Introduction Title and date of national law The Act on the protection of privacy in relation to the processing of personal data of December 8,1992 (the 'Data Protection Act' or 'DPA') and its Royal Decree of February 13, 2001. Relation with international instruments The DPA implements EU Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals regarding the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data ...
The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement ("CEPA") is a free trade agreement between Mainland China and Hong Kong that offers Hong Kong products, companies and residents preferential access to the Mainland market. Many of the preferences go beyond China's WTO concessions. CEPA is not a closed agreement and both sides hold regular meetings on further concessions and the details for implementation ...
CLS Bank and Bancorp: Back to Back Federal Circuit Decisions Offer Different Conclusions on Patentability 08/03/2012 Richard D. Rochford, Casey H. Kempner The issue of whether particular inventions include “patent eligible” subject matter under § 101 of the patent statute has become highly controversial in recent years, raising questions with high economic stakes and profound legal and philosophical implications. Twice the Supreme Court has entered the fray, first in Bilski v ...
Between 22 May 2012 and 4 June 2012, staff teams from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) visited Lisbon to conduct the fourth review (the “Review”) of Portugal’s economic programme (the “Programme”). A copy of the initial statement can be downloaded here:http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/articles/financial_operations/2012-06-04-portugal_en.htm And a copy of the full report can be downloaded here: http://ec.europa ...
China has traditionally restricted foreign investment in the retail and wholesale sectors with the aim of nurturing strong domestic players before their foreign counterparts would be allowed to enter the country. Since becoming a member of the World Trade Organisation, China has gradually opened up its distribution sector to foreign investment ...
Creators of software programs may not be able to prevent the resale of 'used' copies of software programs legitimately paid for and downloaded by their own customers from the internet.It follows a recent Opinion from Advocate General Yves Bot, a legal adviser to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), in Axel W. Bierbach (liquidator of UsedSoft GmbH) v Oracle International Corp ...
After several delays, ICANN has published the list of generic top level domain (“gTLD” or “string”) applicants and the gTLDs they have applied for. This new initiative from ICANN will allow a wide variety of entities to act as registrars for gTLDs of their choosing. Once these systems are up and running, consumers will be able to access websites not only ending with .com or .net, but also ending with .NETFLIX, .AOL, and .PIZZA. The list can be found at:http://newgtlds.icann ...
In the history of the Eurozone crisis, Spain has been a special case. It was always the "teachers pet" when it came to sovereign debt, that is, until recently. On 9 June 2012, Spain received an offer of up to EUR 100 bn in financial support from the EU for its ailing banking sector. What does that mean for Spain and the rest of the Eurozone and how did Europe’s fourth-largest economy find itself in this state? BACKGROUND Spain has been unlucky in many respects ...
In the great George Orwell novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” the Ministry of Truth is a vast bureaucracy that ironically exists to falsify historical events in the service of political ideology. Its headquarters is an 80-story building of 3,000 rooms, and its outside walls bear the words “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” and “Ignorance is Strength ...
The Supreme Court has struck down the core provisions of the Trade Minister Regulation which allowed producers to import finished goods (No. 39/M-DAG/PER/10/2010). The regulation will cease to have legal effect as of 8 May 2012. The Ministry of Trade is reported to be currently considering an amendment which aims to accommodate the interests of both producers and traders but may have to draw it more narrowly than the original version. Decision No ...
New law regarding the use of cookies on websites was introduced in the UK in May last year. Broadly speaking, the new law requires a website owner/operator to: - tell users that cookies are used on its website; - explain to users what the cookies are doing; and - obtain users’ explicit consent to store cookies on their device. The Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing this new law ...
On 1 March 2012, Google launched a new privacy policy by consolidating over 60 of its global privacy policies into one document. The new privacy policy does not indicate that Google will collect any new or additional data about users. What it does do, however, is inform people that Google will merge data which it already collects from services such as YouTube and Web History (which records all searches performed on Google ...
With the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) grace period for enforcing the new cookies rules almost at an end, companies should work with their website developers at an early stage to ensure compliance. The ICO will soon be confirming that its 12 month ‘lead in’ implementation period has come to an end. Website operators then run the risk of enforcement action and fines if they fail to comply with the new cookies regime ...
What is CEPA? The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement ("CEPA") is a free trade agreement between Mainland China and Hong Kong that offers Hong Kong products, companies and residents preferential access to the Mainland market. Many of the preferences go beyond China's WTO concessions. CEPA is not a closed agreement and both sides hold regular meetings on further concessions and the details for implementation ...
“A patent, trademark, or design registrationcan only be declared void by Federal courts”. Under this statement, theSuperior Court of Justice of Brazil has reaffirmed unanimously that defendantscannot argue unenforceability of a trademark registration as a defense argumentin an infringement lawsuit ...
A trubunal has ruled that an employee was fairly dismissed for makng vulgar comment to female colleague on his facebook page while at home. A recent decision from a tribunal in Northern Ireland held that an employee was fairly dismissed because comments which he posted on his Facebook page amounted to harassment of a female colleague and was in breach of the employer’s Dignity at Work Policy ...
The Fourth Circuit has just released its highly anticipated keyword advertising decision in Rosetta Stone Ltd. v. Google Inc., No. 10-2007 (4th Cir. Apr. 9, 2012), vacating much of a district court order favorable to Google ...
On 24 February 2012, Greece opened the Private Sector Involvement debt swap deal (PSI) to bondholders. Essentially the deal involved a swap that meant bondholders would have to accept a 53.5% cut on the face value of their bonds which, in real terms, meant a loss of approximately 75% on their investment. The deal will be the largest financial restructuring in history, dwarfing the Argentinean restructuring in 2005 valued at EUR 33 ...
The latest additions to the Greek debt saga and the Eurozone crisis are the Credit Default Swap holders and the ISDA. But who are they and what is their role? What is a Credit Default Swap (CDS)? A CDS is most simply described as a type of insurance against the risk of a default on a debt issued by a third party (the reference obligor) ...
On 2 March, 25 of the 27 EU members committed to the new "Fiscal Compact" concept, signed the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union. The Treaty, which is technically an intergovernmental treaty and not an EU instrument (due to the UK and the Czech Republic not wishing to sign up to it), was introduced in December 2011 by Germany and France ...
Today, Google have made the very interesting (but arguably provocative) move of completely rejecting the French data protection regulator's request to put a hold on the implementation of proposed changes to its privacy policies. In doing so it has become the subject of a Europe-wide investigation. What has changed? Up until today, the information collected by Google on each of its platforms, such as Gmail and YouTube, was kept separate ...
Europe’s Finance ministers worked through the night of 20 to 21 February to hammer out the terms of the second Greek bail-out to the tune of EUR 130 bn. While the markets have responded coolly to the deal, ministers remain optimistic that enough has been done to stem the contagion to the rest of the Eurozone. Many experts remain skeptical as to whether the bail-out will be enough to save Greece from ultimately defaulting ...
Not long ago, returns on traditional investment products, for example term deposits, were quite low and did not generate a great deal of interest among those who could spare and would like to invest money with the prospect of some return. Alternatives nearly always carry a higher risk and the various solutions, such as mutual funds, were not well known and poorly understood ...
Pursuant to the 2011 General Rules on Foreign Trade, since January 2, 2012, holders of trademarks that have been registered with the Mexican Industrial Property Institute (“IMPI”) may request the listing of their trademarks at the Mexican Customs Office (“AGA”), through a database developed by AGA ...
