The price of oil—already hammered by market conditions—took another stumble in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak with no immediate relief in sight. Accordingly, the Oil & Gas Industry must prepare for the looming wave of oncoming legal issues, which will affect every sector of the market. This alert contains recommended actions for industry stakeholders ...
On February 13th, 2020 was published in the Official Gazette the “Regulation of the Do Not Disturb or Antispam system”, with the purpose of regulating its existence and functionality. This Regulation seeks to clearly stablish consumer’s and supplier’s rights and duties, as well as the proceedings associated with the Do Not Disturb System, the website tool provided by the National Consumer Service (SERNAC) ...
New anti-harassment law in time for new virus panic. The COVID-19 crisis that began in Wuhan, China, brings to mind earlier epidemics. In 2003, we were in the grip of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars). It was the first pandemic in the era of the Internet, blogging and social media. Amid the panic about infections, one individual was widely labelled a “super spreader”. Her name and personal details were published ...
The outbreak of the coronavirus and the measures taken by the Chinese government to contain it have brought production in China as the world's workbench to a complete standstill. Companies that operate in China or purchase such goods are currently facing delivery shortfalls. A similar situation could soon threaten Italy, where the first factory closures have already taken place ...
Today, artificial intelligence (AI) based on neural networks may come up with ideas that are not dependent on human input. This raises questions as to who shall be regarded as the inventor of an invention created solely by a machine. Could an AI system be considered the inventor behind a patented invention? The answer is no, concludes EPO – the European Patent Office - in two recent applications ...
SVW has, across its offices, been giving guidance to clients both under English and Norwegian law as to the Coronavirus impact on shipping contracts, including on force majeure and similar exceptions clauses, and contract frustration. Read our recent publication, touching upon these issues. The Covid19 Virus Only two months have passed since the novel coronavirus was detected in Wuhan, China ...
There had been several drafts of the law on Personal Data Protection until the final draft that was submitted by the Indonesian Government to the House of Representatives on 24 January 2020 (“Final Draft Law”). When passed, it will be Indonesia’s first framework legislation to specifically deal with and serve as the ‘umbrella regulation’ on personal data protection ...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the world of Intellectual Property has raised some very interesting questions and debate. The patentability of AI related inventions, proprietary issues of inventorship and the lack of adequate regulations and standards have left some open-ended questions. AI related inventions generally use techniques like machine learning, deep learning and neural networks ...
Thailand is at a powerful crossroads in its economic development. After several decades of consistent growth, it is now preparing to finally break through and become a high-income nation. To do this, it is focusing on smart industry. A high-income Thailand is one driven by technological progress, so the government has begun pouring money into robotics and automation ...
Thailand’s future is set to be more connected, technologically advanced and economically prosperous than ever. This being driven by one development in particular: the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) ...
In Thailand, economic development, technological progress and energy transition go hand-in-hand. The government is continuing to pursue Thailand 4.0, the ambitious economic model designed to propel the country into high-income status. This transition hinges on Thailand moving from its agrarian and labour-intensive roots to a value-based economy where smart industry is king ...
The 15thedition of the World Economic Forum’s (“WEF’s”)The Global Risk’s Report 2020(the “Report”) was recently published. The top five global risks identified by the WEF in terms of likelihood are, for the first time in the Report’s existence, all of an environmental nature (namely extreme weather, climate action failure, natural disasters, biodiversity loss, and human-made environmental disasters) ...
In November 2019, the Financial Market Commission published, for public consultation purposes, a proposed amendment to its Updated Regulations Compendium (URC), by means of enacting a new Chapter 20-10, on Information Security Management and Cybersecurity (the New Regulation) ...
In a prior issue, we discussed how blockchain technology is poised to change the way various industries work. Many have theorized this technology is a game-changer that threatens to usher in a new way of conducting business worldwide. Those industries have continued to invest in blockchain technology at an ever-increasing rate. Banks and other financial institutions have not been left out of this as several have joined large consortiums that aim to study and implement this technology ...
In last quarter’s issue, we discussed the rise of digital currencies and the blockchain, or distributed ledger, technology that supports them. We now turn our focus to how the financial industry and governments have embraced this technology and are working to adapt it to traditional banking services and applications as far ranging as recording property transfers and safeguarding nuclear missiles ...
On Jan. 15, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) shared a bulletin published by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Critical Infrastructure Protection Public-Private Partnership (ASPR CIP) regarding a number of vulnerabilities identified in Microsoft Windows operating systems, which if not addressed, pose significant a threat to the environment. On Jan ...
On Jan. 14, 2020, Microsoft ended support for its Windows 2007 operating system. This means Microsoft will no longer issue regular security updates for users of Window 2007. The process of issuing security updates for computer systems is commonly referred to as “patching.” Similar to fabric patches that repair holes in clothing, software patches repair holes in computer programs ...
This article updates information published in "Is Your Online Business Accessible To Persons With Disabilities?" In 2018, practitioners scouring nationwide federal court records identified more than 2,250 lawsuits filed alleging website inaccessibility under Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)1 ...
On 1 January 2020 the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) implemented various revised rules primarily targeting small banks (the so-called 'small banks regime'). Among other aspects, this will result in a relaxation of IT outsourcing requirements for financial institutions. In this respect, a revised FINMA Outsourcing Circular is available in English and German, French ...
Oh what a year it has been. 2019 has been a rollercoaster ride: Trump accelerates and then suddenly slams on the brakes on his tit-for-tat trade war with China. Hong Kong, hitherto the paradigm of pragmatism, lies smouldering as months of pro-democracy protests see no end. A Swedish girl (celebrating her 17th birthday just last Friday) becomes the unlikely face of environmentalism, shaming Boomers for doing nothing about climate change in front of the UN ...
While many countries have introduced far-reaching obligations to report cyber incidents, Switzerland has not yet followed this lead. However, on 13 December 2019 the Federal Council adopted a report which considers key issues with regard to the introduction of a general reporting obligation for operators of critical infrastructure. The report also discusses possible implementation models. A decision is expected by the end of 2020 ...
Summary of Public Policy and Prior Amendments The Minimum Fuels Storage Public Policy (the “Public Policy”) was released by Mexico’s Ministry of Energy (“SENER”) on December 12, 2017. The objective is to improve energy security in Mexico and ensure adequate energy supply and competitive prices, through the establishment of mandatory minimum fuel inventories and reporting obligations ...
The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy TD, and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton TD, launched a public consultation on proposed revisions to the Wind Energy Development Guidelines (the draft Guidelines) on 12 December 2019. The draft guidelines, when finalised, will affect future planning applications and considerations for future wind energy development proposals ...
