Under 35 U.S.C. § 101, patent claims may be challenged if they are found to be directed to patent ineligible subject matter, such as laws of nature, natural phenomena, products of nature or abstract ideas. On September 9, 2024, in Contour IP Holding LLC v. GoPro, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provided additional clarity with respect to the application of § 101 ...
While in power, the Nazis ruthlessly engineered the theft of hundreds of thousands of artworks and other cultural property from their victims.[1] During and after World War II, a significant number of these pieces made their way to museums, galleries and private collections in the U.S. This led to civil litigation in U.S. courts when the Nazis' victims and their heirs sought the restitution of these artworks ...
PROOF OF INCAPACITY: ANALYSIS OF CIUSSS DE L?OUEST-DE-L?LE-DE-MONTREAL (ST. MARY?S HOSPITAL CENTER) v. RC 1 Summary The authors comment on this decision rendered on September 20, 2024, in which the Court of Appeal ruled on the capacity to consent to care in the presence of a psychiatric disorder ...
Given the increasing use of GenAI to assist businesses with answering legal queries, we wanted to see if ChatGPT can explain the rules around obtaining retrospective consent for electronic direct marketing in the UK. Electronic direct marketing (i.e. email and SMS) to individual consumers is a vital element of many businesses, particularly in the retail sector ...
This article is part of our EU AI Act series which explores the effect of the AI Act across various industries and sectors. Overview & Applicability Timeline The Artificial Intelligence Act (“AI Act” or “Regulation”), officially Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, is a groundbreaking legislative framework designed to address the benefits and risks of AI technologies ...
In this issue, we present an overview of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism. This edition also includes some key takeaways from a recent debate in Stockholm on the relevance of Section 36 of the Contracts Act in commercial disputes. Additionally, we provide an update on the proceedings before the Court of Appeal concerning the temporary injunction granted by the Oslo District Court in the Norwegian climate case ...
This newsletter gives a short overview of the latest legal and administrative developments when temporarily posting workers to Belgium. The topics covered are relevant for both foreign posting employers and Belgian service users. 1. The Limosa notification and the place of work: administrative clarifications When filing a Limosa notification for your posted workers, you must, amongst others, identify the place of work. However, this is not always easy to do ...
SyCipLaw Senior Partner and Head of Litigation Department Ricardo P.G. Ongkiko, Partners John Christian Joy A. Regalado, and Ma. Patricia B. Paz-Jacoba have authored the Philippine chapter in the newly released Chambers International Arbitration 2024 Global Practice Guide (GPG) ...
On September 15, 2023, the DOLE issued Labor Advisory No. 20, Series of 2023, providing new guidelines on the implementation of a Cancer Control and Prevention Policy and Program in the Workplace. Under the Labor Advisory, employers and their employees are required to adopt such program, which shall include the following areas: 1. promotion of a safe and healthy lifestyle, including the mental and social well-being of employees; 2 ...
The UK GDPR and similar data protection laws around the world ask for data protection by design - but what does this mean in practice when it comes to DSARs? Using products such as Shoosmiths' SmartSAR may be the solution your organisation is looking for. Data protection ‘by design and default’ is a core concept under the UK GDPR and similar laws around the world ...
HR teams have a lot on their plate, but a key priority for 2024 is undoubtedly protecting the employee brand proposition. Our 2024 online programme is focused on supporting HR teams to do just this, equipping them with the tools they need to protect the employee brand proposition of the organisations they work for. Our latest webinar focused on what organisations need to do to manage conflicting protected beliefs ...
On 9 September 2024, Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister and European Central Bank President, presented his highly anticipated report on «The Future of European Competitiveness» to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen [1][2]. This comprehensive report analyzes the challenges faced by European industries and companies in the Single Market and proposes strategies to enhance the EU’s competitiveness [2] ...
The EU's comprehensive data and AI regulatory package is about to become operational. This year, the Krogerus Data Symposium will highlight some of the most impactful changes of the Data Act and the AI Act, which will profoundly influence the application of AI, how companies and communities can utilise IoT data, and how data usage agreements are formed ...
