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 ...
On 20 June 2016, the South African National Treasury published draft Carbon Offsets Regulations (“draft regulations”), intended as a component of the proposed carbon tax. The draft regulations mark the next step in the process of bringing the carbon tax into operation by early 2017 ...
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 ...
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”)/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) Project identified 15 actions based on the following three key themes, being: · the introduction of coherence in the domestic rules that affect cross-border activities; · the reinforcement of substance requirements in the existing international standards; and · the improvement of transparency and certainty ...
It is the long-standing practice of traders and service providers to grant customers extended payment terms for the goods or services they supply as a means to enhance turnover. Where the credit provided is interest-free, the question that arises is whether the provision of such credit impacts on the entitlement of the supplier to claim input tax for value added tax (“VAT”) purposes ...
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 ...
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”) ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
We are pleased to announce that Karanović & Nikolić has advised Jet Airways (India) Limited, together with Dentons UKMEA LLP, in an aircraft leasing transaction that will enable the long-haul trans-Atlantic route between Serbia and the United States (Belgrade-New York) to be restored ...
According to recent reports, it seems to be that an exciting update in the aviation world might be waiting around the corner. More precisely, it has been circulated in the media that the global giant and world's fastest growing airline, Turkish Airlines, is contemplating the acquisition of Croatia's national carrier – Croatia Airlines ...
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 ...
On May 12th, Governor Snyder issued Executive Directive No. 2016-1 ("ED 2016-1"), which seeks to improve infrastructure in the State by utilizing the Michigan Department of Transportation ("MDOT") in multiple ways. ED 2016-1 requires MDOT to work with a number of agencies, including coordinating with: - The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to identify and address major infrastructure projects where inadequate facilities could cause threats to water or wastewater services ...
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 ...
