On July 25, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its decision in Québec (Commission des normes du travail) v. Asphalte Desjardins inc.1 In this ruling, which overturned a judgment by the Québec Court of Appeal,2 the Supreme Court concluded that an employer who receives notice of termination within a reasonable time period, as stipulated under article 2091 of the Civil Code of Québec3 (“C.C.Q ...
On August 1, 2014, certain amendments to the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, 6 Del. C. §§ 18-101, et seq. (the “LLC Act”), the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, 6 Del. C. §§ 17-101, et seq. (the “LP Act”), and the Delaware Revised Uniform Partnership Act, 6 Del. C. §§ 15-101, et seq. (the “GP Act”) became effective ...
Regulators around the world remain focused on the impact of cartels on business, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is no exception. In 2013 the ACCC received 27 approaches in relation to cartels, resulting in 13 in-depth investigations. International cooperation in this area is increasing, due significantly to the work of the International Competition Network, the global organisation of competition regulators ...
The U.S. Supreme Court during its 2013-2014 term decided on six patent cases, the last on June 19, 2014. These cases will have significant consequences for companies as they work to advance their strategy for protecting their intellectual property. The following summary provides highlights of each case. Medtronic Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures LLC Question: First some background: The Supreme Court in MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech Inc., 549 U.S ...
1. Introduction In July, 2014 the OECD Secretariat launched a report called “Assessment of Merger Control in Chile”. This report analyzes the Chilean merger control system, identifies its chief problems and makes recommendations in order to overcome such shortcomings. The main conclusion of the report is that the Chilean merger control regime “lacks transparency, legal certainty and predictability”1 ...
THE FACTS Wal-Mart Canada Corporation (hereinafter “Wal-Mart”) opened its Jonquière establishment in 2001. After the United Food and Commercial Workers, local 503 (hereinafter the “Union”), was certified to represent the employees in 2004, negotiations were initiated in view of concluding a first collective agreement ...
The global financial crisis, which originated in the United States, had a major impact on the world economy and the economic recovery prospects of developed countries. As the countries with the most active economic growth in the world, BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) face a great challenge. They need to adjust their development strategies when facing the new challenge in order to achieve rapid and sustainable economic development ...
The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted Amendments to the Labour Law (the “Law”) on 18 July 2014. These amendments are long awaited and have been avidly discussed for some time due to divided public opinion. The Law will come into force 8 days after it is published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”. Main novelties introduced by the Law are: Definite term employment The maximum duration of definite term employment has been extended to 24 months ...
According to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), commission should be taken into account when calculating holiday pay (see Lock v British Gas). At the end of July, the Employment Appeal Tribunal will consider whether voluntary and/or regular overtime and emergency call-out payments, should also be taken into account when calculating holiday pay (see Neal v Freightliner) ...
The Commission des relations du travail, both in its initial decision and on review, dismissed the complaints challenging the dismissal of an employee despite the absence of prior disciplinary measures. The complainant, who was hired in April 2011, held a position as an administration technician for the Human Resources Department of a CHSLD. In 2004, the complainant sought a position as staff management officer ...
The question of who actually owns a trade mark in an important one in South African law. That’s because the Trade Marks Act provides that a trade mark cannot be registered by a party who doesn’t have a bona fide (good faith) claim to ownership of that trade mark. It goes on to say that a trade mark cannot be registered if the application is made mala fide (in bad faith) ...
This Need to Know Express is part of a series of newsletters which each answers one or several questions in a practical and concrete way. These bulletins have been or will be published over the next few weeks. In addition, a consolidated version of all the Need to Know Express newsletters published on this topic will be available upon request ...
In March 2013, the Florida Supreme Court issued a seminal decision for businesses and commercial litigators, Tiara Condominium Association Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Companies, 110 So. 3d 399 (Fla. 2013), in which it expressly limited the applicability of the economic loss rule to products liability cases. For decades, Florida courts had applied the economic loss rule to prohibit a party in contractual privity from seeking to recover economic damages arising from the contract ...
The D.C. Circuit issued a decision on June 27 In re: Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. (“KBR"), a closely-watched case about whether the attorney-client privilege applies to documents relating to an internal investigation undertaken pursuant to a company’s code of business conduct ...
It’s well known that product shapes can be registered as trade marks. The South African Trade Marks Act, for example, has a very wide definition of the term ‘mark’, and this includes words, colours, numbers, patterns, ornamentation and shape. Yet it’s also well known that product shape trade marks are difficult ...
The recent ruling of the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (‘the Board’) that registrations for the trade mark Redskinsare to be cancelled because they contain ‘matter that is likely to disparage’ made headlines around the world. The Board found that some 30% of Native Americans would be offended by the term, and that this qualifies as a substantial proportion of the relevant class ...
The recent South African High Court decision in the case of Howden Africa v CFW Industries is extremely interesting. Not so much for what it said (it said very little, comprising no more than two pages of ‘Written Reasons’), but for what it held. What happened here? A company had a registration for the trade mark Fumex Fans covering fire extraction fans ...
The risk of corruption – bribery, money laundering – continues to be a cause of significant concern for U.S. businesses operating in the Latin America region. Effective compliance programs are clearly the first line of defense to prevent corrupt practices. But any company with any degree of global operations including Latin America is unlikely to be completely successful ...
A parliamentary Act of 26 December 2013 fundamentally altered the Belgian rules for dismissals. It harmonised the dismissal rule for blue-collar and white-collar workers and obliged the employer to give a reason for the dismissal. Furthermore, it removed the insecurity felt by many employers when dismissing white-collar employees ...
Montenegro In the light of recent developments in trademark protection practices and the intensification of EU legislative harmonisation, amendments to the Law on Trademarks (“the Law”) have been adopted. Amendments to the existing Law will mainly serve to improve rules by setting, in certain cases, stricter standards, and will remove certain ambiguities that currently exist in the Law ...
What has made corporate stalwarts such as Maersk (shipping), Proctor & Gamble (consumer goods), LG (electronics), Caterpillar (construction equipment), CEMEX (construction materials) , Nike (sports equipment and apparel) and Heineken (breweries), just to name a few, choose to establish their headquarters in this small country with a population of merely 3 ...
The Supreme Court issued a decision on June 23rd in the closely watched case of Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc., 573 U.S. ___ (2014) (Halliburton II). A majority of the Court declined to overrule the fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance, which makes it easier for plaintiffs in securities fraud class actions to prove reliance and obtain class certification ...
