Please see our case studies and expertise below demonstrating how our consumer products and retail industry knowledge adds value to the legal services we offer our clients.

Case studies

Product recall

In late 2005, we assisted a client with an extremely significant product recall; one of the first to be carried out under the EU's General Product Safety regime. With instructions to help coordinate the recall in all markets outside North America - a total of 100 different jurisdictions - we were able, through our own offices and network of external counsel, to provide detailed advice on regulatory notification and corrective action obligations, enabling the client to target resource where it was most urgently needed. We also helped scope the mechanics of the recall effort, including setting up international call centres and settling communications materials, and worked closely with the client's US counsel to minimise products liability implications.

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Competition issues

Increasingly, in UK retail markets, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is using Geographic Information Systems to map local markets based on an analysis of the distance that customers are prepared to travel to the store.  This trend first appeared in the UK in the OFT's assessment of the grocery retailing sector, and has subsequently been adopted in retail mergers more generally. Our expertise in this technical area allows us to predict how antitrust regulators will define the geographic extent of retail markets, and therefore within what parameters they will analyse competition. Moving away from mergers, we have significant experience of advising suppliers and retailers on their relationships, and the relevance of competition law to price setting, rebates, information sharing and the relative bargaining power of the parties.  We are also very familiar with the different approaches adopted by retailers in order to work within the planning regime, and have advised clients on the potential interface between land acquisition, the UK planning regime and competition law at a local level.

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New product launch issues

We recently advised a large international personal care company on the worldwide launch of a new toothpaste product. The company was concerned about trade mark clearance, in particular as against a famous trade mark owned by one of its major competitors, and asked us to advise on the likelihood that the new product would infringe trade marks owned by the competitor in 27 countries. In addition to understanding the risk of trade mark infringement across these jurisdictions, we were also asked to advise on what local measures were available to enable the competitor to injunct the sale of our client's product on an interim or ex parte basis, and what seizure powers could be invoked against our client. Following our advice, the client significantly amended its proposed name and packaging for the new product, which successfully launched in all 27 countries.

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Retail insolvency

In a groundbreaking case in relation to the supply of goods and insolvency, we acted for a supplier of CDs, DVDs and related goods (the Supplier) to a downstream retailer (the Retailer) which had entered administration. The terms upon which the Supplier had supplied its goods to the Retailer contained the standard retention of title (ROT) provisions that are seen in many supplier contracts. Although ROT provisions are binding upon administrators, in practice administrators have in the past denied all ROT claims and continued to trade with the ROT goods. The administrators of the Retailer took this traditional view and denied the ROT claim and continued to trade with the ROT goods. There are various practical arguments that can be made in favour of this approach. The administrators argued that the ROT goods had been mixed up with the goods of other suppliers at the warehouses and shops and as such it was not possible for the Supplier (or other suppliers) to identify its specific goods. However, the court upheld our arguments in favour of the Supplier to the effect that simple co-mingling of the goods did not cause title to pass to the Retailer and therefore title to the goods remained with the Supplier and other suppliers as tenants in common. This allowed the Supplier to reclaim the goods and avoid a significant loss and this outcome may very well assist suppliers in their claims for retention of title in future administrations and insolvencies.

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Infringement of copyright

We acted for Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care BV in its action against Salton, concerning Salton's infringement of the copyright embedded in the hardware of the Philips 'Senseo' coffee maker. The case reflected the international character of Philips' business, involving litigation in the US, UK, Australia and Hong Kong. The proceedings were particularly complicated by their multi-disciplinary nature, involving copyright, design right, breach of confidence and breach of contract. In the UK, we made use of the English summary judgment procedure to keep costs down and pressure up. After successfully opposing a challenge to the jurisdiction of the English courts, the court ordered an early timetable for the defendant's evidence. This led the defendant to start negotiations for a worldwide settlement of the dispute, enabling Philips to protect the market for its own product and remove from the market an inferior product that was damaging the market for our client.

We are able to provide experienced lawyers and teams with the right blend of legal and commercial skills and geographical coverage to meet your requirements for specialised local advice or for international projects.

