The Ministerial Decree of the Italian Minister for the Economic Development dated May 11, 2011 (the “Decree”) has at long last implemented in Italy the administrative procedure for opposition against Italian and International trademark applications ...
Chinese authorities may soon make another significant step in China’s shift from being the global manufacturing hub to becoming the world’s biggest consumers market. During a press conference held in Beijing last 15 June, Yao Jian, the spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced the upcoming reduction of import duties on luxury goods ...
1. International anti-corruption conventions To which international anti-corruption conventions is your country a signatory? Chile is a signatory to and has ratified the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. 2 ...
Abstract:Following the provisions of the TRIPS agreement, the Brazilian Industrial Property Law affords special protection to famous (highly renowned) trademarks in all fields of activity ...
The Brazilian industry appears to be fully recovered from the world crisis of 2008, at least as regards Intellectual Property aspects. According to a recent official announcement made by the Brazilian Trademark Office, the number of trademark filings in Brazil raised considerably in 2010, from an estimate 111.724 applications in 2009 to a total of 129.620, which corresponds to a 16% growth ...
It seems to have avoided the worst effects of the 2009 financial crisis that shook much of the developed world, as domestic demand, government stimulus and rising commodity prices helped pull the economy out of recession faster than most countries. Indeed, the good economic momentum that catapulted Brazil forward over the past 10 years has helped 30% of the population to rise out of poverty and become consumers of products and services ...
The new Immigration Bill was passed by the Indonesian Parliament on 7 April 2011. It will pass into law on the day it is signed by the President or within 30 days of its passage, whichever occurs earlier.The bill covers a range of basic matters relating to immigration, including entry to and exit from the Indonesian territory, travel documents, visas, stay permits, etc ...
Are donations of counterfeit goods to charities socially acceptable? - Despite calls for seized counterfeit goods to be donated to charity, a number of conditions should be met in order to protect both IP rights holders and those receiving the goods Nobody would dispute that in today’s world, the social and environmental impacts of our actions must be taken into consideration whenever we make a decision ...
Early last year, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (“SAIC”) and the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) jointly issued a Circular on Further Strengthening Administration of the Registration of Resident Representative Offices (“RO”) of Foreign Enterprises (“Circular”) ...
In a letter dated April 8, 2011, to the President of the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”),1 Robert Plaze, Associate Director of the Division of Investment Management of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), stated that the SEC is expecting to adopt final rules implementing various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) applicable to investment advisers by July 21, 2011 ...
On April 4, 2011, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Final Rule implementing the prioritized examination track (“Track I”) of its new examination timing control procedures.1 Under Track I, patent applicants can accelerate examination of certain patent applications that are filed on or after May 4, 2011 ...
The USPTO has declared that the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan constitutes an “extraordinary situation” under 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.183 and 2.146 that justifies certain measures of relief from patent regulations. While the PTO cannot declare this extraordinary situation a “postal emergency” to grant stronger relief, it has elected to recognize the difficulties of its innovation customers in the affected areas of Japan ...
It's that time of year when municipalities send out tax accounts to their citizens. In certain cases, they may contain a very unpleasant surprise. For citizens living in municipalities whose property assessments are for the years 2010 to 2012, now is the time to do some double-checking ...
With the continuous increase of Chinese investments throughout the entire world and, particularly, in Portugal, along with the inverse phenomenon, it is extremely important to acknowledge that Portugal has already entered into double tax treaties with China and Macau, which became important instruments to be considered by companies and individuals when moving forward with their international planning strategies ...
On January 25, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed new Rule 204(b)‑1 (the “Proposed Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), that would implement various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) by creating a new Form PF for use by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “FSOC”) and other regulatory agencies in assessing systemic risks posed to the U.S ...
Tax treatment of different acquisitions What are the differences in tax treatment between an acquisition of stock in a company and the acquisition of business assets and liabilities? The main difference from the acquirer’s perspective is that there is only a step-up in the tax basis on an asset purchase, while a stock acquisition as a general rule does not allow for a step-up on the basis of the target’s assets ...
In a recent decision of the court of appeal, the Honourable Pierre J. Dalphone confirmed that a secured creditor may ust its debt to acquire the assets which are charged with its security interests in the context of a sale process monitored by the court under the companies creditors arrangement act (CCAA) background. White Birch Paper Inc. and several of its subsidiaries (collectively, the “White Birch Group”February 24, 2010)obtained an initial order under the CCAA ...
A ‘Battle of the Forms’ commonly arises where each of the parties, in the course of the negotiation process, forwards to the other its own standard form of contract, with the aim of getting the other party to adopt such terms and conditions. The question as to which set of terms and conditions constitute the contract often depends on the ‘last shot’ – that is, which form of contract was the one last ‘fired’ to the counter-party ...
Located on an island in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic is a growing destination for U.S. businesses seeking to establish or expand overseas operations. An economically and politically stable country organized as a representative democratic government, it is the Caribbean's largest democratic country. The Dominican Republic had an inflation rate during the past year of only 4 ...
On January 18, 2011, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeal decided State ex rel. West Virginia Citizens Action Group, et al. v. Earl Ray Tomblin, et al., Docket No. 101494. In this case, the Citizens Action Group and others were seeking an order from the court to compel Earl Ray Tomblin, et al ...
On November 29, 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) announced that FINRA Rule 5131 will take effect on May 27, 2011.1 FINRA Rule 5131 is intended to sustain public confidence in the initial public offering (“IPO”) process by regulating the allocation, pricing and trading of IPOs of equity securities (“New Issues”) ...
The European Parliament recently passed the Alternative Investment Funds Directive («AIFMD»). The AIFMD is focused on managers rather than investment funds and will implement broad regulatory measures on both fund managers located within the European Union («EU») and those established outside of the EU that provide asset management services to European alternative investment funds. The Swiss fund industry will have to closely examine the details of the AIFMD ...
On November 19, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed new rules and amendments to existing rules and Form ADV under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”), that would implement various amendments to the Advisers Act contained as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) ...
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a split decision and failed to resolve whether copyrighted materials legally made abroad can be imported into the U.S. and sold without the express permission of the copyright owner. See Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Omega S.A., 562 U.S. __ (2010). In other words, it is still up to the nation’s circuit courts to decide whether the first sale doctrine extinguishes the rights of a copyright holder when the goods are made outside of the U.S ...
Effective as of July 21, 2011, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) repeals a key exemption from investment adviser registration currently relied upon by many private fund managers and replaces it with several much more limited exemptions from registration ...
