Debtors hoping to discharge their obligations in bankruptcy may find a new hurdle based on the US Supreme Court’s Feb. 22 ruling. Relying on the plain language of the Bankruptcy Code, and Congress’s use of passive voice, the Supreme Court held that funds obtained through fraud, regardless of who committed such fraud, are not dischargeable through bankruptcy ...
Jersey offers a range of fund types and structures to suit the needs of sophisticated sponsors and investors including Jersey Private Funds, Notification Only Funds (also known as Eligible Investor Funds) and Collective Investment Funds (CIFs), such as Jersey Expert Funds and Jersey Listed Funds ...
People hoping Washington would closely follow Oregon into the regulated use of psilocybin overseen by licensed practitioners faced a delay when a committee of the Washington legislature converted Senate Bill 5263 from legalizing psilocybin services to calling for more research. On March 7, 2023, the state senate passed the substitute version of SB 5263 with 41 votes for passage and 7 opposed ...
With an aim of improving the efficiency and competitiveness of Kenya's productive resources, the Privatisation Bill, 2023 aims to replace the current Privatisation Act, 2005. President William Ruto has to privatise six to 10 state corporations to ease the burden on the exchequer and to raise financing for government projects through the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) instead of seeking financing from external markets ...
Apple Inc. v. Vidal, Appeal No. 2022-1249 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 13, 2023) In our Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit allowed Apple’s challenge to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“PTAB”) Fintiv rules to proceed, at least on limited grounds regarding whether in promulgating the guidelines the USPTO failed to follow notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act ...
March 20, 2023 By: Manuel Fishman and Mary H. Rose What a week this has been since the closure of Silicon Valley Bank. As noted in our Client Alert of last week, California State regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on Friday, March 10, 2023, and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver for the bank ...
In a busy Legislative Session, one bill passed that may go unnoticed, but will be of help to Boards of Education. Through House Bill 3146, the Legislature adopted the Uniform Public Meetings During Emergencies Act (“the Act”). The Act was proposed by the Uniform Law Commission (“ULC”), which provides states with non-partisan legislation that attempts to bring clarity and stability to state statutory law ...
Amongst the pensions, childcare and other headline financial announcements in this week's Spring Budget, Jeremy Hunt signalled the Government's continued focus on Artificial intelligence (AI) as a targeted growth sector for the UK economy. The Chancellor pledged a £900m investment to support the development of supercomputing capabilities that can underpin the growth of the AI sector in the UK ...
On March 3, 2023, the Court of Appeal of Santiago granted a constitutional petition for protection (“recurso de protección”) filed by a bookstore chain against the Municipality of Santiago for not adopting adequate and effective measures to prevent the installation of street vending in Ahumada Street ...
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin For tax advisors, CFOs, and finance personnel throughout Cambodia, the last few weeks of March are typically extra stressful due to the 31 March deadline for filing annual Tax on Income (TOI) declarations with the General Department of Taxation (GDT). Cambodia’s tax system operates on the principle of self-assessment, meaning taxpayers declare and pay taxes based on their reading of tax regulations ...
Crypto assets are assets that exist on a blockchain and are represented through a token, where the keys to the token are held in a crypto wallet. The characteristics of different crypto assets vary, depending on the code of the blockchain they operate on ...
?Clear skies overhead, patent marking protects well, innovation blooms.? ?Patent marking? is the practice of labelling a product to provide notification that it is protected by one or more patents. From a public perspective, it serves three related purposes: avoiding innocent infringement; encouraging patentees to give notice to the public and aiding the public to identify whether an article is indeed patented. (Nike, Inc. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 138 F.3d 1437, 1998, p. 1443) ...
Following a wave of recent prosecutions in relation to cash fraudulently obtained through the various Covid-19 support schemes, we consider the criminal and civil ramifications on a legitimate business which has received cash from someone who has been prosecuted and offer some helpful tips to reduce the risk of your business inadvertently laundering the proceeds of crime ...
The immediate crisis caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (‘SVB’) in the US has been averted with US regulators stepping in to help customers there, and HSBC buying SVB’s UK subsidiary (‘SVB UK’). But the collapse of Silvergate Capital, SVB and Signature Bank in quick succession has somewhat sharpened focus on the potential risks in the finance industry (notwithstanding the increase in regulation, particularly over recent years) ...
Grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) has major implications for countries and companies alike. These implications include reputational damage, economic consequences, and increased compliance costs, which can lead to restricted foreign investment and reduced capital inflows ...
Reliance on performance guarantees in infrastructure projects has gained traction in Uganda in recent years. A performance guarantee is a legal promise made by one party to another, and typically backed by a third-party financial institution, to ensure fulfilment of contractual obligations ...
On March 1, 2023, the Department of Education (“DOE”) released guidance related to the instances in which it will require assumption of personal liability for an institution’s continued participation in Title IV programs. Last year, the DOE announced updated signature requirements for institutions’ Program Participation Agreements (“PPA”). Institutions entering into PPAs already agree to comply with regulatory requirements related to financial responsibility ...
On February 1, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission ("CSRC") solicited public opinions on the Measures for Administration of the Registration-based Initial Public Offerings of Stocks (Draft for Comment) (《首次公开发行股票注册管理办法（征求意见稿）》) ...
Sustained biodiversity loss since the industrial revolution has resulted in Britain being one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. One response to this enduring problem are proposals to use the planning system to mandate biodiversity net gain (BNG) through the development management process. The aim of the requirements is to secure a minimum 10 per cent biodiversity net gain from new developments, with effect from November 2023 ...
March 13, 2023 By: Manuel Fishman While unexpected, the closure by California regulators of, and the appointment of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver for, Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) is an event that is contemplated by most leases. If you are holding a letter of credit issued by SVB, you are an unsecured creditor of the bank ...
Malta, as a European Union (‘EU’) Member State, is bound to apply the 2019 Hague Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, also known as the Hague Judgments Convention, from the 1st of September 2023 ...
Regents of the University of Minnesota v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., Appeal No. 21-2168 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 6, 2023) The Federal Circuit’s only precedential patent opinion this week focuses on the written description requirement in the context of an anticipation analysis in the chemical arts. Specifically, it concerns whether disclosures in asserted prior art were sufficient to disclose a claimed molecular structure ...
