July was a busy month for the FCA in publishing guidance, policy and rules which have a significant impact on a firm’s relationships with its senior managers and staff. On 30 June, and towards the beginning of the “crypto winter”, Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director of Markets at the FCA gave a speech to the City UK Annual Conference entitled “Finding Opportunity in a World of Uncertainty” ...
The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued its annual bid protest report on Nov. 1.[1] This year's report is noteworthy because it shows that protesters received some form of relief from the procuring agency in more than half of the protests filed with the GAO in fiscal year 2022 ...
ESG The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) ran its Sustainable Finance Week in September and announced three initiatives that came into force from 20 September. The Natural Capital Fund Regime was launched and allows a regulatory designation for biodiversity and natural capital projects that positively contribute and/or reduce harm to the natural world. The regime has arguably more stringent criteria than those for the Guernsey Green Fund Regime ...
On 28 October 2022, the State Administration Council (“SAC”) enacted the Organization Registration Law (“ORL”) via Notification No.46/2022 as per the Section 419 of the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar The ORL will repeal the former Association Registration Law 2014 (“ARL”) enacted through the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Law No. 31/2014 that was subsequently implemented by the Rules Relating to the Registration of Associations on 5 June 2015 ...
Direct marketing by email is a keystone for many businesses. It can be efficient and effective: but are you confident you are getting it right? Getting it wrong can cost customer goodwill and see the regulator knocking at the door. On 17 October the UK data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), issued new guidance on electronic mail for direct marketing purposes which should be helpful for companies trying to do the right thing ...
Overall, West Virginia’s mid-term election easily can be described as a Red Wave rising, with historic GOP wins in legislative races. At the same time, voters remained cautious when it came to policy decisions, soundly rejecting all four constitutional amendments on the ballot in spite of strong support from the Republican Party and business community. That dichotomy likely will puzzle election watchers for a while ...
President Joko Widodo has just issued Presidential Regulation No. 112 of 2022 on the Acceleration of Renewable Energy Development for the Supply of Power which came into effect on 13 September 2022. The PR on Renewable Energy introduces key major provisions which may significantly affect the electric power industry, especially with the phasing out of coal-fired power plants, and urges prioritizing the development of renewable energy power plants. These advisory highlights the key provisions ...
The Indonesian Minister of Health has issued Minister of Health Regulation No. 24 of 2022 on Medical Records (“MOH 24/2022”), under which the MOH requires all healthcare facilities to keep electronic medical records. MOH 24/2022 allows, among other things, cooperation between a healthcare facility and a third-party electronic organizer and covers who may have access to electronic medical records ...
Summary: On October 28, 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement by prohibiting the award of any DoD contract to entities that require their employees to sign internal confidentiality agreements or statements that would restrict their employees from lawfully reporting waste, fraud, or abuse related to the performance of a DoD contract to a designated investigative or law enforcement representative who is authorized
In our final quarterly case law update of 2022, we discuss four of the most significant employment law cases since August 2022 and the lessons that employers should take from them. Whistleblowing In the case of Kong v Gulf International Bank, Ms Kong made protected disclosures to the Head of Legal, Ms Harding ...
Asters' Counsel and pro bono legal advisor of the Committee on Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development of the European Business Association (EBA) Anzhelika Livitska contributed to EBA White Paper "Deregulation of environmental legislation in a time of war and reforms aimed for European integration" ...
A breakdown of the ICO’s recent guidance on how to comply with the UK’s data protection regime when making live marketing calls. The ambiguous lyrics from this popular song have left me confused ...
Making variations to planning permissions as a scheme evolves is rarely a straightforward process, particularly where the changes go beyond the scope of non-material or minor material amendments. One tool that has been used extensively to achieve variations is the ‘drop-in’ planning application where a new consent is granted for an area that overlaps with the original permission ...
Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Motorola Mobility LLC, Appeal Nos 2021-1555, -1795 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 4, 2022) Our Case of the Week is ostensibly a case about whether a patent owner has standing to sue when that patent holder has granted an exclusive license. But the case turns on the application of collateral estoppel, when Uniloc, the patent owner, dismissed an appeal against Apple in an unrelated suit concerning the same facts. The case sounds like a cautionary tale about dismissing cases on appeal ...
The SEC Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on September 19, 2022 announcing examination initiatives relating to Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-1 – the “Marketing Rule.” The compliance date for the Marketing Rule is November 4, 2022. Any advertisements distributed by investment advisers on or after that date are subject to the requirements of the Marketing Rule. This alert outlines areas that will be reviewed during examinations ...
Shoosmiths’ specialist construction and regulatory teams have provided a detailed response to the government’s consultation on implementing the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings under Part 3 of the Building Safety Act 2022. The firm’s response draws on its expertise working with key stakeholders in the construction industry and first-hand experience of the issues that are relevant to the proposed regulations ...
1. Introduction Transmission services used in the provision of M2M services are growing in importance. As a result, in May 2019 ANACOM (the Portuguese communications regulatory authority) launched a public consultation1 to collect input on the possible creation of a specific range in the national numbering plan (plano nacional de numeração - PNN) to accommodate these services ...
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is currently making its way through Parliament but what do we currently know about the Bill, which may have an impact on over 2,400 pieces of legislation on the UK statute books? You may be forgiven for not spotting the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (or the Brexit Freedoms Bill as it is affectionately known) slip in front of the House of Commons on 22 September 2022 as all eyes were on Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini budget at the time
The UK data regulator the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a clear warning to organisations that the biggest cyber risk they face is not from hackers themselves but from complacency towards internal data protection compliance. Such companies may face a double whammy of a cyber-attack and subsequent enforcement action. The ICO has fined Interserve Group (a UK based construction company) £4.4 million for breaching data protection law ...
On 7 October 2022, Federal Law No. 377-FZ (the “Law”) came into force. The Law granted mobilized citizens and their family members the right to receive preferential payment holidays on loans (including mortgages). Follow the link to learn more. Newsletter_Payment_holidays_for_mobilized_citizens.pdf (alrud ...
You may have seen news items discussing a South African copyright case that deals with blind people’s rights to access books. It’s perhaps not that easy to follow, so we’ll try to make it as simple as possible. South African copyright law has been slow to evolve The South African Copyright Act dates back to 1978 ...
In recent articles, we’ve discussed some of the IP implications of the Metaverse, cryptocurrency, and non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”). But when it comes to securing IP protection, what is really involved? This article provides background to these concepts and deals with some of the nitty-gritty as far as IP protection is concerned ...
State securities regulators from Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas, and Alabama have issued cease and desist orders against Slotie, a Metaverse casino developer located in the country of Georgia. Regulators allege that the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) Slotie offers to investors are securities and that the ongoing sale of these NFTs constitute an ongoing unregistered issuance of securities ...
