As Singapore’s economy gears up for the new normal, the government may need to relook at how it attracts foreign talent, and how it values those committed to setting up home here for the long haul. My friend P was born near Vladivostok, in what was then USSR. When he was 12, his shipping executive father uprooted the family and moved to Singapore on a two-year contract, which was then renewed over and over ...
A lot has been written about the Scottish case where William Grant sued the budget supermarket chain Lidl for trade mark infringement. The issue Lidl is selling a gin that one imagines was intended to look rather a lot like the well-established Hendricks gin. This Lidl gin is called Hampstead, although the similarity between the two products relates as much to get-up as to the (surely not coincidental) choice by Lidl of a nine-letter name that starts with the letter H ...
Lawyers prosecuting COVID-19 claims should keep the law’s potential speedbumps in mind as they drive their cases. This article briefly describes what both sides of the bar should consider—and look for moving forward—when navigating COVID-19 cases in Florida. Florida recently codified significant protections for individuals, businesses and other organizations facing COVID-19-related lawsuits ...
In re: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., et al., Appeal Nos. 2021-139, -140 (Fed. Cir. June 30, 2021) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit granted mandamus petitions filed by Samsung and LG Electronics, directing that patent cases pending against them in the Western District of Texas be transferred to the Northern District of California ...
On 29 June 2021, the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) implemented ‘Round 9’ of measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on businesses and workers in Cambodia. The RGC noted that COVID-19 situation continues to evolve alarmingly with the recent mutation of the virus, which has added socio-economic pressures to many countries around the world ...
The magazine World Trademark Review (“WTR”) has published some interesting data about football trade marks. Given that we’re all watching the Euros, this might be a good time to discuss some of the links between trade marks and football. Football clubs have significant trade mark portfolios The club that arguably takes trade marks most seriously is Manchester United, with a trade mark portfolio of 586 marks. Next comes Barcelona with 440 ...
On June 17, 2021, Law 21,348 (hereinafter, the " Law ") was published in the Official Gazette, the purpose of which is to legally guide the powers of the President of the Republic (hereinafter, the " President ") regarding the state of constitutional exception of catastrophe due to public calamity, in order to guarantee, in situations of pandemic, health crisis and natural disasters, the access and availability in sufficient quantities of water to the affected population ...
In our second post pandemic webinar, Shoosmiths’ partners Susie Wakefield, John Hartley and Sam Tyfield considered key questions around the governance and regulation of Operational Resilience (OR) with guest speaker Charles Taylor (partner at Aldbury International). Who needs to be operationally resilient? It is good business practice for regulated and non-regulated firms to be operationally resilient and all businesses should be thinking about their OR ...
The cap may no longer fit - In a welcome and well-reasoned decision from the Supreme Court in the case of Manchester Building Society -v- Grant Thornton, the scope of duty and extent of liability of professional advisers has been comprehensively reviewed and clarity provided. The Manchester Building Society (“MBS”) claim related to a claim against Grant Thornton (“GT”) regarding auditing and accounting advice it provided ...
On June 27, Supreme Decree Nº 005-2021-IN was published in the Official Gazette “El Peruano” adopting the new “National Directive of Internal Order for the protection of National Critical Assets – ACN” (“New Directive”) ...
The National Mining Agency (“ANM”) amends Resolutions No. 28/2020 and 46/2020 due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and revokes Resolution No. 55/2021. On June 30, 2021, the Federal Official Gazette published Resolution No. 76, by means of which the National Mining Agency (“ANM”) amends Resolutions No ...
In this article first published by The Federation of European Independent Financial Advisers, Jacqueline Moore, Head of Immigration, explains a time-limited opportunity for certain family members of British citizens to utilise a route known as “Surinder Singh”. Prior to Brexit, European free movement allowed British citizens to live and work in the EU without restrictions ...
From caterpillar cakes and “anti-establishment” IPA beer to gin, the issue of “copycat” own brands has been thrown into the spotlight by a series of recent court actions involving some of the country’s best-known food and drink producers and discount supermarket chains ...
Bob McIntosh, the Tenant Farming Commissioner, spoke at a conference on agricultural law at the beginning of June and gave a useful update of his activities and a range of issues surrounding agricultural tenancies. He had received 139 inquiries from agricultural landlords and tenants and their agents during the course of 2020 – a marked increase on the previous two years. The majority were from tenants (47 per cent) or their representatives (27 per cent) ...
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 (the CPA) was enacted almost 35 years ago in order to implement EU law. The act introduced the concept of “strict liability” into the arena of product supply to certain users. This means that consumers who are injured by defective products can sue manufacturers without having to prove negligence. This practical guide provides an overview of the CPA for consumers and manufacturers, with reference to recent key cases ...
The announcement on 30 June that the Subsidy Control Bill has been introduced into the UK Parliament is a very welcome development for those who have been waiting for the legal 'gap' in this area to be plugged. This short article outlines the key elements of the proposed new regime ...
A party making a claim bears the burden of proof, meaning that it is responsible for proving its claim. In civil disputes (as opposed to criminal matters) a claim generally must be proven ‘on the balance of probabilities’ if it is to be successful. How is this achieved? The answer is that the claimant must present sufficient evidence to persuade the decision maker that its case is more probable than not ...
The popularity of wild camping following the easing of the first lockdown caused a number of problems for landowners and managers concerned about the impact on the countryside. Now, as we head into a summer of staycations, landowners may wish to familiarise themselves with the public’s right of responsible access afforded by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 ...
A child arrangements order is a court order which states where a child will live, how they will be cared for and how they will spend their time with one or both of their parents. A question which often goes unasked, however, is how long will the order last? The contact arrangements set out within a child arrangements order, i.e ...
The Supreme Court, in Minerva Surgical, Inc., v. Hologic, Inc., et al., Case No. 20-440, recently upheld the doctrine of assignor estoppel, but severely limited its reach. The Court limited assignor estoppel to not apply in the cases of a “common employment arrangement” with an employer and employee, when there is a change in law, and when the issued patent has “materially broader” claims than the assigned invention ...
Late amendments to Ohio’s budget bill (Am. Sub. H. B. 110[1]) set the stage to disrupt Ohio’s health care business community and alter health care oversight, operations and quality in the state. The new law provides moral, ethical, and religious grounds to refuse health care, and in doing so, affords unprecedented rights and protections that stand to impact the Ohio health care community in a myriad of ways ...
Over the past ten or so years, imaginative plaintiffs have pressed “climate change cases” in federal and state courts across the United States. In these cases, plaintiffs (most commonly states, municipalities, or environmentalists) sue defendants (often energy companies, states, or municipalities themselves) seeking damages related to climate change. While these cases have proliferated across the country, Florida saw very few in the early going ...
This newsletter features a look into notable recent Finnish competition and regulatory case law. New rules on fines and the FCCA's powers introduced to the Finnish Competition Act Concurrently with the implementation of the ECN+ Directive (Directive 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council), the Finnish Parliament approved a set of other notable amendments to the Finnish Competition Act at the end of May 2021 ...
The ASA has taken further steps in their battle against influencers that fail to disclose when they are advertising to consumers on their social media channels. The ASA has taken further steps in their battle against influencers that fail to disclose when they are advertising to consumers on their social media channels ...
On June 17, the Supreme Court rejected another court challenge to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), holding that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge its minimum essential coverage provisions. For the third time, the Supreme Court upheld the ACA. More than a decade after the ACA was enacted, the long and winding road of ACA challenges may be over and healthcare industry participants may finally be able to rely on the ACA as settled law moving forward ...
