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Deacons | October 2008

The SFC recently issued a press release and a circular on risk disclosure. The circular reminds issuers of retail investment products, including authorised funds, of their duty to include in offering documents sufficient relevant risk information for investors to make an informed investment decision, and for marketing materials to be "clear, fair and present a balanced picture with adequate and prominent risk disclosure" ...

The Court of Appeal (CA) judgment in Symbian Limited v Comptroller General of Patents (2008) EWCA Civ 1066 was issued on 8 October. This has upheld a High Court decision to overrule the UK Intellectual Property Office's (UK-IPO) rejection of a computer program on a conventional computer as non-patentable ...

Dykema | September 2008

A few years ago, Rick Rein got a call from a Chicago-area bank that had lost $1 million to a con artist who cashed a fake check that looked so authentic it easily passed through the bank's computer system.   The fraudster wired the money to an obscure bank in Florida, then out of the country before the bank realized a month later the check was phony.   Mr ...

Shoosmiths LLP | September 2008

From 1 October 2008, the Companies Act 2006 will repeal the prohibition on private companies providing financial assistance for the purchase of its own shares.  This change in law will not apply to public companies which will continue to be prohibited from giving financial assistance ...

Polenak Law Firm | May 2008

Electronic commerce started its rapid development approximately 30 years ago, when the era of paperless transactions began. While many business transactions are still executed in paper form, the advantages associated with e-commerce continue to grow, including greater speed, efficiency, traceability, accuracy, and so forth ...

Deacons | April 2008

The Internet is a growing medium in the marketing of funds in Hong Kong. However, its use as a distribution channel for funds in Hong Kong is still relatively low. This chapter describes the rules applicable to the use of the Internet in marketing and distributing hedge funds in Hong Kong.There are different considerations for funds authorized by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and for unauthorized funds ...

Deacons | April 2008

A number of leveraged funds, futures and options funds and market neutral funds seeking absolute returns were authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong (SFC) during the 1990s, although most have since been wound up or deauthorised ...

Deacons | April 2008

The Asian hedge fund industry is comparatively new and small.  However, the industry has witnessed phenomenal growth since 2002. The purpose of this book is to assist start-up managers to establish a hedge fund business. To date, a majority of the newly-established funds in Asia have been set up by fund managers or proprietary traders setting up their own business, after a successful career at one of the larger investment houses ...

Delphi | March 2008

At the beginning of this year the Supreme Court delivered a decision of principle interest regarding a computer software distributor’s right to severance pay (case no. T 930-06). Through the decision, the court has clarified that the Commercial Agency Act (1991:352) ( “Agency Act”) can be applied analogously to marketing and collecting of orders for computer software, despite the fact that computer software does not constitute goods under the act ...

Real estate 1. Please briefly state what is considered real estate in your jurisdiction. What are the most common forms of security granted over it? How are they created and how are they perfected (that is, made valid and enforceable)?Under Romanian law, real estate (generally known as immovable property) covers land, buildings and those movable assets attached to land or buildings as fixtures ...

DORDA | December 2007

Under Austrian law software (object code, source code and engineering material) is subject to the strict protection under the Copyright Act ("UrhG")if a minimum of intelletual workmanship was involved in its creation ...

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP | November 2007

Minnesota Federal Court finds no coverage under technology errors and omissions policy because claims did not arise out of a “Wrongful Act” as defined in the policy ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP | November 2007

On 3 October, the European Commission fined Visa €10.2 million (approximately £7 million) for its refusal to admit Morgan Stanley Bank International Limited of the UK as a member of the Visa network. The fine is to be seen in the context of continuing regulatory scrutiny of the financial sector, and the banking sector in particular, at both the EU and UK level ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP | November 2007

There is a distinct (and dynamic) overlap between competition law and intellectual property rights, no more evident than from the European Commission's investigations into, and the European Court's judgement in, Microsoft. In a similar vein, the Commission is investigating each of Qualcomm and Rambus for potential abuses of a dominant position (through the allegedly unlawful exploitation of IP rights) in the standard setting arena. No doubt buoyed by U.S ...

Deacons | October 2007

With China’s accession to WTO in December 2001, China presents enormous opportunities for the international asset management industry, as the domestic financial market and players develop increasing sophistication ...

Deacons | September 2007

Deacons Financial Services Practice Group recently assisted an international fund manager in obtaining SFC approval for the first retail 130/30 fund to be authorised in Hong Kong ...

Deacons | September 2007

On 31 August 2007, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued a circular which removed the so-called 80/20 rule. The 80/20 rule was one of the conditions for a non-resident fund to qualify for tax exemption under section 13C of the Singapore Income Tax Act ...

Lavery Lawyers | July 2007

Regulation 45-106 respecting prospectus and registration exemptions (“Regulation 45-106”) has caused much concern and plenty of ink to flow since it came into force on September 14, 2005. The purpose of this newsletter is to discuss the modification made by Regulation 45-106 with respect to the restrictions that must be contained in an issuer’s constating documents in order for the issuer to have private issuer status(1) ...

Deacons | June 2007

On 11 June 2007, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular (http://www.sfc.hk/sfcRegulatoryHandbook/EN/displayFileServlet?docno=H461) outlining a set of initiatives to streamline and simplify its licensing processes. The circular, which provides practical guidance to fund managers intending to apply to the SFC for a licence, is principally directed at overseas hedge fund managers from the US and the UK ...

Shoosmiths LLP | June 2007

The development of online markets continues to pose challenges for legislators, who must balance the protection of IP rights owners with protecting traders against anti-competitive behaviour. Trademarks and copyright are particularly vulnerable to infringement on the Internet ...

Deacons | June 2007

On 10 May 2007, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) issued its "Notice on the Adjustments to the Overseas Investment Scope of Overseas Wealth Management Business of Commercial Banks on behalf of their Clients". This Notice widens the investment scope permitted under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors scheme (QDII) applicable to commercial banks (including Chinese banks and approved foreign banks in China) ...

Deacons | June 2007

The SFC's feedback on their recent round of inspections of Investment Advisers (IAs) was shared with members of the Institute of Financial Planners of Hong Kong on 8 May 2007. The SFC reported that the main issues they identified were: insufficient knowledge of clients and lack of justification to illustrate suitability of advice ...

Deacons | June 2007

Section 135 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) sets out various events to be reported by licensed persons to the SFC and by registered institutions to the HKMA and gives timelines for making these filings ...

Deacons | June 2007

The SFC recently appointed Mr. Mark Steward from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) as Executive Director of Enforcement. While enforcement initiatives of the SFC under his new leadership are still evolving, reference to the past record of ASIC’s enforcement may provide some hints ...

Deacons | June 2007

On 7 May 2007, the SFC updated the Licensing Related Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on its website under the heading, "Other Topics relating to the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO)".The updated FAQs assist licensed corporations or licensed applicants in understanding the SFC's view on factors relating to suitability of business premises ...

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