In an increasingly connected world, the protection of privacy and personal data has become a key concern for legislators in a number of jurisdictions. In South Africa, an attempt to give effect to the constitutional right to privacy resulted in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPI”), which was gazetted on 26 November 2013 ...
On 15 December 2017, the South African Department of Trade and Industry (the “DTI”) published a memorandum of understanding entered into between the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (the “CIPC”) and the Broad-Based Black Empowerment Commission (the “B-BBEE Commission”) (the “CIPC MOU”) ...
Broad-based black economic empowerment (“B-BBEE”) is a policy of the South African government that is aimed at increasing participation by previously disadvantaged South Africans in economic activities. The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (the “B-BBEE Act”) is the primary legislation through which this B-BBEE policy is implemented ...
The Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") recently finished sector inquiries concerning quite distinct industries – raspberries and the public procurement for software and hardware. The aim behind the inquiries was to perform extensive market research and analysis in order to acquire a clearer picture of the possible antitrust issues and risks in two sectors widely perceived as strategic for the development of the Serbian economy ...
After Atlanta-based developer, Carter USA, pulled out as the master developer of the Banks Project along Cincinnati’s riverfront, the project effectively stalled. However, the Joint Banks Steering Committee (JBSC), charged with offering recommendations with respect to this project, reconvened January 23, 2018 to take two actions ...
The State Medical Board of Ohio recently proposed amendments to the existing regulations governing light-based medical devices (lasers), which will significantly impact the provision of laser services in Ohio. While the proposal adds a new category to existing delegation authority, it also imposes new regulatory requirements to existing delegation authority which will impact Ohio physicians providing laser services ...
Country overview 1. Give an overview of the country’s economy, its structure and main characteristics, and prevailing government economic policy, particularly as regards foreign investment. The Philippines is an archipelago composed of more than 7,000 islands with 82 provinces divided in 18 regions. Rich in natural resources, it has a total land area of about 300,000 square kilometres. It is divided into three major island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao ...
We previously reported on oral arguments before the Supreme Court regarding which court has original jurisdiction to hear challenges to the Clean Water Act’s “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) definition. On January 22, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense that only district courts have original jurisdiction to hear such challenges ...
Under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), large employers (generally those with 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalents) must report annually to the IRS information about the health coverage offered to their full-time employees during the prior year using IRS Form 1095-C. The IRS uses the forms to assess whether an employer "shared responsibility" penalty applies. Employers also must provide copies of the forms to their full-time employees ...
This is a reminder to all corporations whose employees or former employees exercised an incentive stock option or made a purchase under the corporation's employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) in 2017 ...
Diversity has been a trending topic for the last years. It shows that we, as a society, are acknowledging the past practices of our industries in which one small group of individuals have a platform to thrive and grow within our institution while other groups might have a harder time. There are exceptions to this rule, but it is undisputable that for certain people due to their sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, etc. it’s harder to break the glass ceiling ...
Comment letters to oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) companies by the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicated several major areas of concern for the Division during 2017 regarding companies’ disclosures. Many of the topics addressed were similar to those raised by the Division’s staff in 2015-2016, but some were new, such as the staff’s focus on non-U.S ...
In case you have been in a coma, major tax changes to the Internal Revenue Code were passed in December 2017. See Pub. L. 115-97 (115th Cong., 1st Sess.). Those changes make it much more attractive (from a tax perspective) to arrange one’s affairs like a business owner. Broadly speaking, the new tax law changed the landscape so that many business owners will now benefit from dramatically lower tax rates (e.g., the corporate rate has not been this low since 1939) ...
Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs, a World Bank Group flagship publication, is the 15th in a series of annual reports measuring the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time ...
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed rules to expand access to “Association Health Plans” for small businesses that are unaffiliated, but are in the same line of business or geographic area. An “Association Health Plan” or “AHP” is a group health plan adopted by members of an employer association to provide health coverage for their employees ...
As seen in the National Law Review: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has caused chaos in the marijuana industry and is forcing those who have made efforts to create legalized businesses in compliance with state laws to ponder whether their anticipated profits will go up in smoke. In a memo to all U.S. attorneys, Sessions rescinded Obama-era decrees that restrained prosecutors from enforcing federal drug laws in states that acted to legalize marijuana under their own laws ...
With a new proxy season fast approaching, it’s time for public companies to do a deep download of key securities law updates and business developments of the past year so the company is positioned for success in 2018. Below is a review of the 2017 proxy season, along with a summary of new and anticipated changes that may impact reporting and disclosure requirements for the upcoming 2018 proxy season ...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "TCJ Act") signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017, creates sweeping changes in the way individuals and businesses are taxed. One of the most important changes involves the taxation of pass-through entities and directly implicates the standards for qualified small businesses stock ("QSBS") under IRC section 1202 ...
The Basic Laws of Israel that comprise the county’s constitution specifically grant Israel’s citizens the right to privacy as a basic human right. This practice note provides an overview of the regulation of data protection and privacy in Israel, presented in a question and answer format. Legislative Framework • Question 1: Summarize the legislative framework for the protection of personally identifiable information (PII) ...
As seen in Bank Director The process of establishing a de novo bank always has been complicated and time-consuming, and occasionally even painful. But since the beginning of the financial crisis, it seems that obtaining deposit insurance for a de novo bank has become a nearly impossible task. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. received 1,738 applications for deposit insurance from 2000 through 2008, and approved 1,258 of those applications—an approval rate of 72 percent ...
Originally filed in October 2014, the long-running and high-stakes battle between two powerhouse companies, Amgen and Sandoz, continues to lay out the ground rules for a growing biosimilar industry. The Federal Circuit’s first decision under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) involved Zarxio, Sandoz’s Neupogen biosimilar product. Amgen v. Sandoz, 794 F.3d 1347 (Fed Cir. 2015) ...
As you likely know, Brexit negotiations are underway, with the UK scheduled to withdraw from the EU on March 29, 2019. As a result of the withdrawal, all EU laws will cease to apply to the UK as of March 30, 2019 unless additional agreements or transitional processes are put into place before the scheduled exit ...
Earlier this year, Decree No. 1 of the Ministry of Health (herein, the "Decree") was published on the Official Gazette. The Decree sets forth the graphic characteristics of the message for the promotion of healthy life habits that must be included in the advertisement of foodstuff products established in Article 5 of Law No. 20,606 -those that qualify as "High in" one or more critical nutrients- made through mass communication ...
One step closer to implementation of the reforms relating to EU data protection regulation, this article looks at some of the implications that the reforms are likely to have for SMEs. Key progress was made in the reform of EU data protection regulation on 12 March 2014 with the European Parliament voting in support of reform and the draft General Data Protection Regulation (the "Regulation"). The Regulation must now be adopted by the Council of Ministers in order to become law ...
How new technologies and changing consumer expectations is signaling disruption to the health industry and the importance of finding ways to better measure and translate patient satisfaction and outcomes. Do you know if your clinician is doing a good job? What about the track record of your surgeon? Should you be entitled to know as a consumer? The industry is being disrupted – no longer is the family GP the dispenser of all health advice ...
