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 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the creation of so-called “Pioneer ACOs” on May 17 in an attempt to blunt heavy criticism over the draft regulations on Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) issued on March 31, 2011 (the “Draft Regulations”).1 The Draft Regulations have been criticized due to their burdensome data collection requirements, large start-up costs, uncertain savings, possible losses and troublesome governance mandates ...
Southwest Health Alliance (“Southwest”), an independent practice association with approximately 900 member-physicians, has agreed to a proposed order recently entered by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) settling charges that it engaged in anticompetitive conduct in its dealings with insurers and other payors for the provision of physician services (collectively, “insurers” or “payors”) ...
A former GlaxoSmithKline attorney, Lauren Stevens, was acquitted on May 10 of all criminal charges stemming from her response to an FDA investigation. The acquittal, ordered by U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus, is a stunning defeat for the government’s anti-fraud enforcement measures. The judge also severely rebuked the government’s efforts in the matter, stating the case should never have been prosecuted. Had she been convicted, Stevens would have faced a prison term of up to 60 years ...
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”) ...
On April 18, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began the attestation phase under its $27 billion Medicare EHR Incentive Program. Incentive payments for the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) will begin in May 2011 and will continue over the next several years. Eligible professionals (i.e ...
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 ...
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) will face large start-up costs under proposed rules issued on March 31, 2011 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), with an uncertain outlook for savings and even possible losses. An ACO is an organization of health care providers that agrees to be accountable for cost, quality and the overall care of Medicare beneficiaries who are assigned to it ...
How is health care in your jurisdiction organised? The basic principles of the organisation of the health-care system are governed by Act CLIV of 1997 (the Health-care System Act), more specifically by sections 141 et seq. Pursuant to section 141, the state is ultimately responsible for the state of health of the population, and for the creation of a system that protects, promotes and – if necessary – restores it ...
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has recently announced two significant enforcement actions against health care providers for violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule. In the first matter, Cignet Health Care of Prince George’s County, MD was fined $4.3 million for failure to provide patients with access to their health records and for failing to cooperate with the ensuing OCR investigation ...
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 ...
HARMONIZATION OF CLINICAL RESEARCH CONTRACTS IN QUEBEC OLGA FARMAN and MARIE-ÈVE CLAVET [email protected] [email protected] Over the past few decades, a high-quality system of research and innovation has been built in the Province of Quebec. The contractual research conducted by university-affiliated health-care institutions in Quebec has become a fundamental scientific, economic and social activity ...
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”) ...
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 ...
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 ...
In Sweden, the directive has been implemented through amendments to the Medical Devices Act (1993:584), and through the regulation which the Medical Products Agency has issued in connection with this Act and the directive. The revised directive contains some clarifications but also some news ...
Hunton & Williams announced today the launch of its new website — the Hunton & Williams Health Care Reform Center, huntonhealthcarereform.com ...
Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") simplifies the approval process for foreign investments in sales projects using the Internet or vending machines Since 2004, following MOFCOM's release of the "Measures for the Administration of Foreign Investment in the Commercial Sector" the distribution industry has been opened to foreign investment ...
