Are the two trade marks confusingly similar? It’s the question that’s most commonly asked in trade mark law. The issue of confusion can arise in the context of registration: should the trade mark be registered in the face of the earlier trade mark? It can also arise in the context of use: does the trade mark that’s being used infringe the registered trade mark? The two cases that we will consider here both involve registration ...
Every so often, a judgment is passed that upsets settled ways of doing business. When the hue and cry has hushed, upon closer and sober examination, it is often discovered that the old way of doing business was indeed wrong thus a new era is born.International Development Consultants Ltd -V- Jimmy Muyanja and others Misc. 133 of 2018is one such decision ...
If an employer suspects an employee of committing an act of misconduct, it is possible that the employer will want to place that employee on what is usually referred to as a “precautionary suspension”. The question that arises is whether the employer must give the employee a chance to make representations on why he or she should not to be suspended, prior to a decision being taken in this regard ...
TheBig Maccase has enjoyed considerable publicity – many publications have reported on it, includingWorld IP Review. The decision shines a spotlight on some important aspects of trade mark law. In this case, an Irish company called Supermac’s applied for the cancellation of the EU trade mark registration for Big Mac (belonging to McDonald’s) on the basis of non-use ...
The most important corporate tax measures concern the reduction of the maximum corporate income tax (“CIT”) rate and the introduction of the option provided by the anti-tax avoidance directive (“ATAD”)[1]. This allows for the application of the interest limitation rules at the level of a fiscal unity: For the time being CIT is levied at a rate of (i) 15% in case the net profits do notexceed EUR 25,000 and (ii) 18% in case the net profits exceed EUR 30,000 ...
In this context, the judgements provide useful guidance on the concepts of abuse and beneficial ownership. Abuse concept According to the CJEU, it is settled case-law that there is, in EU law, a general legal principle that EU law cannot be relied on for abusive or fraudulent ends ...
As of January 20th, 2019, San Francisco no longer requires a minimum number of parking spaces in new structures or new uses. This new law applies Citywide to all zoning districts. Previously, the City eliminated the parking requirement in many zoning districts in order to reduce traffic congestion, encourage alternative forms of transportation, and lower the cost to build housing ...
San Francisco Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Rafael Mandelman introduced the "Housing Preservation and Expansion Reform Act" in December 2018, a proposed law which hopes to limit major renovations and demolitions plus limit the size of newly built or newly altered residential structures. The two sponsors believe the current process results in too many larger units and demolitions, and that there is a connection between the two ...
Public bodies in the UK (government departments, regulators, local authorities etc.) are legally accountable for the decisions that they make. But what does that mean in practical terms to someone looking to raise a legal challenge to a particular decision? This short blog post provides some very high level guidance in FAQ form. Q. If I think a decision is wrong, am I able to raise a legal challenge against it? A. Maybe ...
For a long time in Polish business practice it has been unclear whether clauses in construction work contracts that require one party to notify the other of circumstances being grounds for seeking additional remuneration are effective. Clauses of this kind can be found in contracts concluded according to FIDIC standard forms of contracts produced by the Fédération Internationale des Ingénieurs-Conseils ...
This two-part webinar series explores the top construction court cases from 2018, to provide an understanding of the key developments in construction law and adjudication practiceand how these might affect your construction projects and disputes in 2019. 1. S&T (UK) Limited v Grove Developments [2018] EWCA Civ 2448 Grove employed S&T to design and build a new hotel at Heathrow Airport under a JCT Design and Build Contract ...
The Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2018 (“TLAA”), which was promulgated on 17 January 2018, amended South African tax legislation by overhauling two provisions relating to the reduction of debt, (the “Debt Benefit Rules”), namely section 19 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “ITA”) and paragraph 12A of the Eighth Schedule to the ITA (the “Eighth Schedule”) ...
