Latest Developments Although we have not witnessed any major legislative or policy changes during the last year, these seem to be forthcoming in 2009 as the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) developed draft amendment to the Competition Act 2001 introducing fundamental changes into national merger control regime ...
On June 17, 2008, the Supreme Court of Lithuania rendered a decision restricting the rights of the trademark owner to revoke his consent to use a trademark as a company name. In UAB Solvex Baltic v. UAB Scandihouse (Case No 3K-3-335/2008 (S)), the owner of the trademark SCANDIHOUSE petitioned the defendant to change its company name ...
Summary The Court of Appeal held that administrators were personally liable in costs for litigation in circumstances where a creditor challenged whether the purpose of administration could be achieved. The case highlights a number of important points for administrators and in particular the high standards expected of them following an appointment. Facts Joint administrators were appointed to Ulva Limited ("Ulva") by the sole director on 14 August 2007 ...
In its decision of 10 September 2008, the Market Court held that eight retailers of Volvo and Renault cars in southern Sweden were guilty of fixing sales prices and discounts on new cars, dividing the market for new car sales and fixing acquisition and sales prices on used cars. This behaviour was deemed to constitute such a limitation of competition as is prohibited under Section 6 of the Competition Act and Article 81 of the EC Treaty ...
Act No. 125/2008, Coll., on Transformations of Commercial Companies and Cooperatives, taking effect 1 July 2008, supersedes the existing regulation of intra-state transformations in the Commercial Code and newly regulates certain transformations with foreign elements, i.e. cross border mergers and transfer of assets to a foreign participant ...
On 22 May 2008, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Dŵr Cymru's appeal against part of the CAT's judgement in the long running Albion Water case [FOOTNOTE: Dŵr Cymru Cyfyngedig v Albion Water Limited [2008] EWCA Civ 536 and [2006] CAT 23 and [2006] CAT 36]. The main subject of that appeal was the correct interpretation of the law on the abuse of margin squeeze ...
A new Swedish Competition Act will enter into force on 1 November 2008. The Act was passed by parliament on 11 June 2008. The new legislation means further harmonisation with EC competition rules and it also introduces a number of new features in order to enhance cartel enforcement. One of the new features is the introduction of trading prohibitions. The rules regarding fines will become both clearer and stricter in an aim to enhance legal certainty ...
On April 24, 2008, the Union des Municipalités du Québec announced the launching of the Sustainable Mobility and Transport Policy. This purpose of this initiative is to develop a new culture regarding mobility and transport, reduce dependency on motor vehicles, facilitate access to affordable public transport, decrease energy consumption and reduce environmental impacts, including those related to greenhouse gas emissions ...
Until recently there was a significant amount of confusion and uncertainty on whether or not it is trade mark infringement for a search engine to allow certain 'keywords' to be sponsored by a third party who is not the trademark owner. The above scenario was encountered in the recent case of Wilson v Yahoo UK Limited where Mr Wilson was the owner of several Community trade marks under the name 'Mr Spicy' ...
Every day, and several times a day, we enter into contracts without knowing it or without considering and controlling their effects. This bulletin provides a brief and non-exhaustive summary to help you better understand, prepare for and monitor your contractual environment ...
In the beginning of February, the Swedish Corporate Governance Board presented a proposal for a revised Swedish code on corporate governance (the Code).Work on amending the code has been carried out in cooperation with representatives for both OMX Nordic Exchange as well as NGM ...
On 21 February 2008, the government presented a proposal for a new Competition Act. The proposal contains a number of new things, of which several aim to make the fight against cartels more efficient. In addition, amendments are proposed to the rules on concentrations. Possibility of avoiding trial through a settlement procedure Currently, the Swedish Competition Authority does not have the authority itself to decide on fines (sw. konkurrensskadeavgift) ...
Under Bolivian law, there is no specific set of regulations or special norm regarding a system of merger control applicable to the different sectors of the economy(1). The antitrust provisions, restrictions and penalties for each particular sector (telecommunications, electricity, hydrocarbons, transport, water, etc.) are established in the “Sectorial” laws, and in general in the Bolivian Constitution, the Criminal Code and Code of Commerce ...
The role and duties of a Chair are not defined and circumscribed in incorporating statutes (federal and Quebec) except in the case of Quebec government-owned corporations and then, only in part. Boards of directors have been at the centre of the public debate on corporate governance in recent years. This heightened focus on boards has provoked questioning and reflection on the role and liability of the Chair ...
Legal system1. What is the legal system (civil law, common law or a mixture of both)?Romania has a civil law system.Foreign investment2. Are there any restrictions on foreign investment (including authorisations required by central or local government)? There are only a few restrictions on foreign investment. For example, foreign persons cannot acquire land, subject to a limited number of conditional exceptions. 3 ...
Companies found guilty of manslaughter under new law could have their finances and reputations ruined. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 comes into force on 6 April 2008. After much controversy and delay the legislation is almost with us. In a nutshell: The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (the “Act”) comes into force in the UK on 6 April 2008 ...
Being the smartest lawyer in the room does not always guarantee success. Rather, success in the field of law almost always results from an attorney’s determination and dedication ...
Over a decade has elapsed since Bosman (a relatively unknown Belgian footballer but now a regular on the Question of Sport picture round) put EC free movement law firmly on the Match of the Day agenda. Over the ensuing years, the European Court of Justice and the European Commission have articulated (sort of…) clearly that sport does not benefit from some "white card" exemption to the application of EC free movement rules ...
A Georgia intermediate appellate court has affirmed summary judgment in favor of an insurer, holding that there can be no “advertising injury” coverage under a commercial general liability insurance contract where an underlying lawsuit concerning division of profits from a joint copyright work fails to allege a misappropriation of advertising ideas. James C. Shafe, et al. v. American States Insurance Co., No. A07A0879, 2007 Ga. App. LEXIS 1193 (Ga ...
The rule that a party receiving documents in litigation holds them subject to an implied undertaking to use them only in the proceedings in which they were produced has been a fixture of practice in British Columbia since 1995. However, while the rule is easy to state, it often proves more difficult to apply in practice and carries with it the potential for very serious sanctions for breach ...
On 18 October 2007, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a circular which allows delegation of investment management functions by managers of authorised funds to affiliates not based in an Acceptable Inspection Regime (AIR), subject to certain requirements being met. Previously the fund management company of an SFC authorised fund, and all of its delegates with investment discretion, had to be based in Hong Kong or an AIR ...
This newsletter intends to provide our colleagues and friends with a rapid overview of the reforms that recently occurred in Portugal within commercial and corporate law, in respect of the debureaucratization of the treatment of commercial companies. I. ReformsThus, a substantial range of amendments has been implemented in the last years, with the purpose of simplifying the commercial companies’ incorporation, registration, merger, division, etc. procedures ...
IFLR Taiwan M&A SummaryJuly 20, 2007IntroductionAs Taiwan heads into an election year in 2008 and beyond, market observers may look back at the last 12 months as an important watershed period for the modernization of Taiwan’s financial sector. There is abundant and growing interest from foreign investors, particularly private equity investors, and mergers and acquisitions, together with other domestic and cross-border deal-making, are at an all time high ...
