As dealer networks in the automotive sector re-open for business following the COVID-19 lockdown, we share below our main competition law watch outs for suppliers over the coming weeks and months. We know that current market conditions are tempting some people to reach out to their competitors – any competitor contact needs to be managed carefully from a competition law perspective ...
On June 8, the Federal Reserve announced a number of changes to the Main Street Lending Program (“MSLP”), involving all three facilities, the Main Street New Loan Facility (“MSNLF”), the Main Street Priority Loan Facility (“MSPLF”), and the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility (“MSELF”) ...
As Pro Bono Counsel at a large southern law firm and the former Executive Director of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, Tiffany Graves sees how systemic inequities affect minority groups on a daily basis. “Firms have to do more,” she says, to counteract institutional racism and bring much-needed reforms to America’s legal and justice systems ...
On June 5, the President signed the PPP Flexibility Act. As first described in Buchalter’s previous ALERT, this new law creates the following adjustments to PPP requirements: For loans entered into on or after the date the Act became law, the minimum repayment period is to be extended from 2 years to 5 years. For loans prior to that date, the borrower and lender may agree to extend the loan term to 5 years ...
The events of this spring had many school districts looking forward to summer break. Unfortunately, it’s not quite resting time yet. On May 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released new rules, which apply to colleges as well as K-12 schools and mark the first time the department has promulgated regulations under Title IX addressing how schools must handle sexual assault cases involving students ...
On 20 May 2020, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of China issued the Circular on Supporting the Development of New Forms of Trade (Circular). The Circular summarised previous pilot experiences and, established foreign exchange (forex) policies that are meant to optimise new forms of trade[1]. The Circular has been implemented since the date of its promulgation ...
The Ministry of Public Health has published changes in the strategy to be followed for the eventual de-escalation of the confinement measures to be followed, repealing agreement 144-2020 ...
The purpose of this special report (the “Report”) is to inform the legal considerations and initial impacts that may affect the operation of a business as a result of the state of emergency for fourteen (14) days from March 16, 2020 (the “State of Emergency”) declared through Supreme Decree No ...
Issuers need to make transparent the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their companies. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) emphasized the importance and obligation of timely and transparent disclosure of “high-quality information” in a recent statement issued on May 29, 2020. It recalled the corresponding obligation for issuers to report on important matters and encourages companies to comply with their disclosure obligations ...
On March 28, 2020, the Act on Measures in Corporate, Cooperative, Association, Foundation, and Home Ownership Law to Combat the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVID-19 Act) entered into effect. Among other things, the COVID-19 Act provides for substantial facilitations for stock corporations to hold general meetings. The most important innovation for use in practice is the possibility of holding general meetings entirely virtually, i.e ...
On 7 April 2020, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Health, adopted the Covid-19 Working Hours Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the Working Hours Regulation), which allows exceptions to the Working Hours Act for a limited period of time from 10 April 2020. 1 ...
In the context of the Corona crisis the German Federal Government has demonstrated that it is capable of acting quickly and pragmatically. The conditions for payment of short-time working benefit had already been adapted to the corona situation through past measures, and on May 14, 2020 the German parliament approved further changes through the Social Package II. The changes of relevance to employment law are set out briefly below ...
On 28 May 2020 the Federal High Court (Bundesgerichtshof (“BGH”) handed down its judgment in the Planet49 case after a long legal dispute (we have already reported in detail on the previous instances including the judgment of the European Court of Justice). The Federal High Court’s judgement contains a large number of important statements which can only be fully assessed once the written grounds are published ...
The Ohio House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly in favor of House Bill 606, known as the “Good Samaritan Expansion Bill.” The bill grants temporary immunity from civil liability and professional disciplinary actions to a wide range of health care providers for injury, death, or damages arising from health care services rendered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ...
Key Points A five bill, California Senate housing package heads to Appropriations after unanimously passing key committee votes last week. CEQA streamlining, increasing density, and affordable housing remain top priorities, including one bill seeking to incentivize commercial use conversion to residential use ...
Last year, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Andrei Iancu noted that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to “fundamentally chang[e]” “the legal concepts of inventor or author.”[i] The USPTO recently had cause to consider this issue. On petition, the USPTO considered whether an applicant can name an AI program as an inventor on a patent application ...
The Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (“SUPPORT Act”)[1] was enacted on October 24, 2018. Among other things, the SUPPORT Act amended the Physician Payments Sunshine Act (“Sunshine Act”)[2] to expand the definition of “covered recipients”[3] for payment tracking and reporting purposes ...
Federal and state government enforcers have been turning their focus to nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, and other long-term care facilities. While this enforcement priority is not tied specifically to the COVID-19 pandemic, facilities can expect additional scrutiny as they are considered “ground zero” for infections ...
If you are thinking about expanding your business to the Chinese market, or you have already started selling in this market, or exhibiting your products at trade fairs or to Chinese partners, it is crucial toprotect your trademark from what are known as “intellectual property hijackers”.Situations of people registering foreign trademarks illegally in China for improper use in their own businesses or for “resale” to other companies are widely known ...
Regarding its functions, the UPME has been monitoring the demand for electrical energy and natural gas on a daily basis, in order to identify the impact of the measures taken to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the consumption of these energies. The following conclusions have been reached from this monitoring: Energy demand fell in April by 16.92% compared to the average scenario projected by the UPME and by 11.10% so far in May ...
With Executive Order No. 2020-110, Governor Whitmer has lifted the stay-at-home order and allowed most businesses in Michigan to reopen—at least to some extent. There are still several sectors that are ordered to stay closed to the public, including non-essential personal care services (hair, nail, massage, etc.), and the Executive Order contains several other restrictions imposed on specific industries ...
