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 ...
The Royal Decree of 3 March 2011 regarding the evolution of the supervisory architecture of the financial sector (“Koninklijk besluit betreffende de evolutie van de toezichtsarchitectuur voor de financiële sector” / “Arrêté royal mettant en oeuvre l'évolution des structures de contrôle du secteur financier”) (the “Royal Decree”) entered into force ...
The Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the Portuguese State and the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission (“the Troika”) sets forth a range of goals and measures that shall be implemented by the Portuguese State in order to promote competition in the markets as a means to improve economic growth ...
It currently appears that Texas may join a growing number of states that have passed laws aimed at increasing tax collection from online retail transactions. On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, the Texas House passed H.B. 2403, which provides that out-of-state retailers that have relationships with certain Texas “affiliated” entities will be deemed to be doing business in Texas for purposes of the sales and use tax. H.B. 2403 will now be sent to the Texas Senate for consideration ...
The Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) published a draft Commercial Practices Guideline, which is available for public consultation on the website of the AMF until April 22, 2011. This Guideline constitutes a statement of principle on the expectations of the AMF concerning the sound commercial practices of insurers and financial institutions ...
1 Collateral What types of collateral are available? Collateral used in secured financings can also be used in project financings ...
As expected, the FDIC moved against the former key officers of Washington Mutual Bank, namely its former President/CEO, COO and Home Loans President in March. The FDIC believes that these three people are responsible for WaMu’s higher risk lending program, which accounted for the bank’s huge losses. It is reported that the damages being sought against the defendants may be in excess of $900 million, which should grab anyone’s attention ...
In March 2011, the Fourth Circuit issued a decision that has potentially substantial impact on the banking community at large, especially as it relates to decisions on whether to extend credit to a debtor after he or she receives a discharge in bankruptcy. In Maryland v. Ciotti (In re Ciotti), 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 4492 (4th Cir. Mar ...
Last Thursday and Friday, I was in Charlotte for the UNC School of Law Banking Institute. The conference is very deserving of its great reputation; it was very informative (Albeit after almost 6 hours of Dodd-Frank analysis on Thursday, I was just glad to be able to stand.) ...
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 ...
Contents* Major Relief for Non-Residents of Canada * A New act on Legal Publicity * Stock options Can Be advantageous, But Be Careful! * Adoption of IFRS and Recent GaaP Changes: The impact on Credit agreements MAJOR RELIEF FOR NON-RESIDENTS OF CANADAPhilippe Asselinpasselin@lavery ...
Introduction The Great Recession is producing unprecedented levels of foreclosures1¡ªdeeds©/in©/lieu of foreclosure, bankruptcies, receiverships and other transactions in which financial institutions acquire control of real estate assets that must then be managed and sold ...
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 ...
* The New Act Respecting the Legal Publicity of Enterprises and Trusts * New Filing Requirements for Partnerships * Requests for Production of Documents by the Tax Authorities * Your’re Fired!: The Impact on the Exercise of Stock Options THE NEW ACT RESPECTING THE LEGAL PUBLICITY OF ENTERPRISES AND TRUSTS André Paquette apaquette@lavery ...
st1/:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } The long-awaited Royal Decree of 7 December 2010 on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (vastgoedbevaks/sicafi)(the “Decree”) entered into force. The new legislation brings major changes. This article gives an overview of the most important legal changes, which can broadly be categorized into four topic areas. First, the Decree establishes a moreflexible procedure for raising capital ...
These days many US businesses are looking north to Canada for new markets. This paper discusses when a US business needs to worry about the Canadian tax system. The short answer comes from some of the oldest provisions in the Income Tax Act. US businesses need to worry about Canadian tax when they have a physical presence in Canada. To read this paper, click here. For more information please contact Len Glass at [email protected] or 604.631.9140 ...
In its most basic form, the guaranty is an agreement (importantly it is the guarantor’s separate contract with lender) by one party to be responsible for the debt or obligations of someone else. We all know it and love it – it is the lender’s friend. But like so many friendships, when it is built on a fundamental misunderstanding or problem, a train wreck ensues and we feel the pain ...
In the past several years, there has been an increase in cases asserting claimsunder the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, W. Va. Code§ 46A-1-101, et seq. (“WVCCPA”) relating to illegal debt collection. The success of early suits has lead to an increased number of these lawsuits ...
with the assistance of Robert La Rosa, student-at-lawOn October 28, 2010, Justice Yves Poirier of the Quebec Superior Court rendered a decision, which enforced the application of new section 54.1 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (hereinafter the “BIA”). The case, Aliments Möpure inc. (Avis d’intention et de proposition de) (“Möpure”), addressed the question of whether a creditor advancing an equity claim has the right to vote at creditors’ meetings ...
Recently, the Exempt Organizations Office (“EO”) of the IRS released a list of 2011 initiatives, including international activities and compliance. The following are just a few of the items on the IRS’s radar for the coming year. Employment Tax Examinations. In 2011, the EO plans to conduct full examinations of 500 exempt organizations to determine compliance with employment tax rules as part of a project reviewing employment tax practices of both taxable and tax-exempt organizations ...
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 ...
The case of the arrangement respecting White Birch Paper (the “White Birch Group”) was one of the most significant matters brought before the Commercial Division of the Superior Court of Quebec in 2010. Not only did this matter receive a lot of attention on account of its crossborder aspect and the number of parties involved, it also constituted a precedent for sales of assets under the new provisions of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Ac t (the “CCAA ”) ...
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 ...
