Even if the parties determine that a proposed transaction is not subject to the requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (the “HSR Act”),1 the parties should take note of the recent activities and current views of agency staff regarding investigations of non-reportable transactions. Almost 20 percent of merger investigations opened by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) between 2009 and 2013 related to non-reportable transactions ...
Stories of trade marks becoming generic - which may have the result that trade mark registrations become vulnerable to cancellation - are rare. Yet there have been a number of examples recently. In March 2014, there was a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) that dealt with a claim that a trade mark registration for Kornspitz should be cancelled because the word had become generic ...
The Industrial Property Bill that was passed on the 22nd August 2013 was accepted into Ugandan law on the 6th January 2014. This Bill brings about various changes in the law protecting inventions, creations and designs in Uganda, and is intended to support development in the private sector and promote private investment ...
Clients unfamiliar with patent prosecution are often surprised to learn that few patent applications receive a first-action allowance, or FAA. There are even rankings of law firms that receive the most FAAs each year. But what does an FAA signify? Is it a cause to celebrate, or to conduct a post-mortem? The answer is, of course, “it depends ...
The D.C. Circuit recently expanded the scope of the False Claims Act’s first-to-file defense. See United States ex rel. Shea v. Cellco Partnership, __ F.3d __, 2014 WL 1294687 (D.C. Cir. April 11, 2014). The court concluded that this defense – which bars FCA suits based on facts related to a “pending action” – applies even after the first action is dismissed ...
Although a federal court recently ruled that the United States Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has the authority to regulate data security practices, a clinical testing laboratory is arguing that the FTC’s regulatory authority does not extend to entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) ...
On March 28 2014 Law 642/2013 - a milestone of the government's anti-corporate raider policy - entered into force. Revival of the bill, which had previously gathered dust in parliamentary committees for several years, was a response to numerous calls from the international community to take measures to counter illegal takeovers and acquisitions of businesses ...
Launching a market inquiry into a certain, seemingly problematic sector of the South African economy is not a new modus operandi for the South African Competition Commission (the “SA Commission”). In the past the SA Commission has relied upon general powers found in the Competition Act, No. 89 of 1998 (as amended) (the “Competition Act”) to conduct a market inquiry into the retail banking sector (the “Banking Inquiry”) and the supermarket sector (the “Supermarket Inquiry”) ...
Beleaguered companies suffering from data breaches got more bad news when a federal judge held that the United States Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has the authority to regulate corporate cybersecurity practices ...
On April 9 last, the Superior Court of Québec issued its judgement1 on a motion for a declaratory judgment pertaining to trademarks in the English language on public signs and posters. The applicants, Magasin Best Buy Ltée, Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd, Gap (Canada) Inc., Old Navy (Canada) Inc., Corporation Guess? Canada, la Compagnie Wal Mart du Canada, Toys “R” Us Canada Ltée and Curves International Inc ...
Beleaguered companies suffering from data breaches got more bad news when a federal judge held that the United States Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has the authority to regulate corporate cybersecurity practices ...
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Bridge Trustees in 2011 (see further here), the Government announced that it would legislate to directly counteract the effect of the judgement and make it clear that benefits under a pension scheme cannot be regarded as money purchase benefits if it is possible for a funding deficit to arise in respect of any of those benefits ...
To strengthen the competitiveness of retail trading businesses carried out by modern stores and shopping centers, the Minister of Trade issued Regulation Number 70/M-DAG/PER/12/2013 on 12 December 2013 concerning Guidelines on Administrating and Fostering Traditional Markets, Shopping Centers, and Modern Shops (Reg. 70). Reg ...
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 38 of 2013 on Compensations for Land, Buildings, and Plants Located under High Voltage Air Channels (SUTT) and Extra High Voltage Air Channels and Free Spaces (SUTET) has been enforced as of 24 December 2013. The Regulation provides the procedures as well as formula for compensation for the owners of impacted land, buildings, and plant due the establishment of electricity infrastructure ...
On 29 July 2013, the Indonesian Minister of Trade (MOT) issued Regulation No. 35/M-DAG/PER/7/2013 on Affixing Retail Prices and Tariffs to Goods and Services (Reg. 35). The Regulation came into effect 6 months as of its enactment, i.e. on 29 January 2014. It is an implementing regulation of Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection. Two of its provisions will have a significant impact on businesses in Indonesia ...
An amendment to Law No. 30 of 2004 pertaining to Notary was issued on 15 January 2014 (Law No. 2 of 2014). The amendment came into force on its issuance date and various amended provisions were introduced, such us provisions on requirements for the appointment of a notary, confirmation of the Indonesian language as the formal language of a notarial deed or obligations of a notary and restriction on double positions. A number of interesting points were also addressed ...
What to Know When Pursuing Coverage For A Cyber/Privacy Breach During an investor conference call on Wednesday, February 26, Target CFO John Mulligan reported that the highest profile data breach of 2013 cost the retailer $61 million in out-of-pocket expenses during the fourth quarter, of which $44 million was covered by insurance ...
In the last few years, pension deemed trust issues have been a subject of debate before the courts. The Supreme Court of Canada itself addressed some of these issues in the Indalex case ...
In addition to being the world’s leading international finance centre in which to set up companies, the British Virgin Islands (‘BVI’) is now regarded as one of the world’s premier trust jurisdictions. The general principles of the trust laws of the BVI are derived from those of English trust law. The principles of English common law and equity apply, as supplemented by BVI statute ...
On March 26, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) hosted a roundtable to discuss cybersecurity. The roundtable focused on how cybersecurity affects markets and how public companies and other businesses should address cybersecurity issues ...
Confronted with three different standing tests applied by the Circuit courts to Lanham Act false advertising claims, the Supreme Court has answered the question of which test to apply: “None of the above.” In Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., Slip op. March 25, 2014, Justice Scalia, writing for a unanimous Court, rejected each of the tests employed by the Circuits in favor of a “zone of interests” test ...
Comments on the consequences of failure to observe the required form when selling shares in a limited-liability company and the possibility of correcting this defect. The current Commercial Companies Code went into effect in Poland in 2001, stiffening the requirements with respect to the form for transfer of title to shares in a limited-liability company (sp. z o.o ...
The Executive Branch announced days ago the 3 main investment projects which will be promoted under the Public-Private Partnership regime in Paraguay. With the enactment in the month of March of the Regulatory Decree of the Public-Private Partnership Law (Law 5102/2013), the projects are expected to be advanced immediately ...
The new EU Procurement directive was published in the Official Journal of the EU today (28 March 2014) and will come into force on 17 April 2014. This article summarises some of the key changes from the new Directive which are likely to be of interest to both the public and private sector. The UK will have 2 years to implement the Directive but the government has suggested that it will be implemented in a shorter timescale ...
The Competition Commission of India ("CCI") has amended the Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011 (Combination Regulations). A notification in respect was issued by the CCI on March 28, 2014 ...
