This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. Traditional bricks and mortar retailers, occupying premises under long leases with upwards only rent reviews, can be forgiven for looking enviously at online retailers and their flexibility and comparatively low overheads ...
In Joanne Properties Ltd v Moneything Capital Ltd and Anor [2020] EWCA Civ 1541, England’s Court of Appeal had to decide whether the parties had entered into a binding contract of compromise contained in written communications passing between their respective solicitors. The Court below had held that a binding contract had been made, despite the fact that the correspondence in question had been marked “subject to contract” ...
The recent judgment from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd [2020] UKSC 48, raised important questions about the requirement that there can not only be no actual bias, but also no apparent bias on the part of arbitrators in favour of or against any party in arbitration and also about the obligation of arbitrators in international arbitrations to make disclosure of multiple appointments concerning the same or overlapping subje
Last year, there were a number of notable developments in competition law, as detailed in this article, several of which involve or are relevant to the construction industry. The Ocean Park case concerned proceedings against a company and its director for exchanging competitively sensitive information with a co-tenderer in a bidding exercise. A number of judgments were handed down in proceedings against contractors ...
Early last year the Prime Minister dropped the “E-bomb” on British motorists, announcing a ban on cars powered wholly by petrol and diesel from 2030, and on the sale of new hybrid vehicles with the capability to drive a significant distance with zero emissions (such as plug-in or full hybrids) from 2035. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world in an unprecedented manner ...
Traditionally, Dutch mortgage lenders have always found themselves in quite a good position in the event of their borrower and mortgagor becoming insolvent. As a firm general rule, it is fair to say that the position of a secured creditor is quite secure under Dutch law. Recent insolvency and COVID related regulations have, however, made some inroads into the Dutch secured lender’s stronghold ...
In December 2020, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) published on its portal the Examination Guidelines for Inventions Implemented by Computer Program ...
On January 25, 2021, the German federal Cabinet introduced the draft for the new Cyber Security Act (“IT Security Act 2.0”) into the legislative process ( Draft of a Second Act to Increase the Security of Information Technology Systems, printed matter 19/26106 [draft of a second law to increase the security of information technology systems, document 19/26106] ). The new German Cyber Security Act is intended to replace the old German Cyber Security Act of July 2015 ...
The “right to be forgotten” (“RTBF”) has been central to the global debate over the balance between individual privacy and freedom of information and of the media in recent years. Such right has been affirmed by the European Court of Justice in a milestone case in 2014, as well as later in the UK, although its application in other countries remains uncertain ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. One sector that has performed robustly during the pandemic is build-to-rent (BTR), with demand set to continue in the coming years as investors look to this sector to deliver long-term returns. According to a recent report, over £1 ...
The 2021 tax assessment of real and personal property will be determined by local Assessors in February, at which time a Notice of Assessment will be issued and mailed to property owners. Property owners should make sure to check the mail for a copy of the Notice in order to determine whether an appeal of their taxable value should be filed ...
The introduction of mandatory pre-installation of applications developed by Russian market players, caused by a wave of cases of abuse by global companies of their dominant position in digital markets, is a significant innovation in Russian antitrust and consumer protection law. To reduce the risks of restricting competition and balance the bargaining power of global corporations with small domestic application developers, amendments to the Law dated February 7th 1992 No ...
We would like to inform you that several laws, that will have a significant impact on IT and data protection regulation, were adopted at the end of 2020 (“Amendments”). Further rules for blacklisting Internet resources The first amendment to Russian law is aimed at securing guarantees, for citizens’ rights, to freely search, access and disseminate information ...
Key Points Eviction protections that were set to expire January 31 have been extended to June 30, 2021 New notice requirements took effect February 1 Landlords may not charge late fees or increase rent or fees for tenants who attest to COVID-19-related financial distress State Rental Assistance Program may pay 80 percent of a qualified tenant's rent if landlord forgives the remainder On January 29, 2021, California Senate Bill 91 became law, effective immediately ...
When it comes to the general transfer of data to third countries, even, for example, intra-group data transfers, recourse to US providers such as Microsoft (Office 365), Amazon (AWS), Google or Salesforce has been ill-fated since the ECJ ruling of July 16, 2020 (C-311/18 “Schrems II”) ...
Leases often include language that gives a tenant the option to purchase the leased property during or at the end of the lease term. The Michigan Supreme Court has held that these options to purchase, or “options” as they are commonly referred, are “simply a contract by which the owner of the property agrees with another that he shall have a right to buy the property at a fixed price within a specified time ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. If somebody asked me at the start of 2020 whether I could join a meeting by video, my immediate thought would have been: “no, that sounds far too difficult and I don’t think we really have the technology to do that” ...
In recent years, Russia has focused on regulating its IT area. In particular, this has been needed due to the increasing number of cases, when prohibited information has been distributed on various large Internet resources, such as a social network. However, according to Russian government agencies, despite the risks of possible sanctions, many foreign companies still do not respond quickly enough to government requests, or ignore the demands to remove prohibited information ...
For the time being, there are no specific laws governing the use of artificial intelligence in Canada. Certainly, the laws on the use of personal information and those that prohibit discrimination still apply, no matter if the technologies involved are so-called artificial intelligence technologies or conventional ones ...
An Eleventh Circuit panel has breathed new life into a long-running, $248 million False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam case, United States ex rel. Bibby v. Mortgage Investors Corp.,[1] reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendants.[2] Materiality lay at the heart of the case, which involved allegations that the defendant finance companies misled the U.S ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. You’d think we had it all: beautiful open plan office spaces, meeting rooms with floor to ceiling glass walls, digital collaboration platforms, virtual meetings… ...
All indications are that the evolution of privacy laws and their impact will continue to evolve, perhaps even at a greater pace, in 2021. In celebrating Privacy Day, January 28, 2021, we would like to share four things businesses should be keeping their eyes on, and planning for, in 2021. 1. Significant changes to privacy legislation in Canada. Canadian federal and provincial governments have tabled and proposed sweeping changes to privacy laws in Canada ...
CONGRESS PASSES TRADEMARK MODERNIZATION ACT LEGISLATION In December 2020, the U.S. Congress took action that will have a significant effect on brand holders. At the end of the year, Congress passed the Trademark Modernization Act (“TMA”) that, inter alia, provides additional tools to the USPTO to respond to the rise in improper behavior in trademark filings including filing fraudulent claims of use ...
