The United States Patent and Trademark Office has published its first major update to the rules for trademark trials and appeals in nearly a decade. The final changes to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) Rules of Practice appear in the October 7, 2016 Federal Register (81 Fed. Reg. 69950) and are scheduled to go into effect on January 14, 2017 ...
Recent media reports have informed us that the European Commission has issued an official charge sheet accusing Google of an abuse of dominance concerning its Android mobile operating system and contracts with smartphone producers and telecom operators. The European Commission considers Google dominant in the markets for general internet search services, licensable smart mobile operating systems and app stores for the Android mobile operating system ...
Regulation 2016/679 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC ("Regulation") will replace Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data ("Directive"). The Regulation will be enforced after 25 May 2018, thus, entities are required to prepare for compliance by then ...
Bayer AG, a German chemical company, and Monsanto Co., an American agrochemical corporation recently announced they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Bayer plans to acquire Monsanto to create “a Global Leader in Agriculture ...
On July 28, 2016, the Department of Labor and Employment (“DOLE”) issued Labor Advisory No 10-2016 (“Advisory”) reiterating the prohibition against labor-only contracting and Department Order No. 162-2016 (“Department Order”) suspending the registration of new applicants as contractors or subcontractors under Department Order No. 18-A (“DO 18-A”) ...
The United States has been a leader in advocating the removal of barriers to competition in the civil aviation market and to this effect has signed more than 120 bilateral Open Skies Agreements with countries around the world. However, not all of Latin America has embraced this policy, with Mexico and Brazil being two of the largest holdouts ...
Despite being in existence for years, many have only recently become familiar with encryption. This follows heightened publicity around its use on popular social media platforms purportedly offering end-to-end encryption. Encryption (or cryptography) has been described as a mathematical formula or algorithm that encodes and decodes information, with only authorised persons having access to such information through a key ...
*Information provided in this article does not represent any legal or whatsoever advice with respect to certain matter, but is intended for general informative purpose only ...
On September 8th, 2016, Law No. 20,940 was published. The law is aimed at the “Modernization of Labor Relations” (hereinafter the “Labor Reform” or the “Law”). The aim of the Labor Reform is to develop labor relations that are more modern, fair and balanced between the parties, and promote dialogue and agreement ...
The Minister of Transportation has issued Minister of Transportation Regulation No. PM 32 of 2016 on the Organization of Non-Fixed-Route Public-Transportation Services. This regulation addresses the ongoing dispute between the existing transportation companies and application-based transportation services ...
Karanovic & Nikolic is pleased to have advised on the recent public procurement case in which our client – the seller – provided the City of Belgrade with five new electric buses for the city's public transport system. The team that led the client throughout the process was represented by Marjan Poljak, Partner, and Ana Stankovic, Senior Associate ...
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued a final rule, effective December 1, 2016, changing aspects of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) regarding overtime exemptions. The FLSA dictates how employees must be paid overtime for working a certain number of hours; however, “exempt” employees who are salaried and who have administrative, executive, or professional job duties do not have to be paid overtime ...
Montenegrin media outlets have recently reported that the initial phase of the tender for the pre-qualification procedure in awarding the concession for the Kotor-Lovcen-Cetinje cableway – announced on 3 August in the Official Gazette of Montenegro – will be open to interested parties until 5 October this year ...
As we explained previously, in April 2016 the Second Appellate District held that California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) creates a separate duty to provide reasonable accommodation to an applicant or employee who is “associated” with a disabled person. On rehearing of the Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, Inc. decision (Case No. B261165, B262524), the Court has retreated from its prior holding ...
Financial technologies need specific legal solutions and an open approach to the law. There are lots of indications that financial technology, or FinTech, is one of the next chapters in the digital revolution unrolling before our eyes. The role of finance in the economic life of the society was laid bare by the last financial crisis. The tragic consequences of errors committed on Wall Street, i.e ...
The prevailing question is - do employees have the right to privacy in theworkplace?Employees want to work in a safe environment without the fearof being constantly monitored by their employers. Consequently, employeesexpect that their privacy in the workplace is respected. On the other hand, employershave the right to protect their business interests against unwarrantedconsequences that would damage their business ...
The effect of Brexit on EU nationals living and working in the United Kingdom will undoubtedly be of interest to many employers as things develop over the coming months. The provisions for leaving the EU are outlined in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements ...
Earlier this year, we released our inaugural cyber survey report, Perspectives on Cyber Risk (the Report), intended to provide insight into Australian organisations' cyber risk posture and cyber resilience capability.Perhaps one of the more surprising findings in the Report was that surveyed organisations did not appear to be overly concerned about the risk of regulatory action flowing from a cyber breach ...
The case of Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited1 came to a close on July 14, 2016, when the Supreme Court of Canada (the ?Supreme Court?) reversed a controversial Federal Court of Appeal decision in which it had been held that a dismissal without cause was not necessarily an ?unjust dismissal? under the Canada Labour Code (?the Code?) ...
During the last two days, the Labour Court judgment in the matter of Solidarity and Others v The South African Broadcasting Corporation (“SABC”) (case no. J 1343/16, 26 July 2016) has been widely publicised and is well-known to South Africans. The judgment relates to a protest policy recently introduced by the SABC, in terms of which it would no longer broadcast footage of destruction of public property during protests ...
On June 17, 2016, the Superior Court1 affirmed the 2014 decision of the Commission des lésions professionnelles2 ("CLP") in Canadelle, s.e.c. and Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail ...
On July 1st, 2016 the Pilot Patent Prosecution Highway agreement (PPH) executed by the member states of the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Mexico, Colombia and Peru1) came into force.The PPH Pilot Program is an agreement executed by the patent offices of said countries, which allows applicants to request an accelerated examination process of a patent application ...
Global competition law circles have recently been shaken by the European Commission's record-setting fine of EUR 2.93 billion for collusion on the automotive market, imposed against Volvo, Daimler, Iveco and DAF trucks. The sanctions in question varied amongst the accused parties, with Daimler facing the largest penalty in the amount of more than EUR 1 billion on its own. Iveco's fine was set at EUR 494 million, DAF's at EUR 752 million, and Volvo's fine has been set at EUR 670 million ...
Last June 24th, the Supreme Court of Canada (the ?Supreme Court?) rendered judgment in the case of British Columbia (Workers? Compensation Appeal Tribunal) v. Fraser Health Authority1 (?Fraser?). Briefly, this case involved seven laboratory technicians from the same hospital who had breast cancer. Each of them filed a claim for compensation under the Workers Compensation Act (the ?Act?), alleging that their cancer was an occupational disease ...
