There is a growing trend of initial public offerings of debt in Israel by U.S. (and Canadian) real estate companies with income-producing real estate and the listing of the bonds for trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. During 2014 and 2015, approximately 15 such real estate companies completed public debt offerings in Israel, the large majority of which were initial public offerings, raising approximately NIS 8 billion in total (equivalent to approximately US$2 billion) during such period ...
“The degree of consumer care is becoming more heightened as the novelty of the Internet evaporates and online commerce becomes commonplace.” This quote, which comes from a United States (“US”) decision, is quoted in the South African Supreme Court of Appeal’s (“SCA’s”) judgment in the so-called “Clearvu case” – Cochrane Steel Products (Pty) Ltd v M-Systems Group (Pty) Ltd and Another (unreported case no. 227/2015, 27 May 2016) ...
A South African court has found that, for the purposes of fair dealing in copyright law, hyperlinks are a sufficient way of acknowledging source and ownership. The recent decision in the case of Moneyweb (Pty) Limited v Media 24 Limited and Another (unreported case no. 31575/2013, 5 May 2016) attracted a great deal of publicity. This is possibly because the two main parties are media companies ...
A court has ruled that the South African Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) does not have the authority to consider and rule on adverts placed by entities that aren’t members of the organisation. Regular readers will know that the ASA is frequently used as a forum for dealing with what are essentially trade mark or passing-off disputes. This is because the ASA Code contains provisions that prohibit advertising that causes consumer confusion or involves slavish copying ...
Egypt’s Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued Decree No. 43 of 2016, which amends the rules organising the registration of factories and companies that are eligible to export their products to Egypt. The decree took effect on 15 March 2016, and replaces all previous decrees or stipulations that contradict it ...
Brexit, the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, raises many questions and some are related to intellectual property issues. There are a few anticipated changes to IP rights due to Brexit. Here is a summary of some key issues, and what could happen next. Trademarks and Designs Proceduresfor treatment of EU trademarks will need to be an element of the negotiations for the UK in leaving the EU ...
There has been an exciting development in the entertainment industry, as the Czech company"Sebre a.s."bought a 20% stake in Serbian "Avala film" – an iconic studio hailing from the golden age of Yugoslavian film ...
Turnaround Management Association (TMA) Europe held its ninth annual conference in Rome on 9 and 10 June. Partner at Karanović & Nikolić,Maja Jovančević Šetka, attended the conference as a board member of TMA Serbia ...
At the recently heldSummit 100Business Forum in Sarajevo, many topics of contemporary relevance for the region of Southeast Europe were expectedly touched upon. Be it the supply of sustainable energy, the position of women in business, or the issues related to infrastructure & transport conditions, it was an opportunity for a number of prominent experts and government officials to weigh in with their opinions on how to improve the overall business situation in our region ...
Federal Law No.2 of 2015 on Commercial Companies (the “New Law”) came into force on 1 July 2015, replacing Federal Law No.8 of 1984. The New Law, similar to its predecessor, contains sections relating to various forms of companies, including public and private joint stock companies (“PJSCs”) and limited liability companies (“LLCs”) ...
Recent news reports show that IKEA, the world famous Swedish multinational retailer, is getting ready to invest EUR 88 million in the construction of a Designer Outlet complex in Croatia. The company, whose Croatian division opened on the outskirts of Zagreb in August 2014 and has since been welcoming over 1.5 million customers on an annual basis, has decided to embark on such an endeavour in order to tap into a yet unseen mix of outlet retail and leisure entertainment in the region ...
On 12 March 2015, the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency ("Agency") initiated proceedings against Hyundai Avto Trade d.o.o. ("HAT"), the national distributor of Hyundai vehicles, together with a network of authorised repair shops for Hyundai motor vehicles ...
According to recent media reports, the Bosnian Central Bank (BCC) has presented information regarding the scope of investments made by the country's diaspora. More precisely, it has been reported that more than EUR 1.5 billion of investments are being made by the Bosnian diaspora each year through remittances and formal channels – meaning that the exact figure is even larger when accounting for other, informally made investments which have been proven to exist ...
