The numbers have been crunched and we have a winner! The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia — known nationally as the “Rocket Docket” — had the fastest trial docket in the country in 2013. Once again. For the sixth year in a row. The median time interval to trial for the 12-month time period ending March 31, 2013, (the most recently released data) is 11.1 months. That’s 11 ...
New regulations that ban businesses from imposing excessive fees on consumers making payments will extend to small businesses from 12 June 2014. The Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 (the 'regulations') - the first of many legislative changes that form part of the major ongoing overhaul of consumer protection legislation - came into force for most businesses on 6 April 2013 ...
With international marketers readying for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA) has released Ambush Marketing: A Global Legal Perspective, which summarizes laws and other rules governing ambush marketing in 52 countries around the world ...
A recent decision by the Florida Supreme Court is raising eyebrows among businesses and practitioners because it regards what constitutes a valid agreement to arbitrate, specifically, whether an arbitration clause written in English can be enforced against parties who do not speak the language. Given Florida’s diverse population, the opinion causes concern as some interpreted it to go against long-standing law that binds a signatory to a contract even if they did not fully understand it ...
An application to register the word mark BIMBO DOUGHNUTS as a Community Trade Mark (CTM) has been successfully opposed in the European courts. The ECJ upheld the General Court’s earlier decision that there is a likelihood of confusion between the word mark BIMBO DOUGHNUTS and a registered Spanish word mark, DOGHNUTS. (Bimbo SA v OHIM, Case C-591/12 P) ...
Our clients from outside the province of Quebec often ask us the following questions: what are the linguistic labelling requirements in Canada, and particularly Quebec? There are several statutes and regulations governing labelling in Quebec and Canada. The following is a summary of some of the major points relating to the use of the French language ...
In a surprise announcement on 21 March 2014, the Zambian government with immediate effect abolished exchange control regulations introduced in 2012 and 2013 in an attempt to halt the rapid devaluation of the Kwacha. When the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) came to power in Zambia in 1991, the new government’s priorities were the restoration of economic future growth and employment through liberalising the economy and allowing market forces a greater role ...
On 14 February 2014 the South African Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) gave notice of its intention to prohibit the use of a large number of European food and drinks names in terms of section 15 of the Merchandise Marks Act (MMA) - confusingly the notice also makes reference to section 13 of the MMA, a section that no longer exists ...
New Regulations Governing Consumer Claims and Language Use in Consumer Information The Croatian Consumer Protection Act has recently updated how customer claims are to be handled. The receipt of complaints must now be confirmed in writing without delay ...
The U.S. Supreme Court again unanimously reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, this time in two cases relating to attorney fees for patent infringement: Octane Fitness v. Icon Health & Fitness, No. 12-1184, and Highmark v. Allcare Health Mgmt. Sys., No. 12-1163. The Federal Circuit is now 0-3 in cases before the court so far this term, and it has persuaded a grand total of zero justices to support affirmance in any of those cases. See Medtronic v ...
Negotiations are part of our daily lives from an early age. From haggling with teachers over homework to agreeing terms for a new job – we all negotiate regularly throughout our lives. So why then can it be difficult to get some parties to start negotiating when it matters? Parties are unlikely to negotiate if they believe that they can force a better result at a lower cost ...
Judges sitting in the Inner House of Scotland’s supreme civil court, the Court of Session, will no longer wear wigs and judicial robes when hearing civil appeals. Where this is the case the court will not insist that counsel should appear with wig and gown or that solicitors with rights of audience should appear with gowns. Where the court intends to wear wigs and judicial robes, for example at ceremonial sittings, practitioners will be informed accordingly ...
The High Court, County Court and the Magistrates Court have jurisdiction to hear civil matters in England and Wales, with the High Court dealing with the most complex and high value disputes. The County Court hears lower value debt, personal injury and contract claims as well as some technology, construction and patent cases. Until 22 April a claimant could choose to bring their claim in the High Court providing the figure claimed for was over £25,000 ...
Clients unfamiliar with patent prosecution are often surprised to learn that few patent applications receive a first-action allowance, or FAA. There are even rankings of law firms that receive the most FAAs each year. But what does an FAA signify? Is it a cause to celebrate, or to conduct a post-mortem? The answer is, of course, “it depends ...
In 16 January 2014, the Constitutional Court (“MK”) granted the request for a judicial review of Article 335 of the Criminal Code (“KUHP”) and removed the phrase, “offensive act” from Article 335 of the KUHP. The reason for removing the phrase, “offensive act” is that it allows investigators and public prosecutors to act arbitrarily against certain people ...
On 6 April 2014, the historic remedy of distress ceased to exist. The tool that landlords have used for centuries has been replaced by the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (‘CRAR’) regime.Tenants have welcomed this development as CRAR prevents bailiffs from simply turning up unannounced at the tenant’s address in order to seize goods. Landlords on the other hand are now faced with a more complex process and the loss of the element of surprise ...
If all’s fair in love and war, and business is war, it must follow that all is fair in business. We should therefore not concern ourselves with fairness in our business dealings, but focus on maximising our personal gain, irrespective of the impact of our decisions on others. Adopting the above approach is not only likely to harm you but also your business. People are social beings and have evolved to reward cooperation and punish avarice. Take two individuals - Mr Smith and Mr Jones ...
A decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in 2011 appeared to limit the options for large television companies seeking to prevent unlicensed viewing. It was held in that case, involving the Football Association Premier League Ltd, that the use of foreign decoders to broadcast Sky television in public places could not be prevented because of EU competition rules ...
The rapid expansion of brands in the Chinese foreign market has problems relating to the protection of these arise and hence of their owners. The last amendment to the Trademark Law of China reflects one of the main problems that foreign companies often face in China which is "brand hijacking." The records of "bad faith" requested by the opportunists of fashion brands block applications for registration of trademarks by their rightful owners ...
Westshield Limited v David and Lisa Whitehouse [2013] 3576 EWHC (TCC); Akenhead J, 18 November 2013Executive SummaryIn this decision the TCC considered the impact of a CVA ("Company Voluntary Arrangement") on an adjudication decision and confirmed that challenges to the enforcement of adjudicators' decisions are not necessarily limited to jurisdictional or breach of natural justice arguments ...
On February 21, 2014, the Federal Circuit’s 6-4 majority en banc ruling in Lighting Ballast Control vs. Philips Electronic North America retained the standard of de novo appellate review of district court claim construction rulings, whereby the scope of the patent grant is reviewed as a matter of law ...
On March 5, 2014, the US Supreme Court rendered a 7-2 decision reinstating a $185 million arbitration award in favor of the BG Group against Argentina under the UK-Argentina bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit erred in deciding de novo, and without deference to the tribunal’s award, the issue of the arbitrators’ jurisdiction ...
There are many famous cases where trademarks and passing off come into contact with unofficial merchandising and the right holder has been unsuccessful. They range from the fictional character Tarzan, to the rock band Linkin Park, to Diana Princess of Wales. There is no such thing as a matter of UK law as a free standing general right by a famous person (or anyone else) to control the reproduction of their image ...
