Coronavirus Digest no. 4 Patents and other intellectual property rights 1. Patents Moderna reveals that it may not hold the patent rights for the vaccine against Covid-19, because it was not the first to file the patents. This came after the US National Institute of Health claimed co-ownership of the rights to this vaccine. Read more here ...
As COVID-19 continues to alter our daily lives, many of us have found comfort in barn time spent with our four-legged friends. With so many spring and summer events cancelled, we are eager to get back in the saddle and into the show ring. However, the legal implications facing horse show boards and competition venues are complex and ever-evolving ...
Key Points On Aug. 25, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published an interim final rule with a comment period (IFC) establishing new Long-Term Care Facility COVID-19 Testing Requirements for Staff and Residents. CMS has added 42 CFR §483.80(h), which requires that the facility test all residents and staff for COVID-19. Noncompliance related to this new requirement will be cited at new tag F886 ...
Federal Law No. 4 of 2020 on Guaranteeing Rights Related to Movables (the New Mortgage Law), which came into effect on 1 June 2020, has updated the regime for registering security interests over movable assets in the UAE. The new regime The New Mortgage Law repealed Federal Law No. 20 of 2016 on Mortgaging of Movable Property as Security for Debts (the Old Mortgage Law) ...
INTRODUCTION Information Communication Technology (ICT) has, without a doubt, greatly impacted virtually every industry, and the communications industry is no exception. Services such as bulk short message service (SMS), online games, data services, telemarketing, text messages and media messages, all of which are often referred to as Value Added Services (“VAS”), now constitute a part of our daily lives ...
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has recently released its consultation conclusions on the proposed enhancements to the open-ended fund companies (OFC) regime. Highlights include: Removal of investment restrictions for private OFCs; Expansion of entities eligible to act as custodian of private OFCs; and Confirmation of the SFC’s intention to provide for a statutory mechanism to re-domicile overseas corporate funds to Hong Kong as OFCs ...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an order titled “Temporary Halt in Residential Evictions To Prevent the Further Spread of COVID-19” (“Order”) forbidding evictions of residential tenants who do not exceed certain income levels (generally $99,000 for an individual), are unable to make full rental payments due to substantial loss of income, loss of job, or extraordinary medical expense, and have exhausted all available governmental sources o
Key Points HHS Provider Relief Fund payments are being extended to private pay assisted living facilities under Phase II. Relief will be equal to 2 percent of annual gross revenue from resident care. Interested providers must act swiftly: the deadline to submit basic information to HHS is Sept. 13 Provider relief funds need not be repaid if recipients comply with the program criteria. HHS Announcement: On Sept.1, the U.S ...
Key Points New California law prohibits residential evictions based on the non-payment of rent and other fees due between Mar. 1, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2021, if failure to pay is due to COVID-19 related distress. California courts may not issue summonses in any residential unlawful detainer actions based on non-payment until Oct. 5, 2020. New Order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention halts evictions for tenants who meet specific requirements through Dec. 31, 2020 ...
Bursa Malaysia seeks Feedback on Proposed Reduction in Public Spread On 23 July 2020 Bursa Malaysia Berhad ("Bursa") released Consultation Paper No. 2/2020 Proposed Amendments to the Main Market and ACE Market Listing Requirements in relation to Public Security Holdings Spread ("Consultation Paper") ...
Law 58/2020 came into force on 1 September 2020 and it implements into Portuguese law: Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing, commonly known as the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive; and Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 October 2018 on combating money laundering by criminal l
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Shepherd and Wedderburn private client team has been hard at work helping clients update their Wills and Powers of Attorney. While we all hope that the worst of this global pandemic is now behind us, recent weeks have brought various localised lockdowns and the expectation of a potential second wave, which may well coincide with the annual flu season ...
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has issued Memorandum Circular 2020-00761 on August 3, 2020 and this sets out the Guidelines on Minimum Public Ownership Requirement for Initial and Backdoor Listings (2020 MPO Guidelines) ...
Note on Circular Letter No. 002/DCC/2020 With the approval of Notice No. 2/2020, of January 2020 (“Notice 2/2020”), the National Bank of Angola (“BNA”) introduced greater flexibility in the foreign exchange sector, as it eliminated prior licensing and delegated the validation of the operations to the commercial banks. With the publication of the Circular Letter No ...
The global COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the hospitality industry. Hotel occupancy rates have fallen greatly in many markets, with employee layoffs and property closures affecting even the largest and otherwise best performing hotels. It is uncertain when the industry will recover. Many hotel properties will require a chapter 11 bankruptcy case to successfully reorganize their debt obligations and operations and preserve the value of the business ...
Banks have played a crucial role these last few months as the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the world. Through Paycheck Protection Program loans, payment deferments, and other initiatives, banks have provided significant assistance to people and businesses of all types. The banking industry has worked incredibly hard, and bankers across the country should be proud ...
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted long anticipated amendments to the “accredited investor” definition. The SEC said that the amendments are intended to update and improve the definition to identify more effectively investors that have sufficient knowledge and expertise to participate in securities offerings that are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933 ...
The Department of Justice is stepping up its scrutiny of health-care fraud, especially in testing laboratories, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Former federal prosecutor Jason Mehta, a partner with Bradley, says now is not the time to tout profits over patient care and offers insights on compliance. In the midst of a global pandemic, much attention and praise is rightfully being showered on health-care providers ...
Key Points On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments that broaden the qualifying pool of individuals and entities known as “accredited investors.” The amendments expand the definition based on defined measures of professional knowledge, experience, or certifications, in addition to the existing tests for income or net worth ...
Key Points On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments that broaden the qualifying pool of individuals and entities known as “accredited investors.” The amendments expand the definition based on defined measures of professional knowledge, experience, or certifications, in addition to the existing tests for income or net worth ...
Note on Circular Letter No. 002/DCC/2020 With the approval of Notice No. 2/2020, of January 2020 (“Notice 2/2020”), the National Bank of Angola (“BNA”) introduced a greater flexibility in the foreign exchange sector, as it eliminated prior licensing and delegated on commercial banks the validation of the operations. With the publication of the Circular Letter No ...
On 31 July 2020, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued consultation papers on Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Public-offered Securities Investment Fund Managers (the Measures, available here in Chinese)and the Provisions on Issues concerning the Implementation of the Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Public-offered Securities Investment Fund Managers (the Implementation Provisions, available here in Chinese) ...
In June, the European Commission has published the "White Paper on levelling the playing field as regards foreign subsidies". For the first time that the European Commission has brought together State aid and investment control as well as trade defence instruments. Companies coming from third countries can expect costly and lengthy examination procedures in M&A transactions, but also new hurdles for other activities in the internal market ...
Due to the Corona pandemic and the associated economic effects, numerous companies were forced to announce short-time work over the past few months. This raises the question for employers to what extent it is still possible to hire during short-time work and what effects this has on short-time working compensation. NEW HIRES DURING SHORT-TIME WORK First of all, a distinction must be made between new hires before and after the introduction of short-time work ...