Last month, the Supreme Court decided TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, which narrowed the definition of where a corporate defendant "resides" for the purpose of suing it for patent infringement. In doing so, it overturned the 1994 holding of the Federal Circuit of what constitutes proper venue in patent infringement cases. Federal law allows a Plaintiff to bring a patent infringement suit against a defendant in any district where one of two conditions are met ...
In May 2017, the Israeli Innovation Authority (the successor of the Office of Chief Scientist), a division of the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry (the "Innovation Authority"), issued new rules1 becoming applicable to Israeli companies that receive grants from the Innovation Authority ("Funded Companies") ...
A unanimous Supreme Court held on June 5, 2017, that the SEC’s ability to recover funds through disgorgement is subject to a five-year statute of limitations. The SEC routinely seeks disgorgement as an equitable remedy in actions alleging securities law violations and asserted that disgorgement was not a penalty subject to the five year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. § 2462 ...
Amongst the numerous topics covered by the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II), the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has decided to provide further guidance on the requirements regarding product governance through its guidelines dated 2 June 2017 which focus on the target market assessment by manufacturers and distributors of financial products ...
The San Francisco Building Code now has new requirements for regular facade inspections and maintenance of facades of certain kinds of older buildings. Although signed into law by Mayor Lee earlier this year, this new law (entitled "Building Facade Inspection and Maintenance – Retroactive Provisions") has received little public attention even though the City believes that a little over three thousand buildings are affected ...
The Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions Act), 2017, enacted on 16 May 2017, aims to give new impetus to investment by creating a more favourable environment to doing business in Mauritius. It seeks to do away with regulatory and administrative constraints (whether at the outset or on an ongoing basis), and promotes a modern and digital business environment by bringing significant amendments and innovations to 26 pieces of legislation ...
We trade mark lawyers like to tell our clients to take their brands seriously: adopt trade marks that are distinctive and therefore easy to protect; do trade mark searches; and register in all the countries where the trade marks are used. Clients sometimes roll their eyes when they hear this. But, fortunately for us lawyers, there’s a constant stream of big name trade mark scare stories in the media ...
Two recent news reports give some useful insight into the commercialisation of trade marks and its relevance to public utilities. The first report was in UK newspaper The Guardian. Entitled "Mine the Gap", it dealt with the fact that Transport for London ("TFL"), the authority that’s responsible for London’s tube and bus network, is involved in an ambitious trade mark licensing project. The authority recognises that it has some very valuable trade marks ...
As anyone who’s interested in trade mark law knows, it is possible to protect product shapes through trade mark registrations, but it isn’t easy. In some countries, it’s particularly difficult, as two recent cases show. Vespa Let's start with the positive news. Piaggio recently secured an important victory in its home country, with an Italian court ruling that a three-dimensional trade mark registration for the shape of the famous Vespa scooter is valid ...
Karanovic & Nikolic attended the 8th View More
On 22 May 2017, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) announced that it has made amendments to the JSE Listings Requirements in relation to the adoption of the King IV Report on Corporate Governance and other governance arrangements, including a race diversity policy and the publication of a compliance report pursuant to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (“B-BBEE”) Amendment Act, 2013 ...
The Department of State (“DOS”) published in the Federal Register a Notice to implement the presidential initiative for extreme vetting of visa applicants. Emergency review of the DOS proposal has been requested from the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”). The DOS has requested approval. If granted, the emergency approval would be valid for 180 days, although permanent approval could still be sought ...
In this article we outline 12 key elements that are critical components of a rock-solid compliance program for participants in commodity markets. We start with creating a “culture of regulatory compliance,” which pervades a company from top to bottom, and then work our way through day-to-day policies and steps you can take to minimize your company’s risk of non-compliance ...
In line with international models, South Africa has attempted to incentivize investment into the development and renewal of certain urban areas. One of these incentives is the accelerated tax depreciation allowance, introduced in 2003 by section 13quat of the Income Tax Act, 1962 and is commonly referred to as the Urban Development Zone ("UDZ") allowance ...
An overview of mergers and acquisitions in Poland. The process, structure and parties to M&A deals, legal restrictions and tax aspects, discussed clearly and accessibly. What to bear in mind, and what details require special focus. The M&A practice at Wardynski & Partners has prepared a guide to mergers and acquisitions in Poland. In less than 60 pages, we highlight the issues vital to the success of the deal ...
The Battleground: On one side of the battlefield, positioned on the lofty heights of moral superiority, the asset managers (and academics) lob propaganda leaflets pointing out their greater firepower in the form of smug principle and the dollar value of their total assets under management. Their opponents are a motley crew. There are the Startup Upstarts, whose uniform is expensive sneakers and untidy man-buns ...
As reported previously in a Newsletter to readers, the City in its continuing efforts to increase the housing stock now allows the addition of one or more in-law units in almost all zoning districts that allow residential uses, notwithstanding the density limit of the zoning (such as RH-2 and RH-3 zoning). These in-law units are known as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and they are created within unused or underutilized space entirely within an existing building ...
The recent storm in the UK about Scottish craft brewing company BrewDog’s decision to invoke its trade mark rights against much smaller rivals highlights the difficulties and negative repercussions that can arise when it comes to enforcing trade mark rights. BrewDog has been extraordinarily successful ...
It seems absurd that South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) should be called on to decide what the word “between” means. But that’s exactly what happened in the recent patent case of Orica Mining Services v Elbroc Mining Products. In the process, the SCA very clearly opted for a purposive interpretation of patent claims. The two parties involved, Orica and Elbroc, supply goods to the mining industry ...
Recent developments in the UK regarding plain-packaging requirements for cigarettes have again shone the spotlight on this contentious issue. A while back, we reported on developments in Australia, where the country’s Tobacco Plain Packaging Act, 2011 requires tobacco companies to sell their products in identical olive green packs, with graphic images reflecting the possible health consequences of smoking, and the brand name (sans logo) in very small script ...
The Decree permits the holder of granted land to mortgage such land subject to certain conditions. It is expected that the Decree will stimulate growth in Dubai by enabling developers, who hold granted land, to obtain finance for their projects by mortgaging the granted land. The Director General of the Dubai Land Department (DLD), Sultan Butti Bin Merjren, has said that the Decree is a key legislative initiative that will have a positive impact on the real estate market ...
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, We would like to inform you that the Federal Antimonopoly Service (hereinafter - "FAS Russia") proposes to exempt from inspections such companies that have effective antimonopoly compliance systems. FAS Russia also intends to implement a risk-oriented approach and develops criteria for the companies to be included in the list of scheduled inspections. According to the Deputy Head of FAS Russia Mr ...
The turmoil within the Croatian retail company Agrokor, which owns Mercator, the largest Slovenian retailer, caused a significant stir in the Slovenian public, with the suppliers and especially in politics ...