Employers in industries with fluctuating daily labor needs, such as retail services, often require employees to call in ahead of a scheduled shift to find out whether they are needed to work. According to a recently-published California Court of Appeal decision, employees who are required to use such a call-in procedure may be entitled to "reporting time pay" if they are told not to come to work that day—even if the employees do not physically report to work ...
Introduction Significant changes to Federal Law No 11 of 1992 (the Civil Procedure Code) will soon be coming into effect. These changes are introduced through regulations (the Regulations) issued under the Civil Procedure Code and will come into effect on 16 February 2019. The Regulations were promulgated pursuant to Decree by Law No 10 of 2017. These Regulations will amend the Civil Procedure Code where applicable ...
On 14 September 2018 the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing of the Republic of Indonesia introduced Regulation of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing of the Republic of Indonesia Number 23/PRT/M/2018 on the Owners and Occupants’ Association of Multistoried Dwelling Units (“Regulation 23”) ...
Pet owners do not get damages at law for the wrongful death of their pets, even when caused by fraudulent and unscrupulous profiteers. Should they? For many affluent “parents” of “furkids”, it is a familiar routine come Christmas or any other holiday season: stopping by at an expensive boarding facility on the way to the airport to drop off their precious pets, rather than leaving the cute critters home alone ...
On January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) returned to the common-law agency test for determining whether workers qualified as independent contractors. SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., 367 NLRB No. 75 (2019) The decision expressly overrules the Board’s decision in FedEx Home Delivery, 361 NLRB 610 (2014), enf. denied 849 F.3d 1123 (D.C. Cir. 2017) ...
Generally, mediation and its process are foreign to most litigants. With the possible exception of the parties’ lawyers and insurance adjusters, often even the most sophisticated business clients have never been in mediation and do not fully understand the process or know what to expect. Frequently, as the mediator, in the early stages of the day I hear: “It is not my fault ...
Generally, mediation and its process are foreign to most litigants. With the possible exception of the parties’ lawyers and insurance adjusters, often even the most sophisticated business clients have never been in mediation and do not fully understand the process or know what to expect. Frequently, as the mediator, in the early stages of the day I hear: “It is not my fault ...
This two-part series explores the top construction court cases of2018, providingan understanding of the key developments in construction law and adjudication practiceand how these might affect your construction projects and disputes in 2019. Read or watch the first in the series below: the top five construction cases of2018. 1 ...
IN THIS ARTICLE, ABHILAASH SUBRAMANIAM DISCUSSES THE POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE MOVE FROM GST TO SST. Introduction The much anticipated Sales Tax Act 2018 and the Service Tax Act 2018(commonly referred to as “SST”) was rolled out on 1 September 2018, together with their respective subsidiary legislations, to replace the previous Goods and Services Tax Act 2014 (“GST”) ...
To raise the Reynolds privilege established in the landmark English House of Lords decision in Reynolds v Times Newspaper Ltd[1] in a defamation claim, a defendant is required to establish that the matter was one of public interest and that the defendant practised “responsible journalism” in publishing the impugned words ...
The Chicago City Council recently approved a significant amendment to the transit-oriented development provisions of the Zoning Ordinance. Prior to the change, the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, through increases and reductions of certain development standards, allowed for larger, more dense buildings on properties in close proximity to CTA or Metra train stations ...
On January 21, 2019, Google was fined nearly $57 million (approximately 50 million euros) by France’s Data Protection Authority, CNIL, for an alleged violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).[1] CNIL found Google violated the GDPR based on a lack of transparency, inadequate information, and lack of valid consent regarding ad personalization. This fine is the largest imposed under the GDPR since it went into effect in May 2018 and the first to be imposed on a U.S ...
The dispute between ride sharing companies Uber and 99 is increasingly fierce. Now the main stage is Rio de Janeiro. In May 2018, Uber filed a lawsuit against 99 in the city, claiming misleading advertising. Less than two months ago, 99 began an aggressive discount campaign in the city to promote the 99Pop service in Rio, competing directly with Uber ...
