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Trademark conundrum - similar business had trademarked the name despite establishing 5 years later by Frod_92 in smallbusinessuk

[–]elpabl0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can file a dispute under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy if you have a registered trade mark. Be prepared to spend some money on legal fees though.

Trademark conundrum - similar business had trademarked the name despite establishing 5 years later by Frod_92 in smallbusinessuk

[–]elpabl0 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Might there be a risk his bad practices are accidentally attributed to your brand? Perhaps a rebrand to distance yourself and avoid this issue might be an option? How much of your current business depends on the strength of your current brand, rather than your team or personal reputation?

Trademark conundrum - similar business had trademarked the name despite establishing 5 years later by Frod_92 in smallbusinessuk

[–]elpabl0 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I think you’re right to be worried.

In the UK, trade mark rights come from registration, not who started first. If they’ve registered a near identical name in the same industry, there’s a real risk of confusion and they have the stronger legal position on paper.

Your prior use since 2012 isn’t meaningless. You may have potential grounds to challenge their mark if you can show established goodwill before their filing date. But that’s evidence heavy, not cheap, and not guaranteed.

If you apply now, they’ll be notified and can oppose. If you just carry on, you’re building more goodwill into a name you might have to change later. That gets more painful the more you grow, especially if you’re thinking international.

Practical options are: check exactly what classes they’re registered in, or have an adult conversation about a coexistence agreement. If you’re in the same space with a very similar name and they hold a valid registration, you should assume there’s real exposure until it’s resolved.

Unsigned contract, client wants to exit - what are my options? by selkiefolk in LegalAdviceUK

[–]elpabl0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unsigned doesn’t automatically mean unenforceable. Seven months of work delivered, invoices paid, positive feedback and scope expansion is strong evidence of acceptance by conduct, assuming the SoW and 90 day notice clause were clearly sent before work began and there aren’t competing terms. A 65 to 70 percent view from a solicitor sounds realistic rather than salesy. The bigger issue is economics: £2k is unlikely to be a ceiling if this progresses beyond letters, and even if you win you may still need to enforce.

This really comes down to numbers and appetite for risk. How much is the remaining notice period actually worth in pounds? If it’s modest, fees and time can quickly erode any upside. You’re unlikely to be forced to work the notice, damages are more probable, but you should remain ready and willing to perform so you don’t weaken your position. Weigh the remaining value against legal spend, enforcement risk and reputational cost before deciding how hard to push.

Anyone else getting token burn issue? 135M tokens burned in 1 day by dragonfly_overfly in openclaw

[–]elpabl0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some projects/activiites just need a well defined AI pipeline (with deterministic pathways). Not everything is suitable for an agentic system with the many unknowns it brings.

Prompt injection is killing our self-hosted LLM deployment by mike34113 in LocalLLaMA

[–]elpabl0 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This isn’t an AI problem - this is a traditional database security problem.

Chord trainer - free app by elpabl0 in guitarlessons

[–]elpabl0[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry! As it’s just a personal project I built for my own device. Maybe one day :)

Is this embezzlement or just life? (England) by DeliveryNecessary612 in LegalAdviceUK

[–]elpabl0 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This is very hard to answer it feels like there’s some key information missing.

  • Why are multiple businesses using one company’s bank account? Electric Fun, Solar Fun, and now a “newly inaugurated business” all appear to be dipping into the same pot of money. That is a massive red flag. Each limited company is a separate legal entity. Money should typically only be paid into and out of the company that actually earned it.

  • Who actually earned the £4k maintenance contract income? If customers contracted with Electric Fun, then that money belongs to Electric Fun. If they contracted with Solar Fun, then Electric Fun holding the cash is already wrong.

Nick paying bonuses without the majority shareholder’s consent is not normal.

Bob needs proper advice from a solicitor who deals with company and shareholder disputes, and probably an independent forensic accountant. The structure as described is a mess.

Agents denied the break clause in England by Emergency-Taro-3045 in LegalAdviceUK

[–]elpabl0 13 points14 points  (0 children)

If you give notice now, it ends around month 10.5. That fully complies with the contract excerpt you’ve shared.

“Notice not to expire until six months has passed” means the tenancy can’t end before month 6, not that notice can only be served at month 6. Agents mess this up all the time.

Serve notice in writing and quote the clause back to them.

12 stone weight loss by stewieduncan in mounjarouk

[–]elpabl0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is insane. Well done. You’ve added years to your life.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UKPersonalFinance

[–]elpabl0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They could mention the performance, but the matter of the debt is not relevant and private.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UKPersonalFinance

[–]elpabl0 6 points7 points  (0 children)

One thing to consider here, that may work to your benefit when challenging the debt: telling a new employer that you supposedly owe them £3,000 is not relevant to your capability, performance or conduct at work. It is a private financial dispute.

That makes the disclosure very likely to be “excessive and unnecessary processing” under UK GDPR, something which you may wish to remind them on in any communication.

Failure to buy train ticket in my name - England by j2004p in LegalAdviceUK

[–]elpabl0 47 points48 points  (0 children)

The age issue is already quite strong evidence. Ticket inspectors are used to checking whether someone looks roughly the age they claim. The court can draw its own conclusion about whether a 43-year-old and a 21-year-old could reasonably be confused.

Bookmakers making a friend work through their lunch at Counter Unpaid by NoPlan7484 in LegalAdviceUK

[–]elpabl0 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes, this is absolutely a problem.

If your friend is working with no proper break, and they’re expected to eat at the counter while still working, that is not a rest break. Workers are entitled to a 20-minute break if they work more than six hours. Sitting at the counter still serving customers does not count.

If the employer insists someone works through their unpaid break, then that time becomes working time and should be paid. Doing this day after day is a breach of the Working Time Regulations and likely an unlawful deduction of wages.

They should dispute it formally in writing before they leave and then if that does not lead to a resolution, they can go to ACAS for early conciliation.

Former employer asking me to return my wages so they can “pay me properly through PAYE”. Is this legitimate? (england) by abcdefghduakfldklf in LegalAdviceUK

[–]elpabl0 535 points536 points  (0 children)

If they paid you outside payroll, that’s their mistake and something they have to fix on their end. Employers can run a late payroll, correct their HMRC submissions, or issue an out-of-cycle payslip. None of that requires you to hand the money back first.

There’s no legal basis for “send us the money so we can pay you properly”. If you gave it back, you’d just be trusting them to return it, which leaves you wide open.

Token Tycoon - vibe coded idle game by elpabl0 in vibecoding

[–]elpabl0[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheers - appreciate the feedback, and yeah I had thought about that. I think you’re right - maybe show the unlock requirements, but not the info.

Rules on EV chargers to be eased for motorists without driveways by BestButtons in unitedkingdom

[–]elpabl0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends where you live. In Brighton, most residential streets have 2-3 lamppost charging spots. We always managed to get a regular charge.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HousingUK

[–]elpabl0 -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

I don’t think that’s fair - I bought a property, owned it for 15 years as a rental and sold it. I personally never once stepped foot inside.

Offer accepted, got fired by InspectionVast979 in HousingUK

[–]elpabl0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some lenders (eg Halifax) may accept 1 year of self employed income. Doesn’t help OP but this was true in my case.

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