There’s certainly been a great deal of litigation around the trade mark ClearVu in South Africa – passing-off proceedings before the High Court, an appeal from that judgment to the Supreme Court of Appeal, and proceedings before the Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”). Now there’s another judgment, one that deals with an opposition to a trade mark application for ClearVu ...
The Philippine chapter of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Patents 2017 was contributed by SyCipLaw partners Enrique T. Manuel and Vida M. Panganiban-Alindogan. Mr. Manuel heads the firm’s Intellectual Property department. The chapter includes information on patent enforcement, patent amendment, licensing, patent term extension, patent prosecution and opposition, border control measures, Antitrust Law and inequitable conduct, and current developments ...
As we explained previously, in April 2016 the Second Appellate District held that California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) creates a separate duty to provide reasonable accommodation to an applicant or employee who is “associated” with a disabled person. On rehearing of the Castro-Ramirez v. Dependable Highway Express, Inc. decision (Case No. B261165, B262524), the Court has retreated from its prior holding ...
The prevailing question is - do employees have the right to privacy in theworkplace?Employees want to work in a safe environment without the fearof being constantly monitored by their employers. Consequently, employeesexpect that their privacy in the workplace is respected. On the other hand, employershave the right to protect their business interests against unwarrantedconsequences that would damage their business ...
Maria Ostashenko, ALRUD Partner, and Ksenia Erokhina, Senior Attorney, contributed to Comparative legal Guide to Outsourcing 2016. Within collaboration with the publishing house ALRUD specialists have prepared the chapter devoted to outsourcing and its regulation in Russia. The chapter has comprehensiblequestion-answer format ...
The August 2016 issue of the Asian Legal Business (ALB) Asia Edition includes a regional update by SyCipLaw partner Maria Teresa Mercado-Ferrer entitled “A Need to Clarify Powers of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Local Government Units Relative to Peza-Registered BPO Companies”. The regional update can be found on page 15.Read the full ALB August 2016 issue for free ...
The effect of Brexit on EU nationals living and working in the United Kingdom will undoubtedly be of interest to many employers as things develop over the coming months. The provisions for leaving the EU are outlined in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements ...
Streets named after a country’s heroes and heroines can be a hotly contested and emotive issue, especially in a country such as South Africa, with its colonial and apartheid past. This was illustrated in the recent Constitutional Court case of City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality v AfriForum and Another (the “AfriForum case”), which not only dealt with this sensitive topic, but also clarified an important legal issue – whether an interim interdict can be appealed ...
Pierre Denis, Étienne Brassard, Benjamin David Gross and Sibylle Ferreira, whose practices focus on business law, financing and aeronautics, contributed to the development of a Q&A guide entitled Aviation finance in Canada: overview and published in the first edition of Practical Law’s Aviation Finance Global Guide ...
The case of Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited1 came to a close on July 14, 2016, when the Supreme Court of Canada (the ?Supreme Court?) reversed a controversial Federal Court of Appeal decision in which it had been held that a dismissal without cause was not necessarily an ?unjust dismissal? under the Canada Labour Code (?the Code?) ...
Timeline 20 August 2013: The South African National Assembly passes the Protection of Personal Information Bill [B9D of 2009] (“the Bill”) to give effect to the constitutional right to privacy. 19 November 2013: The Bill is signed into law by President Jacob Zuma and gazetted as the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPI”) ...
During the last two days, the Labour Court judgment in the matter of Solidarity and Others v The South African Broadcasting Corporation (“SABC”) (case no. J 1343/16, 26 July 2016) has been widely publicised and is well-known to South Africans. The judgment relates to a protest policy recently introduced by the SABC, in terms of which it would no longer broadcast footage of destruction of public property during protests ...
The decision by the International Trademark Association (“INTA”) to host a major meeting in Cape Town – apparently the first INTA conference to take place on African soil – is highly significant. It certainly says a great deal about the continent's growing economic importance. The conference takes place on 1 – 2 September 2016 and it’s entitled “Building Africa with Brands” ...
On July 5, 2016 the Chilean Congress enacted Law No. 20,931 (“Anti-crime Agenda”), strengthening the prosecution of robbery, burglary, theft and willfully or negligently receiving or possessing stolen goods. The Chilean Criminal Code sanctions any individual who knowingly or negligently possesses, transports, buys, converts or trades goods proceeding from theft, robbery, embezzlement and/or cattle theft. Negligent behavior can also be prosecuted ...
On June 17, 2016, the Superior Court1 affirmed the 2014 decision of the Commission des lésions professionnelles2 ("CLP") in Canadelle, s.e.c. and Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail ...
Implementation of Prakas on minimum registered capital of banking and financial institutions,Circular № B7-016-117 C.L, dated 16 June 2016This Circular, issued on 16 June 2016, aims at implementing Prakas №B7-016-117 on Minimum Registered Capital of Banking and Financial Institutions (“BFIs”), dated 22 March 2016 (“Prakas №B7-016-117”), in relation to procedures for increasing the minimum registered capital requirements of BFIs ...
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 ...
Allied Irish Bank PLC -v- Moloney & anor [2016] IEHC 346 Twomey J, 20 June 2016, concerned an application by Allied Irish Bank (AIB) for summary judgment in the sum of €10.8m. The defendants contested the application claiming that they had a binding oral agreement with AIB, whereby it was agreed that the defendants would sell the properties charged to AIB, and the outstanding loan would be written off. The fact of the borrowings was not disputed ...
Last June 24th, the Supreme Court of Canada (the ?Supreme Court?) rendered judgment in the case of British Columbia (Workers? Compensation Appeal Tribunal) v. Fraser Health Authority1 (?Fraser?). Briefly, this case involved seven laboratory technicians from the same hospital who had breast cancer. Each of them filed a claim for compensation under the Workers Compensation Act (the ?Act?), alleging that their cancer was an occupational disease ...
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 ...
The July 2016 issue of the Asian Legal Business (ALB) Asia Edition included a regional update article entitled "Single Entry Approach: Mandatory Conciliation and Mediation of Labor Disputes", contributed by SyCipLaw partner Marianne M. Miguel and SyCipLaw Associate Mary Grace L. Javier. The article discussed the Department Order No ...