Following up on the announcement from Mexico’s Ministry of Energy about a month earlier, on March 22, 2016, the Energy Regulatory Commission (“CRE”) approved the regulatory framework to allow the importation of gasoline and diesel into Mexico as of April 1, 2016. The regulations trigger open access to the storage facilities and transportation pipelines owned by PEMEX LOGISTICA (“PEMEX”). The regulations cover the following: i ...
The South African Labour Courts have, until now, not had the opportunity to consider what impact, if any, a so-called “gardening leave” provision may have on the enforceability of a restraint of trade. This issue, among others, came before the Labour Court in Johannesburg in the case ofVodacom v Godfrey Motsa and MTN Group (J74/16). Judgment was handed down by Van Niekerk J on 9 February 2016 ...
Do hashtag trade marks need special consideration? There’s been quite a bit of discussion on the issue of hashtag trade marks of late, and there was a particularly useful article on the topic in a recent edition (1 February 2016) of the International Trademark Association (“INTA”) Bulletin. The article was entitled “Are Hashtags Capable of Trademark Protection under U.S. Law?”, and it was written by Carrie L. Kiedrowski and Charlotte K. Murphy of the firm Jones Day ...
Chambers & Partners has published the latest edition of its guide this month, and we are pleased to announce that Karanović & Nikolić has once again been included in its list of the best legal practices in the world. The Chambers guides are the culmination of thousands of in-depth interviews conducted by the largest research team of its kind, with a globally attained credibility in objectively ranking the world's best legal practices from more than 190 countries in total ...
During the first half of March, Miloš Vučković, Partner at Karanović & Nikolić, attended the two-day long Distressed Assets Forum in London, UK. The event was a good opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the field of trading non-performing loans (NPL's) on the European market, with many prominent banking, real-estate, advisory, and legal executives appearing as speakers and panellists ...
In a recent statement to the press, the Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, labelled the Serbian spas as great tourism potentials and 'undiscovered gems', before continuing to declare Slovenian interest for investing in them ...
Deriving from the enormous interest shown by the investors towards the liberalization of the oil and gas industry, Mexico’s Ministry of Energy has eliminated the restriction to import gasoline and diesel by private parties as of April 1, 2016.Read the full alert ...
On March 14, 2016 the Mexican Ministry of Economy published in Official Gazette of the Federation a decree amending the General Corporations Law (Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles) which will allow the incorporation of Mexican simplified commercial corporations or “SAS” (sociedad por acciones simplificada) within a 24-hour time frame.To read the full alert, click here ...
At a recently held Roundtable on the topic of the economic and environmental challenges that are surrounding the process of building the second block of the thermal power plant in Pljevlja, the Montenegrin Network for the Affirmation of the NGO sector (MANS), has scrutinised the whole idea behind this state-owned National Power Company of Montenegro's (EPCG) project ...
The Second Circuit issued an important decision recently in In re Sanofi Securities Litigation applying the Supreme Court’s landmark Omnicare decision. In Omnicare, the Supreme Court held that a statement of opinion, even if honestly believed, could be actionable if the issuer failed to disclose material facts that conflict with what a reasonable investor would, in context, expect about the issuer’s basis for the opinion ...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently announced a settlement with Dwolla, Inc., an online payment processor, for allegedly deceptive statements Dwolla made to consumers regarding the company’s data security practices. In the settlement, Dwolla agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty and take specific actions to improve its data security ...
The Hong Kong Court of First Instance recently considered another claim by a client against a bank arising from the sale of a financial product. The Judgment in Li Kwok Heem John v Standard Chartered International (USA) Limited (formerly known as American Express Bank Limited) was handed down in early January 2016. In a lengthy Judgment, the Court considered a number of issues highly relevant to banks and other institutions engaged in selling financial products ...
Since mid-February, there has been an ongoing debate in the public sphere regarding the high profile case that found the global IT giant Apple and FBI on opposite sides of the legal spectrum. The case's background involves the 2015 San Bernardino shooting incident in USA, and the fact that one of the perpetrators was in possession of an iPhone potentially containing relevant information for the ensuing investigation ...
On 16 February 2016, the Bosnian Competition Council made a ruling in favour of the cable operator and Karanović & Nikolić's client – Telemach – in the case against HD Win, the owner of the sports channel "Arena Sport", and a subsidiary of Telekom Serbia. The authority imposed a fine against HD Win for its abuse of dominant position and ordered it to enter into agreement with Telemach in order to allow its subscribers access to Arena Sport ...
On February 12, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued 18 no-action letters concerning requests to exclude proxy access shareholder proposals from proxy materials pursuant to Rule 14a-8(i)(10) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Rule 14a-8(i)(10) permits a company to exclude shareholder proposals from its proxy materials if the company has already “substantially implemented” such proposals ...
The October 2015 issue of the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) included an international briefing article by SyCipLaw partner Maria Jennifer Z. Barreto entitled “Mandatory tender offers.”Read the article online at the IFLR website ...
In February, the British-based Mineco Group has officially submitted the request for an urban permit before the Bosnian Ministry of Physical Planning for its project of building a lead mine in the town of Olovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina ...
On February 16, 2016, the recently constituted Philippine Competition Commission (“PCC”), which was created under the Philippine Competition Act (Republic Act 10667 or the “PCA”), issued Memorandum Circular No ...
Karanović & Nikolić is proud to announce the promotion of new Partners and Senior Associates. The following employees have been recognised for their hard work and dedication to our values and goals, and we hope this promotion will only increase their drive and commitment in the future ...
We have news coming from Slovenia, where it has recently been reported that the European Investment Bank (EIB) will be opening its office in the country's capital, Ljubljana, during the summer months. This piece of news does not come as too big of a surprise, since the Slovenian economy has enjoyed EIB's considerable presence over the last couple of years, with its investments during last year alone totaling EUR 798 million ...
A proposed Act on Wind Power Plant Projects presented in February 2016 is intended to specify the rules for siting of wind farms. But the current version of the proposal generates a huge risk for further growth of the wind power sector and for wind farms already in operation and even for persons interested in building housing near existing wind projects. The issue of siting of wind farms near other construction has created a lot of confusion ...
With the steep collapse of oil and gas prices in the last eighteen months, dozens of exploration and production companies have declared bankruptcy and many more companies are expected to file for bankruptcy protection unless prices rebound dramatically ...
On 16 February 2016, the Bosnian Competition Council made a ruling in favour of the cable operator and Karanović & Nikolić's client – Telemach – in the case against HD Win, the owner of the sports channel "Arena Sport", and a subsidiary of Telekom Serbia. The authority imposed a fine against HD Win for its abuse of dominant position and ordered it to enter into agreement with Telemach in order to allow its subscribers access to Arena Sport ...
Last week, the General Court of the European Union dismissed Coca Cola's request to register its bottle shape without fluting as a Community trade mark, further denying the soft drink giant's intention, five years since the application in question was initially submitted. Back in December, 2011, Coca-Cola filed an application to the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) for the registration of its glass bottle without fluting as a Community trademark ...
This month, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) traditionally presented their annual transition report at the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) at an event that was attended by Karanović & Nikolić's Banking & Finance partner, Maja Jovančević-Šetka ...
