In an increasingly digital age, paper documents are often regarded (at best) as quaint and (at worst) as unnecessary and expensive. But when it comes to international trade, paper documents have been fundamental in terms of giving the holder of that physical document the benefit of valuable rights. This has now changed. From 20 September 2023, the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 places certain electronic trade documents on an equal footing as their paper counterparts under English law ...
Shoosmiths explore the need for regulation in the evolving landscape of Web 3.0 and the Metaverse, focusing on recent approaches to regulating emerging technologies, and the importance of striking a balance between flexibility and effective safeguards. At a Web 3 ...
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published its policy recommendations for decentralised finance (DeFi) as a consultation paper. Responses are due by 19 October 2023 ...
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) represents an emerging financial model that utilises distributed ledger technologies to provide functions like borrowing, investing, or trading digital assets, all without the need for conventional centralised intermediaries. Here is a quick update with what is occurring on the international stage ...
The SEC Division of Examinations (the “Division”) issued a Risk Alert on September 6, 2023 that describes the Division’s risk-based approach for selecting advisers to examine and outlines the scope of areas to be examined ...
The conversation around Artificial intelligence (AI) regulation is set to go into a “supercharged” phase globally. At least, that’s the conclusion one can’t help drawing from the hype around the UK’s AI Safety Summit, which takes place in early November, and from comments this week by Senate Leader Chuck Schumer around upping the pace of AI regulation in the US ...
Battery as a Service (BaaS) allows customers to keep their vehicles charged up and running, without recharging the drained-out batteries. The concept allows customers to lease out batteries as a separate component from the car, on a subscription based model, and swap it for a fully charged one as and when it depletes power. Last year Shoosmiths published a report highlighting the benefits of the BaaS business model, driven by the increasing use of battery storage technology ...
Blockchain litigation lead, Matt Green will be hosting our latest podcast series, 'In Early - The Crypto Podcast' - Listen to episode 19. Episode 19 features Jonny Fry the Crypto AM Influencer of the year 2022. With a wealth of knowledge in this sector, Jonny runs Digital Bytes, which creates and distributes a weekly roundup of the biggest stories in the world of digital assets, and is the CEO of Team Blockchain ...
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On Tuesday September 12, Patterson Belknap Partner Bill Cavanaugh delivered the opening statement on behalf of a coalition of the Attorney Generals from 38 states and other jurisdictions in the trial of a historic monopoly antitrust lawsuit against Google involving its search engine. Bill was appointed by the Attorney Generals of Colorado and Nebraska, the lead plaintiffs in the states' case, to serve as lead trial counsel ...
In 1968, the Supreme Court held in Bruton v. United States that a defendant was deprived of his rights under the Confrontation Clause when a nontestifying codefendant's confession naming the defendant as a participant in the crime was introduced in their joint trial, regardless of any instruction that the jury should consider the confession only against the confessing defendant ...
The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) recently handed unions a resounding victory by reviving a legal doctrine that allows them to represent employees without winning a formal election. A New Framework Built on Old Principles In 1949, the United States was in the early stages of a post-war economic expansion. The NLRB, still in its infancy, was adopting policies at a rapid pace aimed at encouraging collective bargaining ...
PCC Issues Motu Proprio Merger Review Guidelines for Digital Markets On 21 August 2023, the Philippine Competition Commission (“PCC”) issued the Guidelines for the motu proprio review of Mergers and Acquisitions in Digital Markets (the “Guidelines”) to provide greater transparency and predictability over the PCC’s power of motu proprio review of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) within the digital market ...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the global real estate landscape. In the United States alone, AI companies are predicted to have a 1.6m sq m real estate footprint by the end of 2023, according to JLL ...
Blockchain litigation lead, Matt Green will be hosting our latest podcast series, 'In Early - The Crypto Podcast' - Listen to episode 18. This week Matt speaks to the man claiming two names - Dr Craig Wright and Satoshi Nakamoto ...
Belgium had accumulated a significant legislative backlog within insolvency law. The European Directive 2019/1023 on restructuring had to be transposed into national law by the member states by 17 July 2022 at the latest. The Belgian government did not submit a draft bill to this effect until 20 March 2023. This draft has since been voted into law and will enter into force on 1 September 2023. Several amendments are being made to (among others) Book XX of the Belgian Economic Law ...
In its judgement delivered on 14th June 2023 in the names of Marco Aquilina & Euro Concrete Blocks Limited vs. Ir-Registratur tal-Kumpaniji, the Civil Court (Commerce Section), presided over by Mr. Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey, decided in favour of the plaintiffs, who successfully challenged the payment and settlement of various alleged administrative penalties imposed by the Registrar of Companies. The pertinent facts of the case are as follows ...
On 9 August 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern (the "Executive Order"), to regulate U.S. persons engaged in transactions or investment activities in China (including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau) that involve certain technologies and products. The U.S ...
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A recent case has seen trustees apply for and obtain court approval for a trustee petition to wind-up the scheme's sponsoring employers. This is a relatively unusual case, but the trustees had reached a point where no other options were available to them ...
Legal Property Due Diligence In a property transaction, whether that is buying, leasing, or financing, a legal property due diligence exercise may be required to assess the potential risk to a client before committing to the transaction. The potential for AI to be used to review and digest legal property DD documentation with speed and accuracy is clear ...
Current Regulatory Regimes Bermuda was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce sector specific laws and regulations relating to the issuance of ‘digital assets’ and the provision of ’digital asset business’ services. Bermuda's regime regulates the activities of issuers and services providers rather than the technology or digital assets themselves ...
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler is pleased to announce the publication of the latest edition of the New York Commercial Division Practice Guide. As with previous editions, the guide is organized into various chapters containing useful information about litigating in the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court, the “premier forum” for litigating commercial cases ...
The BVI is a leading international financial centre, and BVI companies play a significant role in the flow of capital across the global economy. As global economic conditions become more challenging, lenders are increasingly reliant on formal insolvency procedures to realise value from distressed assets. As a result, the past year has seen a marked increase in the use of statutory demands against BVI companies as a precursor to an application to appoint liquidators ...
The Policy will apply to a broader range of regulated entities and includes updates to take account of Jersey’s evolving regulatory framework. The key amendments to the Policy are as follows: private funds or other funds with a consent issued pursuant to the Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Order 1958 (“COBO”), (which could include funds not domiciled in Jersey and unregulated funds) are not caught under the Policy ...