Month: January 2019

Mark Dixon’s Regus ordered by the High Court to pay £65,000 in costs over EASY branding dispute to Sir Stelios.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s easyGroup, owner of the easy family of brands, has today claimed a second important victory in its long running legal battle against various brand thieves.

A week after its success against French supermarket giant Carrefour, easyGroup has now won an important battle against IWG PLC, the London Stock Exchange listed company that owns Regus, and other “serviced office” brands, over its use of the “easyoffices” name.

The High Court found in easyGroup’s favour and ordered IWG to pay the sum of £65,000 in legal costs to easyGroup.

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, owner of the easy family of brands, which includes easyJet, easyHotel, easyBus, easyCar, easyGym and many others, said: “This is the second multinational company we have beaten in a fortnight. I hope those brand thieves out there will begin to get the message that we own the easy family of brands and we will do everything we can to stop other people from using it without our permission. Such unauthorized use by brand thieves confuses our customers and we have a duty to protect such customers.

AS Monaco’s new state-of-the-art multifunctional sports complex “Center for Sporting Excellence” at La Turbie will be located on a plot of 5 hectares while the Center’s main building will occupy more than 7,500 square metres.

Its facilities will include three football pitches meeting UEFA and French Football Federation standards; a fitness centre, a medical centre, a rehabilitation zone, a restaurant, and a conference hall with capacity for 80 people.

The Center is being integrated into the local landscape with full respect for the environment. Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the building to ensure independent hot water supply.

In addition, all land extracted during the earthworks will be reused after the construction phase. The investments in the construction of the Center have amounted to €55 million.

It is expected to be open by the 2020-21 season.

It was a game between two buddies. AS Monaco manager Thierry Henry and Nice manager Patrick Vieira. Former Arsenal and France team mates – one fighting to get above the relegation zone and the other trying to get into a European qualification slot.

The AS Monaco and Nice encounter ended in a 1-1 draw. New signing Cesc Fabregas was ineligible to play because the game had been re-scheduled from December, before the time he and other players joined the team.

Mario Balotelli was also absent from the Nice squad, as he is tipped to be joining Marseille shortly.

The draw leaves Monaco one place and one point from the bottom of the league, with a three-point gap to the non-relegation zone.

Meanwhile, Fabregas says his move to Monaco has made him feel young again. He said the 13 years spent in London made him feel more English than Spanish.

“At the beginning the opportunity to come here was a surprise,” he said. “I spoke to my family and we decided it was the right thing for my future. I feel like a young player with new boots, and hopefully we can achieve good things.”

Another Chelsea player who was set for a loan move to Monaco has been blocked by the London team. Michy Batshuayi has been on loan to Valencia. Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev told a press conference that they agreed a loan move with both the player and Valencia but Chelsea have blocked the move.

The Minister of State presented to the press Albert Croesi as Interministerial Councilor in charge of the living environment and relations with users.

This was in the presence of Jean Castellini, Government Counselor – Minister of Finance and Economy, and Robert Colle, Secretary General of the Government.

“This function, desired by the Sovereign Prince, responds to the will of the Government to be more attentive to Monegasques and residents and aims to improve the daily life of users and the relationship between the state and citizens,” said Serge Telle.

“It’s a new way of taking reality into account and, in the continuity of the administrative work, to find solutions by bringing a supplement of soul.”

Albert Croesi, who has taken up the challenge of relocating in a few months the 300 families of the Jardins d’Apolline and recently the 69 families of Helios, intends to become a privileged interlocutor for everyone on all matters relating to the living environment.

It will be a relay with the services of the State, the objective being to best meet the concerns of users: “I like people and I’m not sure there are only grievances. may be things that we do not know are expressed and help us move forward.”

The Heritage Council was installed by Serge Telle, Minister of State. This installation follows the creation by Ordonnance Souveraine No. 6.708 of 11 December 2017 of the Heritage Institute, responsible for the preservation and enhancement of the national heritage.

Placed under the chairmanship of Rainier Boisson, the Heritage Council, composed of ten members, will have the mission of “formulating proposals likely to guide or improve the identification, protection, preservation, promotion and the transmission to future generations of the national heritage”.

In particular, the Minister said: “The extent of the qualities of the members will feed the Government’s reflections on this subtle and complex subject. The Council’s proposals will also inform the action of the Heritage Institute “.

In a country, constrained by its small size and constantly rebuilding itself, heritage is a priority for the Government. The Minister of State has thus stated that “as a State with a small territorial dimension, the Principality must remain attentive in order to preserve what makes it unique in a rapidly changing world”.

The Council is composed of ten members:

• the Director of Foresight, Urban Planning and Mobility, or his representative under the Department of Equipment, Environment and Urban Planning;
• the Director of Cultural Affairs, or his representative;
• the Director of the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology, or his representative;
• the President of the State Archives Consultative Commission, or his representative;
• Mrs. Michèle Dittlot and Mrs. Martine Fresia, respectively titular member and alternate, on proposal of the National Council;
• Mr Dominique Bon and Mrs Camille Svara, respectively titular member and alternate, on proposal of the Communal Council;
• Mr. Rainier Boisson and Mr. Cherif Jahlan, respectively titular member and alternate, on proposal of the Order of Architects;
• Mr. Bernard Notari and Mr. René Croesi, respectively titular member and substitute, on proposal of the National Committee of Traditions Monegasques;
• Mr. Thomas Fouilleron, Director of Archives and Library of the Palace;
• Delphine Lacaze, Regional Curator of Historical Monuments.

HSH Prince Albert II went to the Institut de France, in Paris, to attend the reception of Mr. Pierre-André Chiappori at the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences.

The Sovereign Prince handed him his sword, in the presence of prestigious academicians, including Xavier Darcos, Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, Jean Tirole, Nobel Prize for Economics, and Denis Kessler, who delivered the reception speech of Mr. Chiappori.

Mr. Pierre-André Chiappori is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, an associate of mathematics and a doctor of economics. During his long and brilliant career, he was a research director at the CNRS, taught at the University of Paris I, at the Ecole Polytechnique, at the National School of Statistics and Economic Administration (ENSAE), then at the University of Chicago and finally at the prestigious Columbia University in New York where he still holds the chair of economics of “E. Rowan and B. Steinschneider”.

Mr. Chiappori’s work and publications focus on the micro-economy. He specializes in contract theory, risk and insurance issues as well as economic analysis of the family.

Mr. Pierre-André Chiappori is the third Monegasque to become a member of the Institut de France after the sculptor François-Joseph Bosio, at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1816, and Prince Albert I as foreign associate of the Academy Science in 1909.