The KZN High Court handed down a really interesting judgment in May 2013 in the case of Distell v KZN Wines & Spirits. The decision’s interesting because it not only looks at the issues that need to be considered in a trade mark infringement claim, but it also highlights the differences between trade mark infringement and passing off ...
In the clearest sign yet that some buoyancy has returned to the TCI real estate market, the TCI Government has announced changes to TCI’s stamp duty regime ...
CONTENTS Life Insurance Policy: How to Extract Funds from a Corporation with No Tax ImpactConstructive Dismissal Analyzed in the Context of a Business AcquisitionThe Right of Withdrawal, a Controlled Form of Contractual FreedomTransfers of Residences Involving a Spousal Testamentary Trust LIFE INSURANCE POLICY: HOW TO EXTRACT FUNDS FROM A CORPORATION WITH NO TAX IMPACTLuc Pariseau with the collaboration of Martin Bédard, articling studentIndividual shareholders who wish to withdraw
Although we observed a increasingly widespread use of computer-based solutions in the cloud ( cloud computing ) in the information systems of companies and administrations, sometimes the obvious advantages it brings to the customer do not pay the necessary attention to the assessment of corporate risks that can generate its adoption ...
As Panama became part of a number of industrial property related treaties, our internal laws have become more territorial; the use of a trademark is territorial again and registration becomes imperative for protection. Use as a Basis for Protection In Panama, as happens in most of the countries around the world, the right to register a trademark is acquired by its first use in commerce ...
Here are select February 2013 rulings of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on tax law: National Internal Revenue Code; documentary stamp tax; issuance of promissory notes; persons liable for the payment of DST; acceptance ...
The Supreme Court’s recent decision has seeded another patent protection feather in Monsanto’s increasingly large cap, in addition to providing guidance on application of the patent exhaustion doctrine in the case of self-replicating technology. In Bowman v ...
The Federal Circuit released the results of its en banc hearing of a case involving the issue of what is patent eligible subject matter under section 101 of the Patent Act. (CLS Bank International v. Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd., F. 3d., Case No. 2011 1301 (May 9, 2013) ...
A survey by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has revealed that 47% of all UK adults now use their personal smart phone, laptop or tablet computer for work purposes - known as 'bring your own device' (BYOD).However, fewer than three in 10 users had received guidance on how to use their devices for work. This raises concerns that users may not understand how to protect the personal information accessed and stored on these devices ...
The first industrial revolution, which began in the 1750s, lasted for between 80 to 100 years. The pace of technological change today encourages us to believe that the second industrial revolution (IR2) will be completed at much greater speed. So if we take the mid-1980s as a starting point, with the emergence of optical disk technologies into consumer markets, you would expect us to be well on the way to completion, 30 years into IR2 ...
The Panamanian Limited Liability Partnership has been a part of Panama’s trade laws since 1916, when the Panamanian Commercial Code was issued. However, during 2009 it was subject to a profound reform in order to adapt it to an always demanding and changing market. As its “younger sister”, the worldwide famous “Sociedad Anonima” (1927), the limited liability partnership shall be filed at the Public Registry ...
The hacker group Anonymous announced that it, in concert with Middle East- and North Africa-based criminal hackers and cyber actors, will conduct a coordinated online attack labeled “OpUSA” against banking and government websites today, May 7. Anonymous stated that OpUSA will be a distributed denial of service (DDoS) in which websites may be defaced and legitimate users may be unable to access websites ...
I. Recruitment and Social Media 1. Is there a specific legal framework for the use of social media in the recruitment context? There are no specific laws or regulations dealing with the use of information from social media in the recruitment context. However, the following general laws are relevant: - Article 8, European Convention on Human Rights, 1950; - Articles 23, 24 and 29, Constitution of the Russian Federation; - Federal Law No ...
On 2 April 2013, data protection authorities across the EU - including the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) - announced that they are now investigating whether Google's privacy policy complies with national data protection laws.The investigation was prompted by allegations that Google failed to implement recommendations issued to it by the EU Working Party in October 2012 ...
When was the last time when you or someone you know shared a bad experience or a complaint about a person in Facebook or Twitter? A good bet is that a longer time has passed than if this question was asked a year ago. The reason for this is probably Republic Act No. 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, which President Noynoy Aquino signed into law on September 12, 2012. A ...
Gift Tax Return Requirement for 2012 TransactionsDuring 2012, uncertainty about future estate and gift tax exemptions and rates led many of our clients to make substantial gifts during 2012 to their descendants or to trusts for descendants ...
Adopted in 2000, Regulation FD generally prohibits public companies and personnel acting on their behalf from selectively disclosing material, nonpublic information to certain groups, such as brokers, investment advisers, analysts and shareholders who are likely to trade on information, without concurrently making widespread public disclosure ...
Technology-rich South African companies and indeed inventors who have taken the brave step of filing foreign patents -will know that there are two ways of getting patent protection in Europe. The first is the national route, in other words filing a patent directly in the country or countries of interest. The second route is that of the European Patent ...
The BBC recently published a piece called ‘3D Printing Will Be the Next Big Copyright Fight’. It said this: ‘That moment we’ve been hearing about for years – the one where futuristic-sounding 3D printing becomes ubiquitous – is actually upon us.’ It dealt with a topic that’s also referred to as ‘additive manufacturing’ ...
It’s well known that computer programs enjoy copyright protection - many have also been patented, but that’s another story and I’m not going to deal with that here. The South African Copyright Act has protected computer programs as a specific category of works since 1992, although prior to that they were protected as ‘literary works’ ...
There was an interesting decision in the US recently about the intellectual property (IP) implications of posting a photo on Twitter. The facts were that a professional photographer by the name of Daniel Morel – a man who has apparently spent over 25 years in Haiti – posted dramatic photos of the earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010 shortly after the event ...
Contents Part XII.2 Tax Applicable to Trusts: a Potentially Expensive Tax Which Is Often Overlooked Application of the Anti-avoidance Rule in Subsection 83(2.1): Caution Is Required in the Context of the Acquisition of a Private Corporation Revenu Québec to Scrutinize Trusts Directors’ Liability for the Debts of a Corporation Payable to Employees for Services Rendered During the Directors’ Term of Office PART XII ...
The collapse of systems integrator and reseller 2e2 in January has highlighted the danger for clients of companies such as 2e2, and focuses attention on how to deal with this type of situation. At a recent Shoosmiths event, data, IT and banking lawyers shared practical experience of the risks and potential remedies associated with insolvency of IT suppliers ...