The US tech giant, Google is fined EUR 50 million by France's data protection regulator, CNIL, for failing to comply with its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) obligations. This is the biggest GDPR fine yet to be issued by a European regulator and the first time that one of the tech giants has been found in breach with the new regulations that came into force in May 2017 ...
In late November 2018, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) announced that they had reached agreement on facilitating the licensing of domestic funds by each authority for promotion across the UAE. This is a potentially significant development ...
On 18 January 2019, the Electronic Invoicing (Public Contracts etc.) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2019 (the Regulations) were laid before the Scottish Parliament. They come into force on 18 April 2019 for central government authorities and bodies established under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, and on 18 April 2020 in relation to all other contracting authorities and contracting entities ...
The use of the Internet without the use of search engines, which list links to Internet pages after keywords have been entered, is almost unthinkable. In the context of the search results, however, websites may appear that contain personal data and thus fall within the scope of the GDPR ...
IN THIS ARTICLE, GOH HUI WEN LOOKS AT GREEN AND SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS IN THE ASEAN REGION. The investment scene in the ASEAN region has been undergoing a transformational change in recent years as it pivots towards a green and sustainable path of development[1]. Demand for sustainable investment opportunities in ASEAN is set to bloom within the next two decades, with the investment opportunity estimated to be worth a whopping USD3 trillion from 2016 to 2030[2] ...
In this article, Tan Wei Xian analyses the new guidelines on registration and conduct of trustees and issuing houses ...
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 Brexit Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the European Union and the United Kingdom envisaged that during the United Kingdom's transitional period data protection legislation would have been treated in the same way as with the countries of the European Economic Area. This would have allowed a transfer of personal data from the European Union to the United Kingdom without additional measures to ensure adequate levels of data protection ...
Shepherd and Wedderburn, as a collection of individuals and as a business, has put diversity and inclusivity at the heart its organisational culture and values. The business case for fostering diversity and inclusivity in the workplace is compelling ...
In a landmark decision, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (‘EUIPO’) has ruled that McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest fast food chains, will lose its EU trade mark for “Big Mac” ...
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) must currently clarify whether and how website operators can legally integrate the so-called "Like" button of Facebook on their website (Case C-40/17). A German online retailer had integrated the "Facebook Like" button into their online shop. Due to the functionality of the "Facebook Like" button, personal information was transmitted to Facebook Ireland each time the website was visited, including the IP address ...
The Financial Services Authority (“OJK”) recently issued OJK Regulation No 37/POJK 04/2018 on equity crowdfunding services. This will allow offers of shares for sale by an issuer directly to investors through an open information technology system (“POJK37/2018”). POJK 37/2018 applies to offers of shares through a Crowdfunding ServicesProvider’s system ...
A new rule promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals, also known as CCR or coal ash, raises the risk for civil claims and the need for insurance to cover them.1 The rule, which takes effect Aug. 29, 2018, revises regulations issued in 2015 and has the stated intent of providing utilities and states “more flexibility in how CCR is managed ...
Under its Article 88(1), the GDPR allows Member States to draw up their own rules for the area of employee data protection. Germany has taken advantage of this option with Section 26 of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG). The first sentence of Section 26(1) already applies while the decision to establish an employment relationship is made and hence it needs to be taken into account early in the application process ...
On December 19th, 2018, the Ministry of Labor published Ordinance No. 1,085/2018, for the purpose of amending Regulation No. 22 ("NR-22"), which regulates aspects related to the mining sector occupational safety and health. The reformed NR-22 therefore brings changes to the sections regarding the Disposal of Tailings, Wastes and Products and the Emergency Response Plan, within the framework of the National Policy on Dams Safety ("PNSB") ...
The Financial Services Authority issued OJK Regulation No. 37/ POJK 04/2018, on 31 December 2018 on equity crowdfunding services (the “Crowdfunding Services”) which allow offers of shares for sale by an issuer directly to investors through an open information technology system (“POJK 37/2018”). POJK 37/2018 applies to offers of shares through a Crowdfunding Services Provider’s system ...
To protect and stimulate creators to increase innovation and encourage entrepreneurship, Norwegian authorities are changing the law. In 2018 we received several proposals towards strengthening the rights of those who create new ideas or build their business on intellectual property. Looking back at 2018, we see a year in which the Norwegian intellectual property (IP) legislation has been in movement. Technology is developing fast, and so must the law protecting technology ...
Software is becoming the main part of an increasingly amount of products set on the market; a trend which will become more and more evident in the years to come. This fact challenges the legal landscape and interpretation of product liability laws, and contract makers must pay attention to potential new risks imposed on the parties. If a product causes damages to a third party, complex questions may arise with respect to liability and the chain of causation ...
PSD2 came into effect in the European Union on January 13, 2018. PSD2 is important as it aims to further harmonise the EU payments market and break the banks' de facto monopoly on the provision of payment services and the use of their customer data. Below is a review of developments to date as they relate to transposing PSD2 into Norwegian law, including an update on the most recent developments ...
Most companies go to great lengths to protect and maintain their intellectual property (IP). These companies recognize the value of their IP and work towards its development, sustainability and commercialization. IP strategy customary includes where and when to file patent applications, how to choose a brand name and register it, how to protect and enforce copyrights, protect trade secrets, etc ...
One of the key provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act rollback law signed by President Trump on May 24, 2018, hasn’t met its early promise for U.S. community banks. Recently proposed rules to implement simplified capital requirements have fallen short of the industry’s expectations when the bank deregulation law was enacted in May ...
The online retail sector has seen a considerable increase in intervention by the competition authorities both on a national level and in Brussels. Most recently, in December 2018, the European Commission fined the clothing company Guess € 39.8 million for applying online sales and advertising restrictions ...
The ePrivacy Regulation was actually supposed to enter into force on May 25, 2018 jointly with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Now it is expected to go into effect in 2019 at the earliest. It has new provisions in store, particularly for online marketing. The ePrivacy Regulation is intended to replace the current European ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC) and the Cookie Directive (2009/136/EC) ...
The IRS recently issued proposed regulations to implement changes to the rules for hardship distributions from 401(k) plans made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (“BBA”) that will take effect on January 1, 2019. The proposed changes will make hardship distributions more widely available and will ease administration of hardship distributions for plan sponsors ...
