On January 25, 2021, the German federal Cabinet introduced the draft for the new Cyber Security Act (“IT Security Act 2.0”) into the legislative process ( Draft of a Second Act to Increase the Security of Information Technology Systems, printed matter 19/26106 [draft of a second law to increase the security of information technology systems, document 19/26106] ). The new German Cyber Security Act is intended to replace the old German Cyber Security Act of July 2015 ...
The Oil Can published an article by Dinsmore partner Mark Boos this week in its Spring 2021 edition about the importance of indemnification provisions are essential in commercial contracts, an excerpt of which is below. Indemnification provisions are part of virtually every commercial contract. Ironically, they’re also among the contract elements most likely to be overlooked by the parties ...
On February 1, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its revised annual threshold that determines whether companies may be required to notify federal antitrust authorities about a proposed merger or acquisition due to the size and value of the transaction. For the first time since 2010 and a reflection of the state of the economy, the annual threshold has been reduced rather than raised, from $94 million in 2020 to $92 million for 2021 ...
Brief notes on Commission Regulation 2021/111 of 29 January 2021 Following the differences that came to light with AstraZeneca at the end of last week, the European Commission approved Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/111 of 29 January 2021, which came into force on Saturday, 30 January. The Regulation prohibits the unauthorised exportation of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 outside the European Union ...
Aron Beezley of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP enumerates the key impacts of the Federal Acquisition Regulation Council's final rule adopting mandates of the executive order Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council recently issued a final rule1 that implements the requirements of the Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials Executive Order ...
Pursuant to the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering Activities Law (the “AML Law”), which transposes into national legislation the 4thEU AML Directive ((EU) 2015/849), companies and other legal entities must maintain and register, in a central public register to be created for this purpose, information on their beneficial owners ...
When it comes to the general transfer of data to third countries, even, for example, intra-group data transfers, recourse to US providers such as Microsoft (Office 365), Amazon (AWS), Google or Salesforce has been ill-fated since the ECJ ruling of July 16, 2020 (C-311/18 “Schrems II”) ...
Traditionally, Belgian labour law distinguishes between two forms of telework, namely structural telework, regulated by the Collective Labour Agreement n° 85, and occasional telework, regulated by the Act on Workable and Agile Work. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a third category has been added, namely 'Covid telework', which was, at a certain point, recommended but has now been made compulsory again by the government ...
Some facts and figures that set out the landscape of merger control, antitrust enforcement and competition litigation in Portugal in 2020. Interim Measures The PCA ordered the Portuguese Professional Football League to suspend its decision preventing teams in the First and Second Football Leagues from signing players that have unilaterally terminated their contracts due to the COVID-19 pandemic ...
When Alabama’s Legislature convenes for its annual session on February 2, lawmakers will once again be asked to consider a bill that would provide certain Alabamians with access to medical cannabis ...
A new Angolan Public Procurement Law (“PPL”) has been approved recently. Law 41/20 of 23 December revokes Law 9/16 of 16 June and will enter into force on 22 January 2021. The new law will apply to all public procurement procedures beginning after that date and to the performance of subsequent contracts ...
Not surprisingly, COVID-19 business interruption insurance disputes dominated media headlines for most of 2020. Nonetheless, there were a number of other insurance rulings that will undoubtedly shape the coverage landscape. Policyholders enjoyed a number of significant wins including significant victories related to COVID-19 business interruption cases. The start of a new year gives us an opportunity to highlight some of 2020’s most notable coverage decisions ...
Two federal cases in the Northern District of Ohio recently reached very different conclusions on whether the state’s COVID-19 shutdowns of restaurants permit valid claims for business interruption insurance coverage. Reviewing essentially the same facts and policy provisions, one court found for the insurer, holding no coverage to exist. The other found for the policyholder, awarding coverage. The opposite results will no doubt lead to further upcoming appellate activity in Ohio ...
In a scenario that has played out across the country for nearly a year now, a group of restaurants based in Ohio were ordered by government authorities to close their on-site dining operations to abate the spread of the coronavirus. However, when the restaurants sought insurance coverage for their loss of business income, their insurer, Zurich American Insurance Company, denied coverage. Last week, the U.S ...
On January 7th 2021, the bankruptcy moratorium, which had been in effect since April last year, expired. The main conditions of the bankruptcy moratorium were described earlier in details: in newsletters “Moratorium on bankruptcy proceedings”and 'Russian bankruptcy moratorium extended until January, 2021” ...
On December 27, 2020, the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act (the “Economic Aid Act”) was enacted which, among other things, reauthorized lending under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) to first-time borrowers (“First Draw PPP Loans”) and for second draws by certain borrowers who have previously received PPP loans (“Second Draw PPP Loans”) ...
David Hume, the 18th century Scottish philosopher, argued that we cannot be certain the sun will rise tomorrow. Over the past nine-months David Hume has never seemed more right. It has been a tough period, professionally and personally for people from all walks of life, and for businesses from nearly every sector. But, while there has been adversity, there have been many rays of sunlight and causes for optimism ...
This article looks at trends, including the response to COVID-19, which we expect to impact the mid-market in 2021. Last year we gave COVID-19 a quick mention in our ‘look at the year ahead’. Nobody foresaw the impact it would have. As the market enters a new year, there remains the uncertainty that we’ve grown familiar with ...
The majority of people with a mobile phone or access to the internet have received unsolicited emails or calls from telemarketers (cold marketing). While the practice of cold marketing is decades-old, the recent awareness in data protection and privacy has affected this concept in recent times, particularly in relation to access to the data of consumers ...
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) recently published a consultation on implementing a ban on the appointment of corporate directors. The proposed ban on appointing corporate directors to the board of UK companies is not new – the statutory provision for this is contained in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (SBEEA) – but this particular provision has not yet been brought into force ...
