In the year 2000, the United Nations General Assembly designated April 26 as World Intellectual Property Day. The purpose of this is to highlight the role thatintellectual propertyrights play in encouraging innovation and creativity. Across the globe, and at the initiative of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), there is a campaign every year to attract public interest to issues related to Intellectual Property ...
The European Union continues to push out new rules aimed at offshore financial centers. Specifically, the Code of Conduct Group (CCG) within the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) Council has determined that jurisdictions that fail to satisfy the CCG’s requirement to end “preferential treatment” for non-resident companies are to be deemed ‘non-cooperative’ and effectively blacklisted ...
Recent events, including the investigations into Facebook’s handling of its users’ personal data, have highlighted the realization that personal data is, in today’s world, one of the most valuable resources for any business and that businesses not only collect and store their customers’ personal data but also use and even sell it for profit ...
The administrative fines that have been imposed by the different European supervisory authorities since the GDPR took effect vary enormously. While the highest administrative fines imposed by the German authorities to date have been EUR 20,000 and EUR 80,000 and have therefore remained well below the possible maximum fine of EUR 20 million or 4 % of worldwide annual turnover, other countries’ supervisory authorities have already delivered higher fines ...
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) has passed legislation requiring certain legal entities carrying on relevant activities to demonstrate adequate economic substance in the BVI. The owners of any company or limited partnership registered or incorporated in the BVI should be aware of this legislation and consider how they may be affected. The Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 (the Act) came into force on January 1st, 2019 ...
This is to inform you that, on March 18 2019, the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on “Introduction of amendments to the first, second part and Article 1124 of the third part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation” (the “Law”) was adopted ...
This is to inform you that, on March 18 2019, the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on “Introduction of amendments to the first, second part and Article 1124 of the third part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation” (the “Law”) was adopted ...
This is to inform you that, on March 18 2019, the Federal Law of the Russian Federation on “Introduction of amendments to the first, second part and Article 1124 of the third part of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation” (the “Law”) was adopted ...
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Spring 2019 Cybersecurity Newsletter includes new recommendations regarding how HIPAA covered entities can prepare to defend against cybersecurity attacks such as advanced persistent threats (APTs) and zero-day vulnerabilities ...
Even before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, there were discussions as to whether the use of tracking cookies, which make it possible to analyze the usage and browsing behavior of a user on the Internet and use it for interest-based advertising, requires prior consent (opt-in) of the user or whether a dissent solution (opt-out) is sufficient. The German data protection authorities are of the opinion that users must give their consent ...
In a recent decision by the Technology and Construction Court (TCC), Judge Stewart-Smith has clarified the position when determining whether two adjudications are “the same or substantially the same” when a party challenges jurisdiction under Para 9(2) of the Scheme for Construction Contracts. He stated that thedecisionreached in the first adjudication must be considered as well as the disputesreferredto adjudication in each ...
The IRS recently modernized the public approval process (“TEFRA approval”) for private activity bonds (“bonds”) for TEFRA approvals given on or after April 1, 2019. States and political subdivisions issuing bonds, or on whose behalf bonds are issued (“issuers”), and states and political subdivisions whose geographic jurisdiction contain the site of a project (“hosts”) may take advantage of these new rules ...
On 13 March 2019, the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information in Baden-Württemberg (LfDI BaWü) published the latest version of his guidebook on employee data protection. In this brochure, the LfDI BaWü offers an insight into his work and explains his opinion regarding the various points of view surrounding employee data protection ...
As seen in Bank Director A bank’s board of directors must answer to a variety of constituencies, including shareholders, regulatory agencies, customers and employees. At times those constituencies may have competing interests or priorities. Other times, what may appear to be competing interests are actually variations of aligned interests ...
We would like to kindly remind you that from 7 January 2019 to 28 March 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") online system ‘Connect’ is open for EEA-based firms and fund managers of EEA-domiciled investment funds (UCITS and AIF) currently passported into the UK to notify the FCA about their intention to participate in the temporary permissions regime (“TPR”) ...
Cloud computing and offshoring of data is no longer a taboo among banks. It is becoming a necessity and is the current definitive trend. However, the South African Reserve Bank (“SARB”) has issued a directive and guidance note detailing items banks must consider when electing to adopt cloud computing as a service or any offshoring of data ...
The implementation of cybercrime legislation is a pressing issue given that South Africa has one of the highest numbers of cybercrime victims in the world. In addition, a number of unsuspecting individuals and organisations alike fell prey to the scourge of cyber scams which seemed to spike quite rapidly in the past year. The Cybercrime Bill was adopted by the Portfolio Committee for Justice and Correctional Services in November 2018 and sent to the National Assembly for debate ...
The pervasiveness of the Internet of Things has spawned a recent fear that the devices are listening to the conversations of their users. For instance, the My Friend Cayla doll talks to children and answers their questions by connecting to the internet and using a combination of voice recognition software and Google searches to provide these responses ...
Gone are the days when a helicopter had to be hired to secure fantastic shots of a neighbourhood or local stadium in anticipation of a major public or private event. Drones have ushered in a new kind of photography and can be used in many instances and applications even in traditional industries like agriculture or last mile logistics. One of the primary functions of using drones is to capture, store and transmit data ...
Digital rights management (“DRM”) refers to the methods used by content owners to protect their digital content. A number of methods can be used to control and restrict access and usage of digital material. Popular DRM mechanisms include password protecting a digital file/content, as well as platform DRM, which is typically deployed by online streaming platforms and electronic databases to restrict access to content that users are required to pay for ...
It is no surprise that in this digital age, social media is more than a platform to connect with old school friends, share experiences or watch funny videos. Businesses have realised the value in leveraging social media platforms so as to directly connect with and market themselves and their businesses to existing and potential customers. Social media platforms allow businesses to increase their brand awareness and entrench themselves with their clients and secure their loyalty ...
The fallout from the Illinois Supreme Court’s January 25, 2019, opinion in Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., 19 IL 12316, continues.Rosenbach settled the dispute of who qualifies as an “aggrieved person” under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), and in doing so opened the floodgates for this litigation to proliferate ...
On January 19, 2019, federal Magistrate Judge Kandis Westmore of the Northern District of California denied the Government’s application for a search warrant that sought: “all digital devices” present at a California residence; (Order at 3), and “any individual present at the time of the search to press a finger (including thumb) or utilize other biometric features…for the purposes of unlocking the digital devices found in order to permit a search of
Corporations and governments are ferreting out and squirreling away voluminous, detailed and private information about each and every one of us – and they are not afraid to use it. Should we be worried? Singapore’s Health Minister recently revealed that confidential details of 14,200 HIV-positive people, stolen from a government public health database, had been leaked online by a disgruntled US citizen who had been in a romantic relationship with a local doctor ...
We would like to inform you of the new rules of audits/inspections of companies processing personal data approved by the Decree of the Russian Government dated February 13, 2019 No. 146 «On Approving the Rules on Arranging and Exercising Control over Compliance of Personal Data Processing» («Decree»). The Russian Data Protection Authority (DPA) is entitled to investigate companies’ compliance with data protection laws ...
