UK LAW- Intellectual Property, Taxation, Privacy and data protection

An investor would like to setup a new online business located in the UK. He intends to sell both physical (computers, cameras, hard disks etc) and digitized goods (software) only to residents in the UK. Goods are to be shipped to a UK address and digitized goods are downloaded via the website. You are hired as an E-Commerce/Internet consultant to advise on FIVE aspects (given below) of the eBusiness. Relevant legislation and case law from the UK/EU must be given to support your answers where appropriate. SECTION 1 Intellectual Property Advise the investor on the possibility of the issues in (a) to (e) below, giving appropriate legal guidance. Indicate how an objective can be achieved where possible. (a) Your investors would like to register a private limited company in the UK with either of the following names: (i) Gadgets Plaza (ii) Gadgetz International (b) They would also like to register either of the following as trade marks below in the UK as a trade mark under the class: Computer, Electrical and Scientific Products. (i) Gadgets Plaza (ii) Gadgetz (c) They would also like to purchase either of the following domain names (i) [login to view URL] (ii) [login to view URL] (d) They would like to use some parts of recent popular songs in their online advertisements. (e) They would like to publish weblinks on their website to various technology articles hosted on other websites Section 2: Privacy and data protection Advise the investor on relevant legal issues regarding (a) to (e) below. You are to consider all possibilities where it is not clear exactly what information is involved in (a) to (e) below. Also reference any relevant sections of appropriate UK legislation in your answer. (a) Collecting various types of information from customers without notifying the data protection commissioner. (b) Using cookies to collect information on users’ browsing habits. (c) Sharing customers’ names and addresses with a company contracted to deliver goods to customers, but without consent from customers. (d) Not allowing employees to see their personal employee file and using a computer system to analyse the performance of employees to decide on who gets promotion. (e) Requiring that customers provide details about their sexual orientation during the process of purchasing a product. Section 3 – Taxation The investor has some alternative thoughts about running his business. He would like to host his website on servers located in the UK and have only an agent in the UK who will beresponsible for all UK activities on the ground such as the delivery of individual items to UK addresses. He also intends to have activities in several countries but the website will still only sell and deliver goods to UK customers. He intends to set up his VAT registered company in Berlin (Germany) and have his main office there, since this is where he has worked for most of his life. The Berlin office will be responsible for the administration of all business activities of the online business. He also intends to have a warehouse located in France, since it is between Germany and the UK, and there are very good train links between France and London. The warehouse in France will store physical goods from all over Europe and all goods will be delivered from this warehouse via Eurostar to the UK. Further the investor intends to send a German salesman twice a year to Poland to visit suppliers and to decide on 6 monthly purchase orders. He would like advice both on liability for: (i) Income tax in the UK, Germany, France and Poland giving reasons. (ii) VAT when selling (a) physical goods and (a) digitized goods to consumers. Please explain which country’s VAT rate is used. (iii) VAT when selling (a) physical goods and (a) digitized goods to business customers VAT registered in the UK. Please explain who accounts for VAT and how.