to the Government, the move “builds business and market confidence”, “helps tackle corruption and criminal activities” and can “improve governance and public procurement”.

The scheme – launched by members of the G20 – will introduce a raft of new and existing international standards, including creating “free to access and publicly accessible registers”, across a “diverse range of countries and asset classes wherever possible”.

The best practice beneficial ownership disclosure principles include:

  • Publishing company beneficial ownership data that is freely downloadable, searchable, and reusable by the public, without a fee, proprietary software, or the need for registration.
  • Implementing progressively ambitious best practice in beneficial ownership transparency, across technical, legislative, regulatory, and administrative parameters.
  • Contributing to the building of best practice, including by recognising the evolving illicit finance threat and considering implementing beneficial ownership transparency beyond companies to a wider group of assets classes.
  • Structured, machine-readable format compliant with the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard, which provides a technical model for beneficial ownership data that enables the data to be linked transnationally.
  • Protocols for identifying and investigating red flags in the data, including collaboration and accountability between registrars and law enforcement.
  • Granular, high-quality, and consistent enough to enable effective red flagging. Members should take reasonable steps on the following issues:
    • Closing loopholes left open by high thresholds, banding, lack of historical data, and inconsistent use of identifiers for people and entities.
    • Representing the full chain of beneficial ownership, from the ultimate beneficial owner to the target company, including all domestic entities in between.
    • Ensuring high compliance with requirements to report and update data.
    • Authentication of individuals reporting beneficial ownership data.
    • Good validation of reported beneficial ownership data.
  • Exemptions regime that protects vulnerable individuals but does not allow abuse, as set by best practice.

Click here to learn more about the Beneficial Ownership Leadership Group.

For help and advice with related matters, please get in touch with our corporate law team today.

Professionals in demand as economy continues to surge

Palmers Solicitors in Essex

The hunt for top talent in the workplace is gathering pace as the UK recovery continues.

With the economy bouncing back from Covid, top professionals are now in great demand with some software professionals having been approached as many as 20 times in the past 12 months by employment headhunters.

The latest surveys are showing a big growth in business optimism, while unemployment is down and job vacancies and wages are rising.

Recent data from the Office for National Statistics has revealed that from May to June this year, the number of job vacancies increased to over one million.

That growth has had an impact on the top end of the jobs market with many professionals now being headhunted for their talents, according to a survey by recruitment firm Talent Works.

Overall, the survey found that Government staff and software professionals are in the greatest demand with nearly 40 per cent having been approached more than five times for a new job in the past year.

The poll found that potential employers are keen to attract the right talent, which is predicted to contribute to a salary growth in the months ahead for many professions.

It revealed majority of Government professionals, (71 per cent), said they had not been approached at all, while the figure for software roles stood at 45 per cent.

But almost one in 10 of those in software had been approached between 10 and 20 times in the past year.

When asked what they were looking for in the workplace, a large proportion of respondents, 38 per cent, said progression was what was most valued, while a third cited company culture.

 A pleasant office environment at 16 per cent was a much lower priority for those surveyed.

The Talent Works research is based on a poll of 500 people in the UK who work in Government or software sectors.

 For help and advice on matters relating to employment law, contact our expert team today.