On July 26, 2017, the Knesset approved a new Design Law (the “Design Law” or the “Law”). The Law will come into force 12 months following its publication. “Designs” are defined as the visual features of products (such as cars, electrical appliances, screen displays, furniture, jewelry, fashion, etc.), which are not purely utilitarian ...
It is safe to say that BMW protects its trade marks fiercely. As a result, the company has done more than its fair share to shape South African trade mark law. A recent UK trade mark decision involving BMW will therefore be of considerable interest to businesses in South Africa.In a number of cases involving BMW, South African courts have made it very clear that a trade mark registration is only infringed if a third party makes unauthorised “trade mark use” of that trade mark ...
Colleagues and clients alike often comment on the varied, topical and evolving nature of my field of expertise, IP law, as evidenced from my articles over the years. IP is a field of law that’s forever growing, highly relevant, often fascinating and which deals with everyday tangible issues, brands and products that we encounter in the marketplace and media. Three recent news stories show just how much IP intersects with other worlds ...
Two unusual copyright stories are back in the news.The first is the one that involves a monkey, a selfie and a copyright dispute. British photographer David Slater visited Indonesia to photograph the endangered crested black macaque, seemingly with a view to highlighting the species’ plight. During the course of taking his photos, Slater left his camera on a tripod, apparently hoping that the macaques might take selfies. One took the bait and the image became a sensation ...
The Luxembourg law on the exploration and use of space resources entered into force on 2 August 2017 and placed Luxembourg among the most innovative space-oriented nations in the world. The new law provides a legal framework for the “new space” activities. It aims at the further development of the constantly growing Luxembourg space industry employing already more than 700 highly skilled workers ...
It's a quiet Friday afternoon edging uneventfully toward the end of the day when a client calls: they’re interested in acquiring a U.S.-based widget maker. After your internal conflict check clears, reality hits – what do you do now? Whether your client is a foreign (non-U.S.) business targeting a U.S.-based company, or the U.S. target of a foreign purchaser, your deal may have Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) implications ...
A recent decision from the Eastern District of Kentucky doubles as a primer on the enforcement of FCA releases in settlement agreements. Courts often invalidate post-filing FCA releases—those executed after a qui tam lawsuit has already been filed—reasoning that, by statute, a relator cannot release claims that belong to the government ...
Most employers are familiar with Glassdoor, Inc.’s website, which allows current and former employees to post anonymous reviews of an employer. But Glassdoor is often a thorn in the side of employers because many negative posts are the result of disgruntled employees or competitors seeking an advantage in recruiting ...
A recent Tenth Circuit decision shines light on a new avenue to challenge cannabis businesses, even in states where medical and recreational marijuana is legal. Although the potential federal criminal threat to cannabis businesses in states that have legalized medical or recreational cannabis has been relatively well-discussed, the potential civil threat has received little attention. In Safe Streets Alliance v. Hickenlooper, 859 F.3d 865 (10th Cir ...
We previously reported on recent efforts to rescind the Obama Administration’s rule amending the Clean Water Act’s “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) definition. This followed, as we also reported, the Sixth Circuit’s nationwide stay of the Obama Administration’s WOTUS rule ...
The Mexican government announced, on July 19, 2017, the fourth bid of Round Two. This will be the 14th upstream bid round in Mexico since passage of the energy reform in mid-2014. The new bid round (named Round 2.4) comprises 30 offshore blocks for exploration in the Perdido Belt, the Salina Basin, the Mexican Ranges (Cordilleras Mexicanas), and the Yucatán Platform in the Gulf of Mexico, covering collectively 70,844 km2, with prospective resources of approximately 4 ...
Two and a half years after the expiry of the deadline for the implementation of the Third Energy Package, the Macedonian authorities seem eager to finalise this process in the near future. The new draft legislation has been in the pipeline for quite some time, but until now its adoption was postponed due to different reasons ...
A successful appeal against a remediation notice has highlighted the difficulties faced by local authorities when trying to secure the remediation of contaminated land. The appeal is only the second appeal to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (SoS) since the contaminated land regime in Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 was implemented in 2000 ...
We’ve written a fair bit about copyright recently, and much of our focus has been on how the digital age has brought about a marked change in attitude towards copyright (often bordering on ignorance), and has made copyright infringement much easier. In this article, we look at two further examples that reflect this trend. We also look at proposed changes to South African copyright law.The first of our examples deals with sharing images ...
A highly unusual thing about Google, which according to Brand Finance has now become the world’s most valuable brand (USD109.4-billion), is that it is seemingly able to defy the rule that if your trade mark becomes a verb, you’ve pretty much lost the trade mark because it’s become generic ...
A recent decision involving registered designs is a reminder of how useful design law can be, in the sense that it can be used to protect an almost limitless range of products. The decision in the UK case of Ahmet Erol v Sumaira Javaid (Design) (a decision of the Appointed Person, 18 May 2017) does not create any law, but it does illustrate two things. The first is how registered designs can often be very low-tech ...
An increasing number of African companies do business in the Far East, and many of them register their trade marks in the region’s major markets. So, it’s interesting to look at trade mark developments in the major markets from time-to-time. In this article, we look at some recent decisions in China, India and Japan. China China is probably the major market for most African companies and we have discussed Chinese trade mark issues in a number of our articles ...
Two years ago, Mexico began a process to completely change the legal framework regulating anti-corruption in the country. On May 27, 2015, a Constitutional amendment was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation to create the new framework against corruption ...
As part of the implementation of the Mexican energy reform of 2013, several new regulations and administrative guidelines affecting the hydrocarbons and power industries were issued during May and June 2017. These are of particular importance to oil and gas producers, midstream companies, power generators, traders and others looking to invest or expand operations in Mexico’s dynamic energy sector. I. Hydrocarbons May 2, 2017 ...
The pieces of the puzzle are finally falling into place. The long-awaited level 3 and 4 measures have been published earlier this week, half a year before the PRIIPs KID becomes compulsory.On 4 July 2017 the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published a Questions and Answers document related to the PRIIPs KID which reverts to questions linked with the presentation, content and review of the KID, including the methodologies underpinning the risk, reward and costs information ...
Congress approved Supreme Decree Nº 2954, on Integral Waste Management (the “Regulation”) within the framework of article 344 of the Constitution, which provides that the State shall regulate the internment, production, commercialization and use of techniques, methods, input materials and substances that affect health and the environment ...
