After several delays, ICANN has published the list of generic top level domain (“gTLD” or “string”) applicants and the gTLDs they have applied for. This new initiative from ICANN will allow a wide variety of entities to act as registrars for gTLDs of their choosing. Once these systems are up and running, consumers will be able to access websites not only ending with .com or .net, but also ending with .NETFLIX, .AOL, and .PIZZA. The list can be found at:http://newgtlds.icann ...
Florida transportation officials and the private sector have fine-tuned a financing structure that allows the state to use private-sector financing to advance projects to build roads and bridges and fulfill other essential infrastructure needs. The timing is right. The infrastructure of Florida, like the rest of America, is in critical need of maintenance and overhaul ...
Section 631 of the Corporations Act provides that, once a bidder publicly announces a takeover proposal, offers under a takeover bid must be made by that bidder within two months unless ASIC grants relief ...
Luc Thibaudeau Lavery keeps a close eye on developments in consumer law. Its leading-edge expertise in the retail trade and class action has been pointed out many times by people involved in the field. Lavery is committed to keeping the business community informed about the issue by regularly publishing bulletins dealing with case law and legislative developments that could affect, influence and even change business practices ...
In recent months, two high-profile cases involving Hulu and Netflix have raised questions regarding the scope and application of the Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”), a federal privacy law that has been the focus of increasing attention over the past few years. In the Hulu case, Hulu users claimed that the subscription-based video streaming service disclosed their viewing history to third parties ...
Lithuania's substantive competition law is similar to EU competition law; the main differences stem from enforcement rules and priorities. This update considers recent trends in this area. Competition law in Lithuania is enforced only in administrative proceedings. Unlike neighbouring Latvia, Lithuania allows for the imposition of penalties against individuals (eg, managers of a company in breach of competition law) ...
In what it described as “an easy decision,” the U.S. Supreme Court issued its eagerly anticipated decision in RadLAX Gateway Hotel, LLC et al. v. Amalgamated Bank 1 on May 29, 2012 ...
The Czech Customs Authority announced that Croatia and Turkey will accede to the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure between EU Member States and EFTA countries (the “Convention”) as of 1 July 2012. As a result, the forms listed in the supplements to the Convention are to change. The Czech Customs Authority adds, however, that the currently applicable forms shall continue to be in force and effect at least until 30 June 2013 ...
In the great George Orwell novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” the Ministry of Truth is a vast bureaucracy that ironically exists to falsify historical events in the service of political ideology. Its headquarters is an 80-story building of 3,000 rooms, and its outside walls bear the words “War is Peace,” “Freedom is Slavery,” and “Ignorance is Strength ...
Two recent antitrust matters serve as reminders that exchanging sensitive information with business competitors can pose significant antitrust risks – particularly when companies stray from the “safety zones” established by the federal antitrust enforcement authorities. From an antitrust perspective, agreements to exchange information present significant risks ...
On May 18, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held in Reed v. Florida Metropolitan University, Inc. that class actions are available in arbitration proceedings only if there is a contractual basis for finding that the parties agreed to class arbitration ...
You are the general counsel of a public company. You realize that stockholders (possibly hostile) have been acquiring larger positions in your company ...
The pendulum has swung again in the TOUSA, Inc. case, as the Eleventh Circuit recently overturned the decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and affirmed the 2009 bankruptcy court opinion ordering the disgorgement of $403 million plus interest from lenders to the TOUSA parent, on the theory that such transfers were fraudulent as to certain TOUSA subsidiaries (the “Conveying Subsidiaries”) ...
New law regarding the use of cookies on websites was introduced in the UK in May last year. Broadly speaking, the new law requires a website owner/operator to: - tell users that cookies are used on its website; - explain to users what the cookies are doing; and - obtain users’ explicit consent to store cookies on their device. The Information Commissioner is responsible for enforcing this new law ...
One of the most innovative and exciting sections of the new Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”) creates a new “crowdfunding” exemption from state and federal securities law registration. Through this new exemption, issuers and investors may communicate by way of the Internet in connection with the issuance of new securities ...
On 1 March 2012, Google launched a new privacy policy by consolidating over 60 of its global privacy policies into one document. The new privacy policy does not indicate that Google will collect any new or additional data about users. What it does do, however, is inform people that Google will merge data which it already collects from services such as YouTube and Web History (which records all searches performed on Google ...
With the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) grace period for enforcing the new cookies rules almost at an end, companies should work with their website developers at an early stage to ensure compliance. The ICO will soon be confirming that its 12 month ‘lead in’ implementation period has come to an end. Website operators then run the risk of enforcement action and fines if they fail to comply with the new cookies regime ...
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is introducing new disclosure requirements for short positions in certain Hong Kong listed shares. Background Part XV of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Part XV) requires disclosure of short positions of over 1% held by substantial (5% or more) shareholders in a listed company, and of all short positions held by directors and chief executives of listed companies ...
A trubunal has ruled that an employee was fairly dismissed for makng vulgar comment to female colleague on his facebook page while at home. A recent decision from a tribunal in Northern Ireland held that an employee was fairly dismissed because comments which he posted on his Facebook page amounted to harassment of a female colleague and was in breach of the employer’s Dignity at Work Policy ...
You are the general counsel of a public company, and the company’s board has determined that it is in the best interests of the company’s stockholders to examine and explore all strategic alternatives to increase stockholder value, including a sale of the business ...
The new Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”), signed into law on April 5, 2012, contains a number of substantial revisions to U.S ...
Until recently, individuals considering cooperating with an SEC investigation had a difficult time determining whether a tangible benefit would result from cooperation. Two releases issued by the SEC in the past month demonstrate how the SEC has begun to apply its Cooperation Initiative and give new insight into how the SEC evaluates and credits cooperation in determining sanctions against individuals ...
In January, the Secretary of State for Transport announced the project for the construction of HS2, a second high speed rail network. It is to be constructed in two phases forming a “Y” shape: the first phase between London and Birmingham and the second from Birmingham, to Manchester and to Leeds. Phase 1 will link to Europe via the high speed rail line in London, HS1 and the Channel Tunnel ...
Consumer Law and the Consumer Protections Act (THE “CPA”) are aimed first and foremost at economic activities in the retail sales sector, spending in this sector represents more than 65% of spending in the province ...
The Fourth Circuit has just released its highly anticipated keyword advertising decision in Rosetta Stone Ltd. v. Google Inc., No. 10-2007 (4th Cir. Apr. 9, 2012), vacating much of a district court order favorable to Google ...
