On August 27, 2021, the Regulation of the Bitcoin Law (the “Regulation”) was published in the Official Gazette of El Salvador. The Regulations will enter into force on September 8, one day after the entry into force of the Bitcoin Law ...
The UK Government has announced that businesses will have a further year to start using the UKCA marking for goods placed on the GB market, extending the deadline to 1 January 2023. What is a UKCA mark? The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is the new UK product marking that is used for certain goods that are placed on the GB market and covers most goods which previously required the EU CE marking, known as ‘new approach’ goods ...
May 2021 saw the election of seven ‘Metro Mayors’ outside London, underlining the government’s renewed enthusiasm for devolving powers beyond Westminster as part of its ‘levelling up’ agenda. The powers of each Mayor and Combined Authority vary but a common thread is the use of devolved planning powers to accelerate housing delivery ...
We are still waiting for the “official” SBA FAQ announcing the withdrawal of the Forms 3509/3510 Loan Necessity Questionnaire (“Questionnaire”) that, according to the SBA, will include additional information about its review process. In the meantime, PPP lenders have been told by the SBA that they no longer are required to request that borrowers who obtained loans of $2 million or more complete the Questionnaire ...
A few days ago, Law 21,366 was published in the Official Gazette amending Law 20,659 (of May 2013), which created a complete digital system (and parallel to the traditional system of public deed and extract registered in the Registry of Commerce and published in the Official Gazette), to incorporate, modify and dissolve commercial companies. This system, administered by the Registry of Companies and Corporations or "RES" ( www.registrodeempresasysociedades ...
A few days ago, Law 21,366 was published in the Official Gazette amending Law 20,659 (of May 2013), which created a complete digital system (and parallel to the traditional system of public deed and extract registered in the Registry of Commerce and published in the Official Gazette), to incorporate, modify and dissolve commercial companies. This system, administered by the Registry of Companies and Corporations or "RES" (www.registrodeempresasysociedades ...
Important new legislative changes impacting federally regulated employers will come into effect in 2021: the Pay Equity Act and a minimum wage requirement. Details on both these measures and how that will affect employers are examined below. Pay Equity Act The federal Pay Equity Act comes into effect on August 31, 2021. The Act applies to federally regulated employers who have 10 or more employees ...
Despite the cannabis industry’s explosive growth, many financial institutions have been hesitant to transact with cannabis-related businesses given the ambiguity created by divergent state and federal cannabis laws. The SAFE Banking Act seeks to remove these ambiguities at the federal level and pave the way for more financial institutions to serve the cannabis industry ...
Key Points Ninth Circuit reaffirms the “significant nexus” test for determining whether filling certain wetlands in 2007 violates the Clean Water Act The narrower test for determining the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction under the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule did not apply since it postdated the 2007 filling of the wetlands ...
On July 21, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations (the Division) issued a Risk Alert detailing more than 20 examinations of investment advisers who engaged in cross trades, principal trades, or both, involving fixed-income securities as part of the Division’s FIX Initiative. The July 21, 2021, Risk Alert is a follow-up to the Sept ...
On August 20, 2021, the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China (the “PIPL”) was officially promulgated, which will come into effect on November 1, 2021. The PIPL will become the first systematic and comprehensive law in China that focuses on the protection of personal information ...
On 20 July 2021, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued a draft guideline on climate risk management for consultation with the banking industry with comments due by 20 August 2021. The guideline includes expectations on governance, strategy, risk management and disclosure ...
Arbitration Rules 2021The Asian International Arbitration Centre (“AIAC”) launched its latest edition of the AIAC Arbitration Rules (“AIAC Rules”) on 1 August 2021. The AIAC Arbitration Rules 2021 (“2021 Rules”) streamline proceedings and embrace the needs of a fast evolving disputes climate ...
On 5 July 2021, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a press release which announced that it has reprimanded and fined Mr Raymond Leung Tak Shing (Leung) HK$400,000 for failing to discharge his duties in relation to AML requirements as a member of a licensed firm’s senior management team ...
In a decision that will no doubt come as a great relief to the funds, banking, and asset management industries, the Court of Appeal ruled in Nomura Funds Plc v Collector of Stamp Revenue [2021] HKCA 1040 that a merger effected by way of the universal succession of the merged company (i.e., the surviving company) to the assets and liabilities of the merging company (i.e ...
On August 18 th , 2021, Law No. 21,362 (the “ Law ”) was published in the Official Gazette. The Law introduces several modifications to different other laws in connection with the labeling, advertisement, and sales of gluten free foodstuff products. Firstly, the Law modifies Law No. 20,606, commonly known as Labeling Law ...
In the wake of the pandemic and social justice movement in 2020, the call for diversifying corporate boards has intensified. On Aug. 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Nasdaq Stock Market’s (Nasdaq) proposal to amend its listing standards to promote greater board diversity and to require board diversity disclosures for Nasdaq-listed companies ...
Home Quarantine Now Possible for Ex-Patriates Imagine having the permission to work in a foreign country and yet being unable to do so as you are prohibited from entry. That has been the dilemma faced by many ex patriates who hold Employment Passes but have been unable to enter Malaysia due to the current restrictions in place ...
In our first part of this series, we provided a brief primer on patents. For the second part of our Intellectual Property series, we take a look at trademarks. Trademarks are not generally considered "technology", but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") is charged with administering them along with patents. Certainly, technology startups must be aware of both of these types of Intellectual Property. The PTO provides a webpage with general information for the public ...
Petunia Products, Inc. owns the BROW BOOST ® trademark, under which it sells a “Billion Dollar Brows” eyebrow primer and conditioner. Petunia recently asserted trademark infringement claims against a skin care products company, which Petunia alleges infringed on its BROW BOOST mark in connection with the name of its product that competes with Petunia’s product, and by using the hashtag #BROWBOOST on social media to promote its product ...
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management recently issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) implementing portions of the No Surprises Act enacted in December 2020 ...
Banking & Finance The Central Bank of Malta Issues Directive 19 on the Use of Cheques and Bank Drafts Directive No 19 ‘on the Use of Cheques and Bank Drafts’ was issued by the Central Bank of Malta on 7th July 2021 with the aim of promoting safe and effective use of cheques and bank drafts drawn on Maltese banks and financial institutions ...
Under the GDPR, transfers of personal data are permitted without restriction to countries that the European Commission (the "EC") has assessed as providing an "adequate" standard of protection for personal data. The current list of countries considered "adequate" is Andorra, Argentina, Canada (for commercial organisations), Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Israel, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, New Zealand, Switzerland and Uruguay and the United Kingdom ...
Financial ServicesBank Negara Malaysia issues Policy Document on Reference Rate FrameworkThe policy document on Reference Rate Framework (“RRF PD”) was issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) on 11 August 2021 and will come into effect on 1 August 2022 ...
