As we reported in our May 31, 2018 Alert, the California Legislature has been considering legislation to prevent joint powers authority (JPA) member agencies from contracting out of liability for the JPA's pension obligations ...
Following the enactment of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted an amendment to Rule 701(e) increasing the threshold amount of securities that can be sold during a 12-month period from $5 million to $10 million. Securities sold in excess of the threshold trigger enhanced disclosure obligations for the issuer ...
It’s crazy. It’s real. It’s awry. A secretly, stupendously rich man falls in love with a poor girl. His mother declares her a gold-digger. Much gnashing of teeth ensues. Beyond its simple rom-com plot, however, the film Crazy Rich Asians has a less palatable aspect to its story: inequality and our apparent acceptance of it ...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) issued a final rule to “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses, “ which requires employers to electronically submit their injury and illness records to OSHA. Specifically, establishments with 250 or more employees must annually submit their Forms 300, 300A, and 301. And, establishments with 20 to 249 employees must annually submit their Form 300A ...
Earlier this year, the OJK issued a new regulation on financial digitalinnovation in financial services (“POJK 13/POJK.02/2018”). This is aregulatory sandbox version of the OJK (please see our Advisory on theregulatory sandbox of Bank Indonesia issued in 2017). Definitions According to POJK 13/POJK ...
The Internal Revenue Service has released a Private Letter Ruling ("PLR") allowing a plan sponsor to make contributions to employees' 401(k) accounts if the employees are repaying student loans. This is exciting news for employers sponsoring 401(k) plans who hope to attract and retain employees as student loan debt rises to unprecedented levels. The PLR confirmed that some student loan repayment programs linked to 401(k) employer contributions are acceptable ...
In the recent budget exercise completed by the Bahamas Government, certain significant changes to the regime for Real Property Tax in The Bahamas were announced and have received a great deal of focus.It is important to take specific advice regarding the annual real property taxes which may be payable in respect of your property, how and when taxes should be paid, and the exemptions (if any) which might be available to you in respect of your property ...
Two significant events this week raised eyebrows in the lucrative world of live sports broadcasting. Firstly, Facebook agreed an exclusive deal to show La Liga to users in Asian territories including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. It will live stream all 380 matches this season for free to its 348 million users in the region. The move fits with Facebook's ambition to grow use of its social networking platform outside markets that have reached saturation ...
Photography by promoters and artists is an integral part of any kind of event. Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect, the legal requirements for videos and photos depicting people however have to be reassessed. In the past, most member states of the European Union had their own regulations regarding photos that show individual persons ...
The Israeli Securities Law was amended (Amendment No. 63) with a goal of turning the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) into a more competitive, efficient and profitable stock exchange, by outlining an ownership structure change of the TASE. The ownership structure change allows private investors, in addition to institutional investors, to acquire means of control over the TASE ...
The regulation on the national payment gateway has finally been issued. Bank Indonesia (“BI”), through its regulation No. 19/8/PBI/2017 (“PBI 19/8”) aims to establish national payment system interoperability by implementing switching interconnectivity. The following is a general overview of PBI 19/8 ...
"The global healthcare deal frenzy is set to continue for at least another 18 months as technology giants including Amazon, strategic players and private equity firms step up their fight for limited assets ...
In order to implement Government Regulation No. 24 of 2018 which introduced an online system for processing and issuing certain business licenses (known as the Online Single Submission “OSS” system), earlier this year, the Investment Coordinating Board (“BKPM”) issued 2 new regulations on investment, ie BKPM Regulation No. 6 of 2018 on the Guidelines and Procedure for Capital Investment Licensing and Facilities (“Regulation 6/2018”) and Regulation No ...
Can An Infringer Have Locus Standi As An Aggrieved Party? This case raised a few important and novel issues that dealt with the locus standi of an aggrieved person, Internet searches as evidence for use of a trade mark and the role of a sub-brand as a source identifier when used together with a house brand ...
Over the years, Montenegro invested significant efforts in the development of the tourism industry, and one could say that it is steadily becoming a go-to destination for those seeking an ultimate luxury Riviera lifestyle. The recent steps taken by Montenegrin legislators show that international trends are well received and recognized by local authorities, this time through the implementation of a new hospitality model – the mixed-use hotel ...
The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has ruled that Christian Louboutin’s famous red sole does not consist solely of ashape that significantly increases the value of aproduct, and therefore can be registered as atrademark. This is an important victory for the fashion designer in the long-running battle concerning red-soled shoes ...
On 27 July 2018, the newly established Financial Sector Conduct Authority (“FSCA”) published the final Conduct Standard, No 1 of 2018, setting out the Criteria for Authorisation of OTC Derivatives Providers (“ODPs”). The Regulations under the Financial Markets Act, 2012 (the “FMA Regulations”) were promulgated in February of this year, effectively setting a deadline of 8 August 2018 for ODPs to apply for licences ...
Two recent cases and a recently-released Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Program Manager Technical Advice Memorandum have sent shockwaves through the voluntary disclosure community. All three developments give offshore account-holders something to cheer. PMTA 2018-13 In previous client alerts, we have discussed the definition of "willfulness" in the context of offshore assets and, more recently, the closing of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) ...
This month, courts have been active in several of the fiduciary breach cases involving 403(b) retirement plans at private universities, including USC, Brown, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke and Northwestern. We have been closely monitoring these and other lawsuits against fiduciaries of defined contribution plans, and the lessons to be gleaned for avoiding liability ...
The Croatian Parliament adopted the new Capital Markets Act in order to align the Croatian legislation with the EU acquis. The act adjusts the Croatian legislation with the cornerstone of EU's financial markets regulation - the Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments repealing Directive 2004/39/EC and the Regulation on Markets in Financial Instruments, commonly referred to as MiFID II and MiFIR ...
Earlier this year, the government released a proposal paper: Extending Unfair Contract Terms Protections to Insurance Contracts outlining a model to extend unfair contract term (UCT) provisions to insurance contracts regulated under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) (IC Act) for consultation. The consultation period closes on 27 July. A high level summary of the proposed model is below ...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("TCJA") provides new exclusion and deferral benefits for investors who purchase interests in qualified opportunity funds. Much like qualified small business stock ("QSBS") under IRC sections 1202 and 1045, new IRC section 1400Z-2 allows investors to defer and, in some cases, exclude gain on the sale of assets. However, gain can be deferred under IRC section 1400Z-2 only if invested in designated low-income communities ...
Resolution number 217/2018 was published in the Brazilian PTO’s Official Bulletin number 2470, and amends Resolution number 80/2013, which refers to the fast-track examination for patent applications related to products, pharmaceutical processes, equipment and materials related to public health, aiming to accelerate patent applications considered strategic to the Brazilian Public Healthcare System ...
Much has been written about hotel management contracts, their legal nature and their place within the different contractual arrangements available under Spanish law. Nevertheless, in our professional lives we too often encounter contracts that include clauses or use descriptions or definitions that collide head-on with how those contracts should actually be framed ...
On July 11, 2018, then-U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb made a public statement about the agency’s efforts to advance the development of gene therapies.[1] Gottlieb pointed out that the FDA has approved three separate gene therapy products and the agency has issued six scientific guidance documents intended to serve as building blocks of a modern, comprehensive framework for how the FDA can advance the field of gene therapy ...
