Although non-compliance with the Consumer Protection Act (the “CPA”) is generally sanctioned by the nullity of the CPA non-compliant clauses, or of the contract in its entirety, in cases involving written notices of forfeiture of the benefit of the term, the courts have sometimes decided to maintain the validity of the non-compliant notices if they were not prejudicial to the consumer’s rights. The following two judgment support this view ...
In September 2012, we reported that the Supreme Court of British Columbia had rendered a judgment1 confirming that a corporate policy imposing an advance nomination process for a shareholders’ meeting was reasonable and did not infringe the shareholders' rights relating to the election of the corporation's directors (“Advance Notice Policy”) ...
The Supreme Court of Canada recently rendered a divided decision in which it concluded that an employer’s policy imposing mandatory random alcohol testing was not justified.1 This decision is of interest to employers in Quebec since it confirms arbitral case law on the subject. Background In 2006, Irving Pulp & Paper, Ltd. (“Irving” or the “employer”) unilaterally adopted a policy on the consumption of alcohol and other drugs (the “policy”) ...
In the last few years, many multinationals are implementing in their organizations so-called “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) policies. What is “BYOD”? It is a new trend in the management of technological infrastructure within companies where employees bring their own devices to the workplace, thereby reducing the number of devices that companies have to provide to employees, with the consequent reduction in costs ...
The Minister of Finance has issued Regulation No. 37/PMK.04/2013 on Duty-Free Shops on 27 February 2013, which implements Article 48 of Government Regulation No. 32 of 2009 on Bonded Storehouses (Tempat Penimbunan Berikat). The Regulation will effectively be applied 90 days since the issuance date ...
Through Government Regulation No. 33 of 2013 on The Expansion of Employment Opportunities, the Government intends to push the central and regional governments to create more employment opportunities. Employment expansion policies may apply in or out of the employment relationship ...
On 12 April 2013, the Indonesian Capital Investment Coordinating Body (BKPM) issued a new Regulation of the Head of the BKPM No. 5 of 2013 on the Guidelines and Procedures for Permit and Non-Permit Capital Investment (“Reg ...
The passion Brazilians have for football is nothing new. As children, we learn the game and argue over the rules, which are often anything but black and white and, on occasion, are difficult to apply. That’s true even for referees, who, well into the 21st century, are still barred from employing the full array of technologies available to make their work easier. In contrast to other sports, the rules governing football evolve very slowly ...
An expansion strategy doesn’t always need to be M&A driven. Hunton & Williams LLP partners Robert Acosta-Lewis and Susan Failla make the case for strategic alliances. When considering expanding into emerging markets, companies often look to traditional M&A opportunities or explore possible distribution or sales representation relationships. While both of these avenues may offer potential advantages, they also carry risks and limitations ...
Batas Kasambahay Implementing Rules The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 10361, otherwise known as the “Domestic Workers Act” or “Batas Kasambahay” dated 09 May 2013 was published in full in the 19 May 2013 issue of the Philippine Star at pages B-14 to B-16 ...
Counterfeiting continues to make the news. Locally, we’ve just had a report of a R10 million bust in the Vereeniging area, during which fake soaps, shampoos, clothing and bags were seized, and seven suspects from Malawi, Mozambique and China (no surprises there), were taken into custody.But we are increasingly getting reports of counterfeiting in product areas that go way beyond the traditional stomping ground of FMCG and luxury goods ...
We recently had a Namibian court decision in a passing off matter, in the case of Mega Power Centre CC t/a Talisman Plant and Tool Hire v Talisman Franchise Operations (Pty) Ltd. The decision is interesting for a number of reasons. First, passing off cases are fairly rare, so any new decision is welcome ...
There were two recent decisions – one in the USA and one in the UK – which dealt with the important but seldom-discussed concept of patent exhaustion. Patent exhaustion in essence means this: the initial authorised sale of a patented item terminates all patent rights to that item, for the reason that the owner of the patent (the patentee) has been rewarded for its ingenuity by that sale ...
On July 3, 2013, the Department of Labor issued its Semiannual Agenda of Regulations. Executive Order 12866 requires the semiannual publication of the listing of all regulations the Department of Labor expects to have under active consideration for promulgation, proposal or review during the coming one-year period. Here are some of the highlights regarding OSHA’s agenda. A ...
Recently, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, a third opinion in what is now a trilogy of cases upholding the validity of class action waiver clauses in contracts containing arbitration agreements ...
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized amendments to formally adopt a framework regarding the voluntary withdrawal of Hart Scott Rodino (HSR) premerger notification filings and submission without an additional filing fee to allow additional time for enforcement agency review of transactions during the initial HSR waiting period ...
Decree-Law 2/2005 of 27 December, which approved the Mozambican commercial Code, makes it possible for Mozambican or foreign individuals or clients to set up business in Mozambique in one of six different ways: (i) general partnership (Sociedade em Nome Colectivo); (ii) limited partnership (Sociedade em Comandita); (iii) capital and industry partnership (Sociedade de Capital e Indústria); (iv) quota company (Sociedade por Quotas); (v)
Chambers & Partners has published its Legal Practice Guide on Corporate M&A 2013. The publication, which may be read for free online, includes two Philippine sections contributed by SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw): - The section on Philippine Trends and Developments was contributed by Managing Partner Rafael A. Morales and Partner Philbert E. Varona, and contains an overview of the practice, including typical structuring issues and recent developments on foreign ownership ...
In a recent bench ruling, the Delaware Court of Chancery refused to dismiss a stockholder’s complaint alleging, among other things, that a company’s board of directors had amended a stock incentive plan without obtaining stockholder approval as required by the listing rules of the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). The court did so even though the company had received email confirmation from the NYSE staff agreeing that stockholder approval was not required ...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) has announced a new National Emphasis Program (“NEP”) to protect workers from the health effects from occupational exposure to isocyanates. With the addition of this program, OSHA has thirteen (13) currently active NEPs, including programs on PSM Covered Chemical Facilities, Lead, Nursing and Residential Care Facilities, and Primary Metals Industries ...
In 2012, more than 99,000 charges of discrimination were filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Of these charges, 31,208 of them alleged retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). On June 24, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued two much-anticipated employment law rulings, both of which are beneficial to employers confronted with these charges ...
1 Patent Enforcement 1.1 How and before what tribunals can a patent be enforced against an infringer? Patents are enforced against an infringer either through a civil action before the Regional Trial Court (“RTC”) or an administrative action before the Bureau of Legal Affairs (“BLA”) of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (“IPP”) ...
