The compliant use of cookies requiring consent has presented a major challenge for website operators for quite some time. Following the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the "Planet 49" case, many operators have adapted the cookie banners they use. However, in doing so, they are faced with the difficulty of designing the cookie banners in such a way that these encourage a high acceptance rate from users, while remaining legally compliant ...
The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) is a new federally-funded program providing emergency assistance for eligible venues adversely affected by COVID-19. The program, administered by the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Disaster Assistance, will offer over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues, providing economic relief to eligible entities. This legal update summarizes the requirements and additional information related to the grant application process ...
Did you know? The Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) revised Patent Examination Guidelines came into force on 15 January 2021. The changes significantly relax the patentability requirements for inventions in the pharmaceutical, chemical and biotech field. Why does this matter to you? The revised guidelines focus on the examination criteria for novelty and inventive step in relation to the rapidly developing field of chemical and biotech inventions ...
On March 26, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published Announcement 2021-7, which notifies taxpayers that certain amounts paid for personal protective equipment (such as masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes) for the primary purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19 (“COVID-19 PPE”) may be an eligible expense that can be reimbursed from certain health care account based plans ...
A new bill in the California Assembly has the potential to alter substantially the existing legal framework of products liability for online retailers. Assembly Bill No. 1182 (“AB 1182”), which was introduced on February 18, 2021, would impose strict products liability on online retailers who (1) communicate offers of sale and (2) facilitate payment between a third-party seller and a purchaser, even if the online retailer never takes physical possession of the product ...
On April 13, 2021, Law No. 21,314 was published in the Official Gazette, which, among other matters, set new transparency requirements and reinforce the responsibilities of market agents (the "Law"). Relevant modifications to the current insurance regulation: Amendments to Decree with Force of Law No. 251 of 1931 ("Insurance Act"). Article 5 of the Law amends the Insurance Act, among others, in the following matters: Insurance consultation system (new Article 12) ...
On Tuesday, April 13th of 2021, a law was published in the Official Gazette that establishes new demands for transparency and strengthens the responsibilities of market agents, regulates the social security advice and other matters indicated therein, reforming, among other regulations, Law No. 18,045, on the Stock Market and Law No. 18,046 on Corporations (going forward, referred as the “Law”) ...
The INPI (Brazilian PTO) published Ordinance/INPI/PR No. 21, of March 26, 2021, which extends the Backlog Combat Project aiming at reducing the number of invention patent applications pending decision. The ordinance came into force on April 1st, 2021, and targets patent applications filed between Jan. 1st, 2017 and Dec. 31st, 2017 ...
On April 9, 2021, the IRS released Private Letter Ruling (PLR) 202114002 (January 13, 2021), which provides additional context to taxpayers worried about whether their Fintech or Insurtech shares represent Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 1202 ...
Banking & Finance ESAs issue joint supervisory statement on the application of the Regulation on Sustainability-related disclosures in the Financial Services Sector (SFDR) ESAs issue recommendations on the application of the SFDR ...
On Tuesday, April 13 th of 2021, a law was published in the Official Gazette that establishes new demands for transparency and strengthens the responsibilities of market agents, regulates the social security advice and other matters indicated therein , reforming, among other regulations, Law No 18,045, on the Stock Market and Law No. 18,046 on Corporations (going forward, referred as the “ Law ”) ...
Earn-outs are a commonly used payment mechanism in overseas and cross-border M&A transactions. Through earn-outs, transacting parties can set flexible metrics to adjust the buyer’s payment obligation and thereby allocate the risks and benefits between the buyer and seller ...
On April 8, 2021, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced a proposed rate increase of 1.3 percent for skilled nursing providers in fiscal year 2022. It is estimated this will result in approximately $444 million increase in payments to skilled nursing facilities (SNF) under Medicare Part A for the fiscal year. This increased payment rate does not incorporate the SNF Value-Based Program (VBP) reductions that CMS estimates to be $184 ...
The designation of eight new Freeports within England made headlines in the Budget and now the winning bidders have to put into effect their successful proposals. What will this mean in practice for those areas affected and what are the likely issues that Freeport authorities will face? We have pulled together some questions we are asked frequently on Freeports, together with the responses we have been providing to our clients ...
The E-Sign Act was signed into law over two decades ago. To put that into context, smart phones as we know them did not exist—the most popular mobile phone in 2000 was a flip phone, the Nokia 3310, and the first iPhone would not debut for another seven years. The most popular website was AOL because many people were still using AOL as their internet service provider. Google was a fledgling company with its search engine just starting out among the mainstays like Excite and Lycos ...
The advent of blank cheque company IPOs. Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) have taken the corporate world by storm. These “blank cheque” shell companies, which raise funds in their initial public offerings (IPO) to invest in potential but as yet unidentified target businesses, have fuelled a listing frenzy in the US. SPAC IPOs have garnered US$87.9 billion in fundraising in the first three months of 2021, already exceeding last year’s total ...
Gennex Media LLC, a customizable product online marketplace, and its sole officer and shareholder Akil Kurji, have agreed to an FTC consent decree resolving allegations the company falsely claimed its Brandnex novelty products were “Made in USA,” “USA MADE,” and “Manufactured Right Here in America!” when, in many instances, they were wholly imported from China ...
In a recent article published in écho, WSG Member Astrid Wagner, Partner, IP Communication & Technology at Arendt & Medernach, provides insight on the growing risk of damage to information systems in cyber attacks and what cyber protection measures should be taken ...
On 24 March 2021, the EU Member States agreed to begin negotiations with the European Parliament concerning a legislative proposal on health technology assessment. Health technology includes medicinal products, medical devices or medical and surgical procedures, as well as measures for disease prevention, diagnosis or treatment used in healthcare ...
Research and development ("R&D") of medicinal products is fundamentally important in peoples’ daily lives. This is true both from an individual perspective – when considering the objective of identifying and treating pathologies (with a consequent increase in the quality of life of patients) – and from a collective perspective, when considering the role of R&D in controlling the spread of diseases and in eradicating them altogether ...
In its recent decision Xuereb v Weber Construction Limited Et (decided 18 March 2021) the Civil Court (Commercial Section) weighed in once more on the appropriate tests to be applied when assessing a company's inability to pay its debts under Maltese corporate insolvency law ...
In Facebook v. Duguid, (Case No. 19-511) on April 1, 2021, the United States Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that equipment without the capacity to randomly or sequentially store or produce numbers is not an autodialer for TCPA purposes. The Facebook ruling focuses on text messages, which many institutions are using as a primary method of customer contact, but it is also a victory for those using predictive dialers and preview dialers without random and sequential source codes ...
It has been a long road for everyone’s favourite cheese. The protection of halloumi cheese should have never been complicated. The firm cheese which has the unique quality of retaining its shape even when fried or grilled, has its origins in the island of Cyprus where it has been produced for many centuries ...
