While the initial rush of foreign investors to Myanmar slowed down in 2015, likely due to the November elections, 2016 is predicted to be a year of rapid growth. The almost complete transition of power to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), formerly in opposition, represents an impressive step forward to stability for the nation, and to opening up to the world ...
Media outlets have recently been reporting on the possibility that Nikola Tesla Airport will acquire Sava Centar (SC), with the purpose of turning it into its company headquarters. This acquisition would be followed by an investment of over EUR 30 million in the next three years for the building's reconstruction and adaptation ...
Brexit – what does it involve and when could it happen? In a referendum, held in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2016, a majority of voters decided in favor of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) (this exit from the EU by the UK is the so-called Brexit). The referendum is not binding ...
Latest news reports from the airline industry show that the European Commission has ended their investigation into the ownership structure of "Air Serbia", reaching a conclusion that Serbia indeed holds management rights over its national air carrier. Furthermore, having in mind their minority stake in Air Serbia, Etihad Airways has thus been enabled to operate according to EU standards in Serbia ...
Two recent high-profile cases involving popular songs have placed the spotlight on copyright issues. In the first of these, in California, a Los Angeles jury has decided that Led Zeppelin’s 1971 rock classic Stairway to Heaven did not infringe the copyright in a 1967 song called Spirit by the band Taurus. The case centred on the opening chord sequence in Stairway to Heaven, which the jury concluded was not “intrinsically similar” to the sequence in Spirit ...
A recent European trade mark decision highlights how risky it can be to simply register the word version of a trade mark that is used in a stylised form. The case also highlights an issue that may be worthwhile considering when creating a trade mark – simpler may be cheaper. The decision in question involved a European registration for the trade mark Aunt Bessie’s in ordinary script for a range of foodstuffs ...
Last June 8, Carlos J. Leitão, the Minister responsible for Government Administration and Ongoing Program Review and Chair of the Conseil du trésor, tabled Bill 108, An Act to facilitate oversight of public bodies' contracts and to establish the Autorité des marchés publics ...
On 30 June 2016, Vietnam’s National Assembly voted to delay implementation of Penal Code No. 100/2015/QH13 dated 27 November 2015 (the “Penal Code”), which was to take effect on 1 July 2016. It is not clear at this time when the Penal Code will be implemented and we understand it will undergo significant revisions prior to being approved for implementation by the National Assembly ...
Amendments to Russian Civil Code on different types of interest under Articles 317.1 and 395Dear Sir or Madam,We would like to inform you that on July 5, 2016 the President of the Russian Federation signed Federal Law dated 03.07.2016 No. 315 “On Amendments to Part I of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as the “Law”), which comes into force from August 01, 2016 ...
Recently, public and political commotion has arisen in cases where the remuneration of managing directors increased, while the employees received no or a marginal increase in salary. This public debate was the reason for the government to propose an expansion of powers of the work's council on this subject ...
Extension of Deadline for Online Company Re-Registration, Notification № 2338 (Ministry of Commerce) 01 July 2016According to Prakas 300, dated 29 December 2015, all companies, branches, and representative offices registered in Cambodia wererequired to complete a re-registration process through the Ministry of Commerce’s online registration portal which was launched in January 2016.The deadline for completing the re-registration process was previously extended from March to 30 June 2016 ...
Banking and FinanceMEMBERSHIP OF FAST AND CENTRAL SHARED SWITCH SYSTEMS, Prakas № B14-016-147 Pror Kor, dated 19 May 2016This Prakas, effective from 19 May 2016, requires banking and financial institutions to become members of FAST and Central Shared Switch systems. It aims at encouraging an easy, quick, effective, secure and reliable retail payment in order to foster the development of banking and financial sectors and the national economy ...
Patricia Gannon, Senior Partner, and Rastko Petaković, Partner, together with Associates Veton Qoku and Nevena Tomić Lučić, attended the Balkan Legal Forum ( BLF) 2016 – a conference organised by the IBA European Regional Forum and the Legal Development Foundation ...
On June 8, discussion started in the Public Works Commission of the Senate over the law project which creates the state company, “Fondo de Infraestructura S.A.”. The Project shall be approved by a special quorum (quórum calificado) as indicated in article 19 No. 21 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile ...
Clients with European Union (“EU”) trade marks, registered designs and EP patents may be wondering what will happen to their IP protection in the United Kingdom (“UK”) now that the nation has voted to leave the EU.The good news is that EU IP rights extending to the UK will not be affected in the short-term. The European Patent Office is not an EU institution, so the leave vote will have no effect on EP patents ...
The June 2016 edition of the Asian Legal Business (ALB) Asia Edition included a regional update article entitled “Philippines’ Economic Prospects Under a Duterte Presidency” by SyCipLaw partner Jose Florante M. Pamfilo. The article is found on page 11.Visit the ALB website to access an e-book copy of the publication ...
Background The UK referendum held on 23 June 2016 has resulted in a majority voting in favour of the UK leaving the EU. As of now the UK is still a part of the EU notwithstanding the vote on 23 June. It is now up to the UK parliament to decide if, and if so when, to formally start the process to leave the EU. The exit of a member state from the EU is dealt with in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) which has only existed since 1 December 2009 ...
A whistleblower is a person who raises the alarm or reports wrongdoing within their organisation. The Swedish Government is now proposing new legislation with the purpose of enhancing the protection of whistleblowers, to come into effect on January 1, 2017. Rebecka Thörn and Josefine Wir summarise the main points of the proposed legislation and give some advice on how your company can handle alarms raised by employees ...
In the short term, the vote to leave the European Union doesn’t signal an immediate change. It’s business as usual for the UK and the EU. The EU Treaties and laws continue to apply without exception in the UK – as does the obligation to comply. The process of the UK exiting from the EU will, however, be the focus over the next few months ...
“The degree of consumer care is becoming more heightened as the novelty of the Internet evaporates and online commerce becomes commonplace.” This quote, which comes from a United States (“US”) decision, is quoted in the South African Supreme Court of Appeal’s (“SCA’s”) judgment in the so-called “Clearvu case” – Cochrane Steel Products (Pty) Ltd v M-Systems Group (Pty) Ltd and Another (unreported case no. 227/2015, 27 May 2016) ...
A South African court has found that, for the purposes of fair dealing in copyright law, hyperlinks are a sufficient way of acknowledging source and ownership. The recent decision in the case of Moneyweb (Pty) Limited v Media 24 Limited and Another (unreported case no. 31575/2013, 5 May 2016) attracted a great deal of publicity. This is possibly because the two main parties are media companies ...
A court has ruled that the South African Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) does not have the authority to consider and rule on adverts placed by entities that aren’t members of the organisation. Regular readers will know that the ASA is frequently used as a forum for dealing with what are essentially trade mark or passing-off disputes. This is because the ASA Code contains provisions that prohibit advertising that causes consumer confusion or involves slavish copying ...
Egypt’s Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued Decree No. 43 of 2016, which amends the rules organising the registration of factories and companies that are eligible to export their products to Egypt. The decree took effect on 15 March 2016, and replaces all previous decrees or stipulations that contradict it ...
Brexit, the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, raises many questions and some are related to intellectual property issues. There are a few anticipated changes to IP rights due to Brexit. Here is a summary of some key issues, and what could happen next. Trademarks and Designs Proceduresfor treatment of EU trademarks will need to be an element of the negotiations for the UK in leaving the EU ...
