The issue is not foreign talent but transparency in the process. DBS was last week named world’s best bank – the third consecutive year it has received such accolade. It was thus more than a little ironic that in the same week, its chief executive Piyush Gupta was cited by a Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) as a disappointing example of a non “home-grown” CEO. Mr Gupta has been a Singapore citizen since 2009 and has helmed DBS for more than a decade ...
Afridi & Angell was pleased to have advised Dubai Tourism on the testamentary and inheritance framework in Dubai in the process leading up to the much-welcomed announcement of the ‘Retire in Dubai’ programme. The announcement, made on Wednesday 2 September 2020 offers resident expatriates and foreigners aged 55 and above an opportunity to retire in the Emirate. As part of the programme, eligible applicants will be provided a Retirement Visa, renewable every five years ...
Businesses that open their doors to customers, guests, and other visitors during the pandemic must be vigilant, not only to keep their premises safe to those who enter, but also to avoid lawsuits by individuals who claim they contracted COVID-19 on business premises ...
Cybersecurity will generally be a significant issue for businesses in the years to come. With teleworking, cloud computing and the advent of artificial intelligence, large amounts of data are likely to fall prey to hackers attracted by the personal information or trade secrets contained therein. From a legal standpoint, businesses have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the personal information they hold ...
DIFC entities have until 1 October 2020 to ensure that their data processing activities are compliant with the new Data Protection Law (DIFC Law 5 of 2020) (the DP Law). Who is subject to the DP Law? • DIFC entities.• Non-DIFC entities that regularly engage with DIFC entities as part of a “stable arrangement”, which involve data being processed in the DIFC and/or transferred out of the DIFC. Practical Guidance 1. Maintain a record of Personal Data. 2 ...
Under section 327 of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32), the Court can exercise its discretion to wind up a foreign-incorporated company. A recent case reaffirms the three core requirements necessary to enable the court to exercise that discretion ...
On Saturday, September 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) updated a marijuana industry frequently asked questions (“FAQ”) page that provides relief to state-legal cannabis businesses. The FAQ announces that state-legal cannabis businesses can reduce their gross receipts by using an alternative accounting method under Section 471 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) ...
The world is gradually embracing remote working as an alternative way of work – hosting virtual meetings, supporting customers through online communications, and accessing data remotely from outside the office. In the past, working from home (WFH) had not been popular in Hong Kong even though evolving technologies and improved Internet speed made it possible for digital migration ...
On 12 September 2020, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) reported 1007 new COVID-19 cases in the UAE. With the number of cases rising both within the UAE and in most other countries, the UAE government has reiterated the importance of adhering to preventive guidelines and has further placed safeguards, particularly in Abu Dhabi, to ensure that those traveling to the UAE are confined to prevent the transmission of the virus ...
To create the most favorable environment for the intensive development of the IT industry and pooling resources for the new projects, the Russian Government has adopted a Law introducing a number of changes and tax incentives for the IT and Technology Companies. It will be effective starting from January 1st, 2021. Below, we provide our consolidated analysis of the new rules and recommendations on steps to be taken to prepare for the forthcoming changes ...
Ten years ago, the PPP Law was approved, the regulatory framework that seeks to make the Public Private Partnerships (“PPPs”) viable as a solution to the country's infrastructure deficit. For reasons beyond legal and economic facts, Guatemala has not yet seen its first PPP project born. However, the planets seem to be aligning to propitiate the possible detonation of investment in infrastructure and we see reasons for optimism on the horizon ...
Teleworking is a work tool that opens a world of possibilities for the reinsertion of sectors of the population that have not had free access to work opportunities. It is a feasible option to provide job opportunities to people for whom moving outside their homes is a limitation; limitations that could occur not only to people with family responsibilities – child and elderly care – or students, but also to people with disabilities ...
Although in Guatemala there is no legal frame for “Telework”, it could be said that it is a way in which services are provided in a location other than the employer's office or headquarters. What makes this modality so attractive? What is the key to make it work? The key is in TECHNOLOGY, in the innovative and efficient use of tools that allow us to be connected without being anchored to a specific place ...
COVID-19 has sent many employers into a workforce management tailspin. Laws, regulations, and recommendations change daily, and as the pandemic continues to affect the workplace, the risk of legal complacency increases. The list below identifies the top 10 mistakes for employers to avoid during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mistake 1: Failing To Prepare and Update a COVID-19 Response Plan ...
On August 3, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Ixchel Pharma, LLC v. Biogen, Inc., clarifying the bounds of legitimate competition under California tort and antitrust law. The Court’s ruling generally came down in favor of encouraging competition, reducing claims for tortious interference with contract, and decreasing the risk of litigation arising from normal competitive activity ...
One of the most common questions we receive as intellectual property lawyers is “How can I prevent others from using technology that I have developed and that has significant value to my business?” That question can often be answered by advising clients to file a patent application. However, there exists another type of intellectual property protection, known as a “trade secret,” that may be more suitable for certain situations and technologies ...
Sadly, bullying and harassment in the workplace is nothing new. Indeed, a 2020 study found that 15% of people surveyed had been a victim of workplace bullying. Conversely, cyberbullying in the workplace is a relatively new phenomenon but it’s on the rise. What exactly is cyberbullying? Simply put, cyberbullying is any bullying, harassment or victimisation that involves a computer, phone or tablet ...
The International Trade Commission (ITC) sits in a nondescript office building about a block farther south of the National Mall than tourists usually care to venture. Patent owners come from around the country to this tree-lined street in Washington, D.C., to seek a powerful remedy to protect their patented products: an exclusion order. An exclusion order directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to block infringing imports at the United States border ...
Should employees be at liberty to remove trade secrets they created when they leave their employers? Think carefully, physical liberty might just be at stake. In his junior year at UC Berkeley, he built a prize-winning robot out of Legos to sort Monopoly money. Later, he entered the first ever two-wheeler in the DARPA Grand Challenge, an American autonomous vehicle competition funded by the US Department of Defense ...
Law is an ever-evolving social construct and remains effective only insofar as it can be updated in a timely manner to keep up with real-life developments. The relevance of laws and their subject matter is always dictated by present-day realities and circumstances ...
On 12 August 2020, the Ministry of Commerce released via Circular the State Council approved Master Plan for the Comprehensive Deepening of the Pilot Programme for the Innovative Development of the Trade in Services together with a schedule of specific measures (2020 Plan). The 2020 Plan includes 8 pilot tasks and 122 specific measures to open, facilitate and support the innovative development of the Trade in Services ...
It is no secret that the world has rapidly changed over the last several months. Many companies are reevaluating their business models to adjust to the challenges caused by the world-wide pandemic and to hopefully identify new business opportunities that may arise as a result of a new business environment ...
As many will know, Federal Law 18 of 1981 (the Commercial Agency Law; or CAL) regulates agency, distributorship and franchise relationships in the UAE, regardless of the nomenclature used to describe them ...
At the beginning of astartup’slife,the use of financial resources in the most efficient way is of vital importance.It is for this reasonthatthe incentives that a country can provide to an entrepreneurand hisnewlyformed company can potentially determine how and how much that company willgrow ...
