We have written before about the case concerning the look-a-like Range Rover Evoque on sale in China for a fraction of the price of the real thing. In this case, Jaguar Land Rover ("JLR") sued the makers of the copycat Land Wind X for copyright infringement. JLR have now won, with the court finding that five features of the vehicle were copied and that damages should be paid. According to one report, other car manufacturers are now considering similar actions ...
The incorporation of the Law on Security Interests in El Salvador has the objective to create a registry for security interests, that is to say, the inscription of the security interests’ creation, modification, extension, termination and execution, as well as the publicity of these instruments. The Commercial Value that some brands have, plays a very important role and represents, for some entrepreneurs, a mechanism which enables them to access credits ...
UAE Federal Decree-Law 20 of 2018 on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organizations (AML Law) came into force at the end of October 2018 ...
Background Companies licensed to conduct engineering or contracting activities in Abu Dhabi must be classified by the Contractors and Consultants Classification and Engineers Registration Office at the Abu Dhabi Department of Town Planning and Municipalities. The applicable regulations setting out the classification requirements are not new and date back to 2009, although implementation was delayed until 2014. Subsequent to the 2009 regulations, new regulations were introduced in 2018 ...
The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Chief Executive, Andrea Coscelli raised concerns in April at “seeing a lot of evidence of anti-competitive conduct in the construction industry”, adding the CMA had “already taken a number of cases in this sector…”. Recent enforcement action from the CMA, outlined below, suggests regulatory intervention is only likely to increase ...
On the heels of the DOJ Criminal Division’s revisions to itsCorporate Enforcement Policyto encourage cooperation, the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch has issued its owncooperation guidelinesthat identify a non-exhaustive list of types of cooperation that may entitle entities or individuals to cooperation credit ...
When the Supreme Court accepted the cert petition to resolve a Circuit split regarding the False Claims Act’s statute of limitations when the government does not intervene, it created thepotential that the Court would extend the limitations periodfor private relators’ FCA actions. That is exactly what happened ...
Patents and technology companies are often intertwined. The story of the startup company patenting its groundbreaking technology is a well-known one. We see this often on the television show "Shark Tank," as investors such as Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner routinely ask whether the founders of a potential investment opportunity have filed for patent protection ...
On April 16, 2019, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA). The Mayor signed the legislation on May 3, 2019. COPA grants certain qualified nonprofit organizations the right of first offer and right of first refusal on sales of privately-owned buildings with three or more residential units and privately-owned property on which three or more residential units could be built ...
On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division issued updated guidance to prosecutors for assessing corporate compliance programs. The new “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs” (Updated Guidance) replaces the February 2017 Guidance (Prior Guidance) ...
This article addresses potential issues and concerns, which may arise between General Contractors (“General”), Subcontractors (the “Sub”) and their insurers when claims by outside parties (also known as third-parties) may arise. This is a broad area of law, which varies from state to state ...
The Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice recently issued an updated guidance document on theEvaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs. The new document, which significantly expands on the prior version issued in early 2017, largely follows the structure of its predecessor but provides much more detail than ever before. Indeed the new version is more than double the length of the prior version ...
Law360 (May 6, 2019, 7:15 PM EDT) -- A Turkish producer has filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of International Trade over the methodology the U.S. Department of Commerce used to calculate tariffs on its pipe imports, telling the court that Commerce went against its usual practice for determining when the pipes at issue were sold in the U.S. Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret AS on Friday told the CIT that Commerce’s decision to impose a dumping rate of 5 ...
Effective April 22, 2019, new legislation expands the obligation of property owners to register vacant commercial storefront spaces with the City. The Board of Supervisors may also place a "vacancy tax" on November's ballot, which would tax owners for vacant storefronts after six months of vacancy. The newly effective measure amounts to an update of a previous ordinance that was passed in 2014. Both were introduced by District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer ...
It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of incredulity. Blazing yellow sun. Lapping blue waves. Tanned beach bods and a palm tree’s silhouette swaying against an orange sky. Once ubiquitous, the California Fitness logo that hints at its fabulous lifestyle offering has vanished from Singapore. In its heyday “Cali”, as its legions of fans called it, was not merely a gym, it was a status symbol ...
Scotland’s countryside offers a vast range of property investment options, from houses and cottages to farms and country estates. However, when buying a rural property it is important to consider various issues that may be taken for granted in the purchase of a property in an urban area. 1 ...
The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the financial free zone which began operations in 2015, has now come of age. On 14 April 2019 Mr Alexander Guy, Senior Executive Officer and Director at Eshara Capital Limited, had the uncommon honour of becoming the first named person to be fined by ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Eshara Capital, in its corporate capacity, was also fined in connection with the same contraventions ...
British Virgin Islands (BVI) companies are commonly used in the UAE by investors to hold real estate properties and/or shares in UAE companies. Investors need to be aware of a recently enacted BVI law, the Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 (the Law), which introduces economic substance requirements in the BVI ...
On 6 April 2019, Scotland finally saw the introduction of the modernised insolvency rules in the form of The Insolvency (Scotland) (Company Voluntary Arrangements and Administration) Rules 2018 and The Insolvency (Scotland) (Receivership and Winding Up) Rules 2018 (the 2018 Rules). The 2018 Rules will replace the existing Insolvency (Scotland) Rules 1986 (as amended) subject to certain transitional and saving provisions ...
The Government of the Republic of Indonesia recently issued Minister of Finance Regulation No. 35/PMK.03/2019 (“Regulation 35/2019”) on The Determination of a Permanent Business Establishment (BUT) ...
IntroductionOn 12 November 2018, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) introduced a suite of new legislation concerning companies operating in or from the DIFC. This consists of DIFC Law 5 of 2018 (the Companies Law), DIFC Law 7 of 2018, the Companies Regulations and the Operating Regulations.The Companies Law has amplified the duties of directors of DIFC companies by enacting a set of directors’ duties, largely following the standard contained in the UK Companies Act 2006 ...
The Bahamas has passed legislation requiring that certain legal entities carrying on relevant activities have to demonstrate adequate economic substance in said jurisdiction. The beneficial owners of any company or limited partnership incorporated, registered or continued in The Bahamas should be aware of this legislation and consider how they may be affected. The Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, 2018 (“CESRA”) came into force on December 31st, 2018 ...
Recent events, including the investigations into Facebook’s handling of its users’ personal data, have highlighted the realization that personal data is, in today’s world, one of the most valuable resources for any business and that businesses not only collect and store their customers’ personal data but also use and even sell it for profit ...
Court Limits Authority of DOJ to Dismiss Relator Claims April 23, 2019 TheGranston Memoraised concerns that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) would employ its authority under 31 U.S.C. § 3730 tounderminequi tamrelator actions. Since the Memo was issued, the DOJ moved to dismiss 11 Anti-Kickback Statute cases brought by a professional relator, the National Health Care Analysis Group (“NHCAG”) ...
The DIFC Authority has issued the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) Regulations, which took effect on 12 November 2018 (the Regulations). The Regulations require entities currently registered with, or to be registered with, the DIFC Authority to keep and maintain a UBO Register and (if applicable) a Register of Nominee Directors, setting out the details of the UBO and Nominee Directors respectively ...
