They’ve finally taken the plunge and decided to go it alone, they’re just about to launch the brilliant business plan that’s going to set them up for life and then, out of the blue, granny puts her oar in and everything goes pear-shaped. Just a month ago, we wrote about how Harry and Meghan were set to launch their Sussex Royal brand ...
David Beckham is in the news again. This time it’s all about a new US football venture. A venture that has run into a trade mark problem. Beckham is heavily involved in the formation of a new Major League Soccer (“MLS”) professional football team that will be based in Miami, Florida. The team’s first home game is scheduled to take place very soon, 14 March 2020 ...
An article entitled “Cyprus Gets Its Halloumi Back” would leave most people scratching their heads. But a reader of Trademark Lawyer Magazine would immediately appreciate that it deals with the increasingly important issue of geographical indications and designations of origin. The issue described in the article is almost comical. Halloumi is, of course, a type of cheese, one that is closely associated with the island of Cyprus ...
When dealing with a workplace issue, an employer should be careful to identify the problem in question correctly so that the appropriate steps are taken. Failing to do so could lead to unnecessary or incorrect processes being followed, which could expose the employer to claims of unlawful or unfair conduct ...
Amazon is apparently the world’s most valuable brand, and is one that plays an increasingly important role in our lives. Although most of us know it as an online retailer, a recent BBC documentary describes it as being every bit as much a data-company, one that knows more about us than we know ourselves. We’ve reported on how Amazon is under considerable pressure to deal with the fact that counterfeit goods can be and are sold on its online platform ...
Greta Thunberg has the ability to divide opinion like few other celebrities, with a surprising number of people finding her strangely threatening. Perhaps it’s simply because Greta is always in the news, for instance, managing to winTime Magazine’s2019 Person of the Year award at the age of 17. She has been in the news again, this time in the context of trade marks ...
Construction is a highly competitive industry and the days when clients are willing to accept a trade-off among low price, fast project turnaround and high-quality workmanship are gone. The expectation to design and build projects within constrained budget and schedule limitations while providing uncompromised workmanship amplifies the importance of effective contractor quality control programs ...
New anti-harassment law in time for new virus panic. The COVID-19 crisis that began in Wuhan, China, brings to mind earlier epidemics. In 2003, we were in the grip of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars). It was the first pandemic in the era of the Internet, blogging and social media. Amid the panic about infections, one individual was widely labelled a “super spreader”. Her name and personal details were published ...
On February 26, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma, 589 U.S. ___ (2020) (Sulyma) that an ERISA1 plaintiff’s admitted receipt of disclosures about his retirement plan investments was insufficient to prove he had “actual knowledge” of the information therein — the effect of which would have been to trigger a shorter three-year statute of limitations period that would have barred his lawsuit altogether ...
When a debtor, natural or legal person, is constituted in serious circumstances of insolvency in the face of a plurality of creditors, the legislator has foreseen as a mechanism to solve said problem three alternatives of action, depending on the qualities of the insolvent person: the insolvency creditors, bankruptcy and suspension of payments ...
At present, M&A transactions are frequently at least postponed because of uncertainties about the development of the target, the potentially unpredictable situation of the prospective buyer and its financing, and partly also because of practical problems to finalize the transaction. CARRYING OUT THE M&A PROCESS The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are most evident in actually carrying out an M&A transaction ...
The Ministry of Corporate affairs has recently notified Sections 230(11) and 230 (12) of the Companies Act, 2013 (“Companies Act”) and certain amendments to the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamation) Rules, 2020 (“M&A Rules”)[1] (together, the “Amendments”) ...
In response to the impact of COVID-19 and the partial withdrawal of EBA benefits – see our update here – the Cambodian government have issued a number of regulations which are intended to provide some relief to affected businesses in Cambodia. We outline these updates below: Letter 1313 MEF – dated 25 February 2020 Notification no ...
BVI government welcomes announcement. Blacklist expands to include 12 jurisdictions.On 18 February 2020, EU Finance Ministers updated the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, upgrading the British Virgin Islands to whitelist status, which designates the country as a fully co-operative tax jurisdiction in line with all of the tax good-governance standards ...
On February 13, 2020, in Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., No. S243805 (Cal. 2/13/2020), the California Supreme Court determined that Apple employees must be paid for time spent waiting for and undergoing exit bag searches. Although Apple does not require its employees to bring bags to work, the Court concluded that the search time amounts to time under which the employees are under Apple's "control," as that term is defined in the California Wage Orders ...
Several recent reports claim that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic in China is beginning to slow down and generally under control, prompting businesses in China to resume operations. In order to minimise further spreading of the virus as employees return to work, the PRC government has issued different local rules and guidelines to ensure enterprises are adequately prepared ...
Flu season is in full swing. with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) confirming over 155,000 positive U.S. cases of influenza since Sept. 29, 2019. Simultaneously, the coronavirus COVID-19 has spread rapidly across China, with at least 70,000 confirmed cases, including 15 confirmed cases in the United States. In response, employers need to be prepared to assist employees in staying safe and complying with potential quarantines. Beginning Feb ...
Today, artificial intelligence (AI) based on neural networks may come up with ideas that are not dependent on human input. This raises questions as to who shall be regarded as the inventor of an invention created solely by a machine. Could an AI system be considered the inventor behind a patented invention? The answer is no, concludes EPO – the European Patent Office - in two recent applications ...
On 13 February 2020, the South African President announced the promulgation of certain significant sections of the Competition Amendment Act, 2018, including a change to the confidentiality regime, the new buyer power provision and the new price discrimination provision. The Minister of Trade and Industry has also published new regulations on buyer power and price discrimination ...
Enterprises in most regions of China resumed work and production on February 10, 2020 ...
There had been several drafts of the law on Personal Data Protection until the final draft that was submitted by the Indonesian Government to the House of Representatives on 24 January 2020 (“Final Draft Law”). When passed, it will be Indonesia’s first framework legislation to specifically deal with and serve as the ‘umbrella regulation’ on personal data protection ...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the world of Intellectual Property has raised some very interesting questions and debate. The patentability of AI related inventions, proprietary issues of inventorship and the lack of adequate regulations and standards have left some open-ended questions. AI related inventions generally use techniques like machine learning, deep learning and neural networks ...
South African readers will know that Meghan Markle was a recent visitor to our shores. Meghan’s husband Prince Harry came too, but people weren’t too interested in him. As far as I am aware, Meghan had no problems with the South African press. She also had no copyright issues in South Africa. So, a far cry from what she is experiencing right now in the UK, her adopted home. Meghan is now involved in legal proceedings with the Mail on Sunday, a major British newspaper ...
Market inquiries have become a prominent feature of the South African competition law landscape. Historically, the Competition Act, 1998 did not afford the Competition Commission (the“Commission”) the power to take binding remedial action. The Commission was limited to producing reports containing non-binding “recommendations” or lobbying for changes to the way business is done following a market inquiry ...