Growth of the real estate industry in Panama in recent years is noticeable, not just locally but at a regional level as well. Iconic architectural works such as the Trump Tower, F&F Tower (popularly called the “Screw”) among others, attracts positive criticism from different actors in the business and associations in the construction, development and promotion of the real estate business. In part, real estate growth in Panama is due to the ease in the execution of real estate transactions ...
The Act Amending the Business Freedom Act and Certain Other Acts enteredinto force on 19 May 2016. The changes mainly affect Poland's small businessregister - the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG). The amended Business Freedom Act clarifies certain terminology used in the regulations but also introduces entirely new solutions governing small businesses ...
The government recently announced that a bill will be submitted to Congress to modify the Chilean Data Privacy Law N° 19,628 (“DPL”). In connection with the future bill (yet to be presented before Congress), the Ministry of Finance sent to several members of Congress a set of informal minutes outlining the structure and core aspects of the bill.The following is a summary of the minutes, and an initial legal analysis prepared by Carey ...
Various media outlets have recently been reporting on the economic relationship between Turkey and the Balkan countries, as well as the growing interest of Turkish companies to do business in this region through acquiring or cooperating with local companies – many of which are state-owned and in the process of being put up for sale by their respective governments. If we look closer into specific examples, the numbers are supportive of this positive trend, i.e ...
Karanović & Nikolić Senior Associate, Ana Luković, visited the recently held 8thInternational Bar Association's (IBA) Real Estate Conference in Copenhagen. As was the case during the previous editions of the conference, it provided a platform for around 150 attendees – hailing from all across the contemporary business spectrum – to communicate and exchange their views on various topics related to the field of real estate law ...
We have more real estate news from Montenegro, as there are media reports on 4.9 million square meters of beach properties being put up for sale in the municipalities of Buljarica, Budva, and Bar by the Montenegrin Council for Privatisation and Capital Projects ...
The regulation governing contracts of public bodiesleaps into the digital age. The amendments, passed on April 13, 2016, and coming into force June 1, 2016, aim to clarify the rules pertaining to the results evaluation.1Five key changesTenders in electronic form are mandatory if so required in the tender documents ?> change of computer systems will be needed to ensure the integrity of the signatures and tenders ...
In the Executive Decree N° 1040 was enacted on May 23rd 2016, and contain the Regulation for the PPP Incentives Law. This Executive Decree is still pending to publishing in the Official Gazette, however is in force.This regulation establishes the following provisions that will regulate a PPP contract:Creates a fast track process for PPP projects, based in the studies of the public entity ...
Six years after Oracle first accused Google’s popular Android platform of infringing Oracle’s copyrights in Java application programming interfaces (“APIs”), a Northern District of California jury has found that Google’s copying constituted fair use. Oracle was seeking $8.8 billion in damages for the alleged infringement ...
In an opinion that will make vacating arbitration awards even more challenging, the Texas Supreme Court unanimously held that the Texas Arbitration Act (“TAA”) sets out the exclusive grounds for vacating arbitration awards arising from agreements governed by that statute, and that common law vacatur grounds are no longer viable. Hoskins v. Hoskins, No. 15-0046, --- S.W.3d --- (Tex. May 20, 2016). Read the full alert ...
Plaintiffs frequently bring class action claims for alleged statutory violations for which Congress has provided private rights of action and statutory damages. In many of these instances, plaintiffs do not allege any specific, tangible harm (such as monetary loss), but claim that the violation of these so-called “statutory rights” by itself constitutes injury-in-fact sufficient to satisfy standing requirements. This week, the Supreme Court held in Spokeo v ...
On 17 May 2016, the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) held a press conference to update all stakeholders on the Grocery Retail Market Inquiry (the “Inquiry”). The press conference introduced the Inquiry Panel (the “Panel”) and provided an opportunity for stakeholders in attendance to ask any questions to assist in clarifying the purpose of the Inquiry and what can be expected during the process. A summary of the press conference is set out below ...