Jersey publishes new guidance on the tokenisation of real world assets (“RWAs”) What is tokenisation? Tokenisation is the process of issuing a digital representation of an asset, typically on a blockchain, and its benefits include allowing investors to own and sell fractions of an asset which may otherwise be illiquid and/or financially unattainable for such investors to own outright ...
Modern data protection rules are being introduced to tax-efficient jurisdictions like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. It's increasingly vital to understand how to handle data in some less familiar territories for data protection. Advisers are familiar with the data protection laws which apply in the jurisdictions where many commercial businesses operate like the UK Data Protection Act, the UK/EU GDPR and the California Privacy Protection Act ...
Chambers and Partners recently published its Enforcement of Judgments Global Practice Guide 2024. The Philippine chapter was authored by SyCipLaw partners Ramon G. Songco, Anthony W. Dee, Ricardo Ma. P.G. Ongkiko, head of the Firm's Litigation department, and Russel L. Rodriguez ...
Chambers and Partners recently published its Corporate Immigration Global Practice Guide 2024. SyCipLaw senior partner and Employment and Immigration department head Leslie C. Dy and partner Rodelle B. Bolante authored this year’s Philippine chapter ...
Force majeure remains a hot topic when it comes to contracts. Following the pandemic, Suez Canal blockage and international sanctions, parties to contracts have been looking at how to possibly recover their losses or minimise the effects of delays. One question that had arisen was whether contracting parties could be forced to find a way around the issues by being commercially minded, particularly where they had an obligation to use reasonable endeavours to overcome the force majeure event ...
The Ministry for Home Affairs, Security and Employment (MHSE) published the proposed Maltese draft order for the transposition of the EU Network and Information Systems Directive II (‘NIS 2’) on 6 September 2024 ...
The UK Cabinet Office has just announced, in a brief statement that the date for the Procurement Act 2023 to enter into force has been postponed. At less than 2 months from the planned “go live” date which was slated for 28 October 2024, in a surprise announcement, the new Government has decided to push this back. The reasoning for the decision stems directly from the change in administration following this year’s General Election ...
Over the last year, we have monitored a lawsuit in Georgia that alleged a hedge fund (“Fearless Fund”) violated 42 U.S.C. § 1981—the federal prohibition on racial discrimination in contracting—by operating a grant contest that awarded $20,000 grants to select small business owners, all of whom, by the contest’s express rules, had to be Black women. That case, American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Fearless Fund Management, LLC, settled yesterday ...
A federal court has issued a nationwide injunction blocking enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) new rule that would ban nearly all non-competition (“non-compete”) deals. The rule, issued on April 23, 2024 (the “Non-Compete Rule”), would broadly ban employer/employee non-compete agreements nationwide and was set to go into effect on September 4, 2024 (“Effective Date”) ...
September 11, 2024 By: Amber Healy, Craig Nickerson, and Spencer Adler On September 3rd, 2024, Los Angeles County’s Fair Chance Ordinance (“FCO”) went into effect, establishing new criminal background check requirements for employers in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The FCO expands the limitations placed on employers by California’s Fair Chance Act (“FCA”) ...
The trend for financial services businesses and others to procure services from FinTech providers – and for providers to offer their services direct to consumers – has increased over the last 15 years. In this article, we outline some of the key areas of law that relate to FinTech. Similar to technology law more broadly, FinTech law is very much a “discipline of disciplines” ...
SyCipLaw's Employment & Immigration Update (Volume XIX, Issue 1) features the latest issuances from the Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE), summaries of Supreme Court decisions, and labor and immigration updates. Please read the full bulletinhereor via thislink. Labor Advisories DOLE Labor Advisory No. 23-23: Guidelines on Minimum Public Health Standards in Workplaces Relative to the Lifting of the State of Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19 DOLE Labor Advisory No ...