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Expertise

We can assist with:

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Advertising campaigns and product packaging

We advise our large brand-owning clients on their product packaging, advertising campaigns and promotions, and help our clients challenge their competitors (in terms of both intellectual property (IP) rights infringement and misleading claims) through litigation and liaison with advertising standards bodies as appropriate.

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Brand protection and enforcement

We can advise you on patent, trade mark and registered/unregistered design litigation, effective enforcement strategies, licensing, sponsorship, advertising and marketing agreements, distribution agreements, franchising, regulatory issues, content restrictions, worldwide corporate branding, and effective trade mark/ip portfolio management.

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Competition law and regulation

We can advise you on a complete range of competition/antitrust, regulatory and trade issues, including cartel investigations, merger control, joint ventures, licensing, distribution and agency arrangements , intellectual property, restrictive practices, market dominance, state aid, liberalisation, privatisation, public procurement and trade including World Trade Organisation matters.

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Corporate transactions

We can advise consumer products and retail clients on all aspects of corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), joint ventures, securities and capital market transactions, financial services, and restructurings and reorganisations.

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Development and manufacturing consents

Our work here includes environmental planning and regulatory issues that arise in development work and the construction of major industrial and commercial premises, such as obtaining planning permissions and statutory consents, handling planning enquiries, dealing with protester action and defending any legal challenges.

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Employment matters and incentive schemes

We can advise you on all aspects of employment and industrial relations law. Our work includes advising on the individual and collective employment aspects of M&A, executive remuneration and related regulatory and disclosure obligations, service contracts and related documents, confidentiality and restrictive covenants, work councils, individual and group severance arrangements, and contracting out of services.

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Environmental, planning and permitting

The need to obtain planning and other development consents can be a major barrier to plans to expand or relocate, while environmental law and waste management controls can impact on the operations of existing sites. We can advise on all aspects of the environmental, planning and regulatory issues that arise in these contexts.

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Finance

We can advise you on the wide range of international and domestic finance activities with particular emphasis on banking, structured products, securitisation, securities, derivatives, restructuring and insolvency, asset finance, project finance and financial services.

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Food risks

Food safety, labelling and hygiene law across the EU has changed dramatically over the last five years. We can advise you on meeting the challenges of compliance and on responding strategically to wider contemporary issues affecting the manufacturing, distribution and retail sectors.

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Internet and e-commerce

We can advise you on a complete range of IT and e-commerce issues including hosting, website content agreements, terms and conditions, domain name issues (including disputes), negotiating ISP and ASP related agreements, pop-up advertising, establishing trading, sales and purchasing platforms and extranets and advising on internet related data protection and privacy regulation issues.

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Product risk and liability

We are one of the few legal firms with an experienced and active international products practice, with lawyers operating as an integrated team across major jurisdictions. We can assist you on virtually every aspect of product risk management.

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Real estate and construction

Our lawyers have advised on development projects, spanning construction, planning and environmental issues; complex investment structures including real estate investment trusts, limited partnerships, unit trusts, open and closed ended funds; the real estate aspects of major acquisitions and disposals; opportunities for tax efficiency; innovative financing methods and real estate outsourcing.

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Tax

We can provide expert advice on all tax issues in areas such as corporate restructuring and public and private M&A, including private equity, reorganisations, demergers, flotations and joint ventures. Our finance specialists deal with a broad spectrum of often innovative debt-based work, including property and asset financing, derivatives, securitisation and securities products. We also have an active VAT practice which can advise you on any VAT issues arising in your business.

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Getting it right: product recall in the EU

What is driving the high level of consumer safety activity in the EU? This report answers this and other questions on the basis of a major international study into industry attitudes to product safety and recall in the EU. (March 2008)

Read the report

News

Freshfields named top firm in Consumer Products and Retail sector View

Company administrations rocket by over 60% as credit crunch develops into 'consumer industries' crunch View

Briefings

European Commission: focus on food  View

Opportunities for foreign investment in China’s dairy sector  View

Awards

Private equity deal of the year - IFLR European Awards: Deals of the Year (2008)

Anheuser Busch's strategic alliance with Tsingtao - Asian Counsel: Deals of the year (2004)

View all awards