As noted in our previous client update, judicial rulings on the patent-eligibility of software and business method patents under section 101 of the U.S. Patent Act have run heavily against patent owners since Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. ___, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014). (See 11/17/2014 Client Update). On Friday December 5, 2014, however, the U.S ...
The Minister of Communications and Informatics issued Regulation No. 19 of 2014 on Controlling Internet Websites Containing Negative Content (Regulation 19). Regulation 19 has been in force since 17 July 2014. This regulation aims to implement “the safe and healthy use of the internet” by all social groups by blocking access to websites that contain pornographic or unlawful material (negative content) ...
Earlier this month, President Obama announced historic changes to U.S. policy and relevant regulations regarding diplomatic engagement, travel and trade with Cuba. The White House’s new policy represents the most dramatic shift in U.S. policy to Cuba since the enactment of the embargo in 1961. As a result of this new policy, a number of sectors of the U.S. economy are likely to see new opportunities in Cuban trade ...
On 26 January 2015, President Joko Widodo swore in Mr. Triawan Munaf as the Head of the Creative Economic Board (BEK – Badan Ekonomi Kreatif). BEK is tasked to strengthen the role of creative economic businesses, including protection for Indonesian creative crafts ...
This week, I caught up with patent attorneys Jonathan D’Silva and Bryan Walker of MacDonald Illig Jones & Britton, LLP to hear their perspectives on some key strategic intellectual property (IP) legal issues ...
When copyright has been infringed online, what court is competent to hear and decide the case? The EU top court’s recent ruling provides clarity and states that online infringement cases can be heard where the infringing content is accessible. The content right holders will be able to take legal action against the infringer in their home countries, but only regarding damage that occurred there ...
A country’s competitiveness depends in part on its capacity to attract foreign investorsinterested in the acquisition of local companies ...
Private sector, investors and experts agree that the Government of El Salvador has to improve the business climate to attract more national and foreign investment that would contribute to increase the Gross Domestic Product and improve in this way the living conditions of the population ...
On April 14, 2015, the White House announced that President Obama intends to remove Cuba from the government’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism. This decision follows a series of important changes to US policies and regulations affecting business and commercial transactions between the United States and Cuba ...
On 5 January 2015, the Minister of Trade issued Regulation No. 4/M-DAG/PER/1/2015 of 2015 on Provisions to Use a Letter of Credit for Exporting Certain Commodities (“MOT Regulation 4”). One of the goals of MOT Regulation 4 is to provide a clear and verifiable record of prices actually paid by foreign buyers for exported natural resource products ...
At first glance, "net neutrality" may seem a natural principle for the internet environment. This expression, however, gives rise to sometimes divergent interests and some concerns. As a general concept, net neutrality means an open Internet, through which consumers would be able to make their own choices about the content they wish to access and share, as well as the services and applications they want to use ...
When Congress passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, the elimination of the Sustainable Growth Rate—the so-called “Doc Fix”—received most of the attention. The fact that Congress had officially waded into the quagmire of health information technology interoperability, however, went largely unnoticed ...
Restraints of trade - Scope of rules: 1. Are restrictive agreements and practices regulated? If so, what are the substantive provisions and regulatory authority? Restrictive agreements and practices may qualify as anti-competitive concerted practices (that is, practices that resulted or may result in prevention, elimination or restriction of competition). There is a general prohibition of anti-competitive concerted practices, unless an exemption applies (see Question 3) ...
On June 29, President Obama signed the Trade Preferences and Extension Act of 2015, which significantly increases penalties for the failure to file correct information returns under I.R.C. § 6721 and the failure to furnish statements to payees pursuant to I.R.C. § 6722. The new law increases the penalty from $100 to $250 for each violation of either statute ...
Earlier this year, the UK government launched 'Tech Nation'; an interactive data project that shows the growth of digital businesses within specific areas/regions across the UK. The report is the first of its kind and ranked Belfast as the second highest region in the UK in terms of the highest average company turnover in this sector, with Greater Manchester securing the top spot and Sheffield, Inner London and South Wales coming third, fourth and fifth respectively ...
In this age of social networks, the dividing line between private life and public life seems more and more blurred. The same is true of the boundary between individuals' personal and professional lives. Indeed, headlines in the past few weeks remind us that the personal and professional aspects of an individual's life can sometimes become confused, at great cost to the individual ...
The Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) has revised the Competition Commission of India (Procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011 (Combination Regulations), making them more forward looking, in keeping with some of the best practices in other jurisdictions. The instant revision is the fourth instance in the four years since the introduction of the merger control regime in India ...
Writer, Margaret Rouse, describes a social media policy as “a corporate code of conduct that provides guidelines for employees who post content on the internet, either as part of their job or as a private person”. Underestimating the significance of a sound social media policy may lead to dire consequences for an organisation ...
In this article, we provide a brief overview of the most important new rules applicable to Hungarian data protection laws after 1 October 2015. BCRs accepted after 1 October 2015 Binding corporate rules (BCR) have so far not been recognized by Hungarian law and, thus, could not be used whenever personal data were transferred to a non-EEA country ...
Bulgaria is the second largest producer of foie grasin the world (after France) with about 10% of the global production (approximately 2,600 tons per year). Furthermore, France is the largest consumer of foie gras globally, importing about 3,750 tons per year, 2/3 of which come from Bulgaria. Agroplasment-92-VJSC and Bulian SJSC are the leading Bulgarian producers of foie gras and other duck products. The two companies account for approximately 1/3 of all Bulgarian foie gras exports ...
Bulgaria is the second largest producer of raw tobacco in Europe after Italy and has been a leading exporter of cigarettes and tobacco products from the 1920s onward. Slance Stara Zagora Tabac is a leading Bulgarian producer of cigarettes and tobacco products with rich experience in the selection and skillful blending of classic American and Virginia blends ...
The U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has amended its Cuban Assets Control Regulations to, in OFAC’s words, “further implement elements of the policy announced by the President on December 17, 2014 to engage and empower the Cuban people.” In practice, the amendments make important changes to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations, originally liberalized in January of this year ...
Hunton & Williams is pleased to announce the release of its newly designed and mobile-responsive Immigration and Nationality Law Blog, www.huntonimmigrationlawblog.com. “Our immigration law blog has been a valuable resource for US employers,” said Ian Band, who heads the firm’s immigration and nationality practice ...
