With the purposes of expediting the registration and management of trademarks worldwide, on November 27th, 2020, the Executive filed a bill to approve the incorporation of Chile into the "Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks" (the "Madrid Protocol") ...
In September 2021, the House of Representatives approved on third reading House Bill (HB) 8942 – the Ease of Paying Taxes Act. The bill proposed to amend the National Internal Revenue Code as amended (the Tax Code) and introduce administrative reforms that will simplify tax compliance and strengthen taxpayers' rights ...
On April 1, 2022, the Alaska Supreme Court issued Borer v. The Eyak Corporation, which may impact Alaska Native Corporation boards of directors and their corporate governance structures and policies. Courts only resolve disputes between parties that are ripe—generally that means that the party bringing the lawsuit alleges it has already been injured or restricted in some meaningful way ...
On April 2, 2022, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) published the revised Provisions on Strengthening Confidentiality and Archives Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Draft Archives Rules”). The Draft Archives Rules is now open for public consultations until April 17, 2022 ...
On April 2, 2022, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (the “CSRC”) published the revised Provisions on Strengthening Confidentiality and Archives Administration of Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies (Draft for Comments) (the “Draft Archives Rules”). The Draft Archives Rules is now open for public consultations until April 17, 2022 ...
On 31 March 2022, a legislative Act that makes considerable changes to the sale of consumer goods was published in the Belgian State Gazette. This law transposes into Belgian legislation two European directives: EU Directive 2019/770 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services and EU Directive 2019/771 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the sale of goods ...
The Government of the Russian Federation has adopted Resolution No. 497 dated March 28, 2022, which es-tablishes a large-scale moratorium on bankruptcy from April 1. Meanwhile, earlier on March 9, 2022, the Fed-eral Tax Service had already decided to suspend the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings. In this newsletter, we will provide you with an analysis of the key provisions of the moratorium ...
Changes to the rules relating to the use of red diesel will come into effect from April 1 2022 as a result of amendments to the Hydro Carbon Oil Duties Act 1979. The new rules set out a list of “excepted machines” which are allowed to use red diesel. A vehicle that is used for a purpose related to agriculture, aquatic farming, horticulture and forestry is allowed to use red diesel and can be used on the public road if the use is for one of those purposes ...
On 25 March 2022, the European Commission and the United States Government announced an “agreement in principle” on a new EU-US Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework (the Framework). The purpose of this is to address the concerns that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) raised in the Schrems II decision, and thus allow the flow of personal data from the EU to the US in a manner that is compliant with the requirements of the GDPR ...
HM Treasury has recently published the outcome of its UK Prospectus Regime Review. The Review Outcome sets out important reforms to the UK prospectus regime for the public issuance of securities and admission to trading on capital markets, outlining the policy approach the UK Government will take following last year's Prospectus Regime Review consultation. This briefing note sets out the key measures confirmed by the UK Government in the Review Outcome ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends,We are pleased to bring you the latest legal updates for March 2022 ...
Lao PDR is following the regional trend of taxing the activities of non-resident E-Commerce and digital platform service providers. In this client update, we provide the key features and our commentary on the Ministry of Finance’s Notification on the Implementation of the Tax Obligations of the E-Commerce and Digital Platform No. 0541/MOF, dated 24 February 2022 (“the Notification”) ...
The Portland Business Journal has now ranked the region's law firms by the diversity on their professionals for six years based on our annual survey for The List of law firms. We've refined the methodology again this year to improve the ranking. Beyond just ranking firms by percentages of women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & People of Color) and LGBTQIA+ lawyers and partners, we indexed them against the percentage of female (50 ...
Genuine Enabling Technology LLC v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., Appeal No. 2020-2167 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 1, 2022) The Federal Circuit’s only precedential patent opinion this week turned on issues of claim construction. In particular, the issue was the effect of statements made by the applicant during the patent’s prosecution. The Court held that the district court erred in applying too narrow a construction, and reversed with a modified construction ...
In light of the current geopolitical situation, the severe US and EU sanctions, and Russian counter sanctions imposed in response, many international companies have already announced their plans either to leave the Russian market, or to temporarily suspend their business operations in Russia. The current unprecedented situation is a great challenge for companies, since it requires complex decisions to be made, in a very short time ...
Myanmar will this month re-open for international flight arrivals after a two-year ban and will restart online visa applications, citing a significant decrease in COVID-19 infections across the country. The decision to resume foreign flights was made in line with the latest COVID-19 restrictions issued by the Ministry of Health under the State Administration Council (“SAC”) and was announced as a measure to support the Myanmar economy ...
Following the Scottish Government’s statement on 15 March 2022 regarding COVID-19 restrictions, organisations should take time to review the status of recently eased restrictions, and those which are to be eased in the coming weeks. These changes will be of particular relevance to businesses and employers throughout Scotland, who should follow the up-to-date guidance when dealing with employees and customers alike ...
The recent Winter Olympic Games and the conclusion of the Six Nations rugby were just two of many sporting events, large and small, that have been welcoming back fans (in accordance with local laws and restrictions) over the last several weeks. As we continue to live with COVID-19, it is crucial that organisers of sporting and other events are aware of health and safety requirements and their duty of care towards attendees ...
The UK’s new safeguard mechanism for international transfers of personal data came into force on 21 March 2022. Organisations that make restricted transfers of personal data should review their data transfer processes now ...
As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, many issues which have been on the back-burner over the past few years are starting to resurface. In this article we take a look at some hot topics and legal developments we are expecting to take place this year. Flexible working As those of us who have worked from home for the past two years start returning in earnest to the office, flexible working is on everyone’s lips ...
Agricultural and rural settings present significant health and safety risks, which must be carefully managed and mitigated by employers and landowners operating in the sector. This was brought into sharp focus after two fatalities led to prosecutions following investigations by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Prosecution one In February, a farmer was prosecuted after a tragic fatal incident on farmland in Leeds ...
The establishment by the Scottish Government of a food security task force is a necessary and timely response to the war in Ukraine. In addition to the harrowing humanitarian crisis, the conflict has prompted significant concern among food producers. The UK food sector and consumers are currently facing a perfect storm just as we begin to emerge from the pandemic ...
AUTHOR: Lynn Lazaro Partner, Kochhar & Co. Bangalore Office EMAIL: [email protected] NFTs have been around since 2015 on the Ethereum blockchain and have significantly grown over the years especially in the digital art industry. However, not all NFTs are art related. Some NFTs are also attached to physical products where they could act like security. “NFT” basically stands for a “non-fungible token” ...