As Lord Sumption’s leading judgment of the Supreme Court inRock Advertising Limited v MWB Business Exchange Centres Limited[2018] UKSC 24 states, it is rare that modern litigation raises truly fundamental issues in the law of contract. This case, however, raisedtwosuch issues, although as a result of the Court’s decision on the first issue, it was not necessary to decide the “difficult” second issue ...
The Legal 500 & The In-House LawyerComparative Legal GuidePhilippines: Mergers & Acquisitions Country Author: Franco Aristotle G. Larcina, Partner, SyCip SalazarHernandez & Gatmaitan 1. What are the key rules/laws relevant to M&A and who are the key regulatory authorities? M&A activity is governed primarily by the Corporation Code of the Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 68) ...
Many companies use so-called tracking tools on their website to analyze the use of the website by their visitors, and possibly also to carry out advertising activities on the basis of user profiles created with the tracking tools. These tracking tools mainly use cookies, i.e. small files that can identify a user of a website and that are deposited on the respective user's computer ...
“We simply cannot go on with this utterly outmoded way of working…Endlessly re-keying in the same information; repeatedly printing and photocopying the same documents; moving files about, losing all or parts of them in the process… It is a heavy handed, duplicative, inefficient and costly way of doing our work and it is all about to go. Considerably past time, we will finally catch up with the world.” Sir Brian Leveson ...
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Theresa May said the government wanted to, “secure broad energy cooperation with the EU”, including by, “exploring options for the UK’s continued participation in the EU’s internal energy market” ...
Earlier this year, Mexico´s Senate approved the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”) formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership ("TPP"). The CPTPP will enter into force once six of its members ratify the Treaty pursuant to their internal legal procedures. Mexico is the first member to ratify the Treaty ...
The manufacturer of a product generally has a duty to warn the end-consumer of any serious risks associated with that product. In the context of prescription drugs and medical devices, however, the “learned intermediary” doctrine holds that the manufacturer need not warn the end-consumer (i.e., patient). Instead, the manufacturer discharges its obligations by warning the prescribing physician ...
Artificial intelligence is a burning topic in many sectors today and the legal industry is no exception. Recently, at the World Services Group's annual employment law conference held in February, AI was heavily debated along with its' impact not only on the legal profession, lawyers, clients, the way business is done, but also our traditional understanding of concepts such as "law" or "justice" ...
Microbusinesses are a growing, vibrant, and profitable economic segment throughout the world. Such enterprises provide flexibility for individuals to operate on their terms, according to their skills and passions. Microbusinesses generally are defined by modest annual sales and asset values and fewer than five to ten employees, including the owner, but varies by jurisdiction ...
Philippines Franco Aristotle G. Larcina and Arlene M. Maneja SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan Antitrust Law 1. What are the legal sources that set out the antitrust law applicable to vertical restraints? The key statute is Republic Act No. 10667, otherwise known as the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), which was enacted on 21 July 2015 and which became effective on 8 August 2015 ...
View the PDF version of the April 2018 IP Beacon. Are Works Generated by AI Subject to IP Protection? When Philip Dick wrote the 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," the inspiration for the 1982 film "Blade Runner," artificial intelligence was more fiction than science. Fifty years later, theHarvard Business Reviewpredicts that AI will be the single biggest technological development of our era, as transformative as the steam engine or electricity ...
UAE Federal Law 20 of 2016 (Regarding the Pledge of Movables as Security for a Debt) (the Pledge Law) introduced a new regime for registering a pledge over moveable assets which are pledged as security for the repayment of a debt. We reported on this law in our inBrief of January 2017, New UAE Pledge Law Over Moveable Assets, and our Legal Alert of 19 February 2018, The New UAE Pledge Law – Security Registration ...
In 2017, the Cayman Islands passed the Data Protection Law (“DPL”), which reads much like the upcoming European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) that goes into effect Mary 25, 2018. The DPL applies to entities falling within the definition of “data controller” who are established in the Islands or who process data in the Islands. The DPL divides data into two categories, personal data and sensitive data ...
The South African Department of Trade and Industry (“DTI”) recently published certain draft amendments to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Codes (“B-BBEE Codes”) for public comment. The proposed changes appear to signify the government’s drive to achieve more black ownership and control in South African business ...
Technologies based on blockchains and AI imply a considerable change for our society. Being that the security of data exchanged is vital, companies must begin adopting a long-term approach right now. Many businesses develop services based on blockchains, in particular in the financial services sector. Cryptocurrencies, one example of blockchain use, transform the way in which some monetary transactions are made, far from the oversight of financial institutions and governments ...
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published the Creative Industries Sector Deal aimed at making the UK the best place in the world for businesses in the creative industries. This is the latest sector deal to flow from the government's Industrial Strategy White Paper after sector deals for life sciences and the automotive industry were announced in late 2017/early 2018, respectively ...
In light of the increasing significance of cybersecurity incidents, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently found it necessary to provide further guidance with respect to cybersecurity disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws as they apply to public operating companies ...
Speaking of compliance with tax obligations comes to our mind the duty to pay taxes (noun) as the Tax on the Transfer of Goods and Provision of Services (VAT) or Income Tax (ISR), which undoubtedly It is true; but equally certain it is that with the payment obligation exists another set of obligations formal or adjective. In this dual context of formal and substantive tax obligations, is of great relevance filing tax returns ...
In a rare move, the president of the United States effectuated the termination of a proposed hostile takeover of Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) by Broadcom Limited (NASDAQ: AVGO) over national security concerns ...
Two recent European IP decisions are a welcome reminder of that much-overlooked area of IP law: registered designs. If patent protection is primarily about functionality, design protection is primarily about product appearance (more on this later). These European cases are worth discussing because there are very few court decisions on registered designs in South Africa. They are also worth discussing because they highlight two fundamental aspects of design law ...
This is a story of the age, a story of a character that became a global sensation thanks to the internet. The story is also about the creator of that character, who had the foresight to understand that the character might well become a valuable marketing property and took steps to legally protect the character (its name and image) through IP law, particularly trade mark and copyright law, thus creating “the IP rights” and making the creator “the IP owner” ...
Artificial intelligence (“AI”) is big news at the moment, so it’s no surprise that lawyers are considering the IP issues relating to AI. Some of the implications are really quite profound. In this article, I will discuss some of the copyright and trade mark implications. The copyright issues of AI have been discussed by a number of people ...
Last month, Alabama and South Dakota became the latest states to enact data breach notification laws. All 50 states now have such laws, but the laws and companies’ obligations thereunder vary widely from state to state. The Alabama and South Dakota laws—described in detail in the chart linked below—are similar to the laws of other states, but each have a few important features to be aware of ...
Patricia Gannon, founding partner at Karanović & Nikolić, was recently appointed Chair of the European Forum at theInternational Bar Association ...
Amendments to Zimbabwe’s controversial Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, Chapter 14:33 (the “Act”), were gazetted on 14 March 2018. These far-reaching changes, first announced in the 2018 Budget in December 2017, should pave the way for foreign investors wishing to establish operations in the country and boost the economy ...
