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) ...
The UK Government published last month its annual report on the application of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA). The NSIA came into force on 4 January 2022. The report covers the period commencing from that date to 31 March 2022, though future annual reports will cover a full calendar year. The NSIA is already having a significant effect ...
The Philippine National Privacy Commission (NPC), which administers the country’s Data Privacy Act (DPA), has recently made available to the public copies of its advisory opinions. These opinions had been issued in response to various queries regarding the proper application and interpretation of the provisions of the DPA and its implementing rules and regulations. Issue of consent Advisory Opinion No ...
On 21 February 2014 the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, (‘the Convention’) as amended, by the provisions of the Protocol amending the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters which entered into force on 1 June 2011 was published in the Government Gazette. The Convention was approved by Parliament in terms of section 231 of the Constitution and the Convention took effect on 1 March 2014 in South Africa ...
The SEC has published its final rule for the recovery of erroneously awarded compensation (“final rule”) ...
On 29 May 2014, INTELEKTIV 2014, an international conference on intellectual property was held in Zagreb. The event gathered leading intellectual property experts from Croatia and Europe to discuss their challenges in dealing with the protection of IP rights in business. Public officers, customs officers, state attorneys and SEE enforcement protection officers assembled to create an open platform for open dialogue ...
The decision in R. (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court has confirmed that an administrator can be prosecuted and potentially incur personal liability for a failure to notify the Insolvency Service of proposed collective redundancies ...
Corporate documents provided to the government as part of an investigation of the company are not excepted from disclosure for “personal privacy” purposes under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In Federal Communications Comm. v. AT&T Inc., the Supreme Court held AT&T did not have a personal privacy interest in documents the company provided to the FCC during an investigation ...
On April 28, 2021, President Biden addressed a Joint Session of Congress unveiling his proposals to invest in and restructure the American economy. In his address to Congress, President Biden formally announced his American Families Plan (the “AFP”) which combines $1 trillion in spending with $800 billion in tax cuts and credits for low and middle-class families, and targets high-income earners and corporations to fund all of the costs over a 15-year period ...
It is not uncommon in class actions for parties to reach a settlement that provides non-monetary relief to the plaintiffs and a payment of attorneys’ fees to class counsel. In August, however, a California federal court denied preliminary approval of such a settlement ...
In the listed sector, shareholders may be presented with various elections to be made as regards the nature of distributions made by companies in which equity investments are held. Shareholders can therefore be faced with an election to receive payment of a cash dividend, or in lieu thereof, to receive capitalisation shares from the underlying company or to partake in a dividend reinvestment plan ...
Some are just donkeys with a horn.I will remember 2019 as the year when many unicorns were exposed as donkeys in disguise.Invoking the rarity and mystique of the mythical creature, a “unicorn” is the term the financial market coined for companies worth US$1 billion or more. The year opened with high hopes for such companies that sought an initial public offering (IPO) in the following months ...
You’ve seen all the articles about the Supreme Court’s decision in Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics Inc. and the end of DNA patents, but what does this mean outside the biotech world? It means more insight into patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. While Myriad does not affect business method and software patents, it is indicative of the general trend of the Supreme Court with respect to the threshold required to obtain a valid patent ...
On June 12, 2013, the Quebec Court of Appeal rendered a decision in the case of Fers et Métaux Américains S.E.C. et als v. Picard et als1 (“Fers et Métaux Américains S.E.C.”) confirming that the courts can issue Norwich-type orders in Quebec. This decision is consistent with the judgment rendered by the Quebec Court of Appeal, in 2002, in Raymond Chabot SST inc. v. Groupe AST (1993) inc.,2 which recognized that Anton Piller-type orders could be validly issued in Quebec ...
What is to come: new ESG reporting requirements Norway introduced legislation presenting social reporting requirements already in 2013 through the introduction of section 3-3 of the Norwegian Accounting Act in anticipation of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive 2014/95 (NFRD) ...
Norway fully integrated the provisions of PSD2 and the Payment Accounts Directive into its legal system with the entry into force of the new Financial Agreements Act on January 1, 2023. The Norwegian Central Bank made significant strides in its exploration of digital central bank currency, completing the fourth phase of its initiative. This phase focused on testing and validating technical solutions, with findings reported on December 18, 2023, indicating successful outcomes ...
Inflation and increasing interest rates continued to dominate headlines in financial markets in 2023. As central banks struggled to combat inflation and interest rates continued to increase, borrowers’ borrowing costs increased throughout the year. Increased borrowing costs caused some borrowers to default on their loans, requesting waivers and amendments or initiating a restructuring of their debt ...
Mergers – recent cases On 15 December 2023, Nordea’s acquisition of Danske Bank’s private customer portfolio was unconditionally cleared after a phase II investigation. The market for banking services holds great significance for Norwegian consumers, prompting a thorough examination of Nordea’s acquisition of Danske Bank’s private customer operations by the NCA ...
Background Disqus is an American company offering online public comment sharing services. These services were previously used by various Norwegian online newspapers. The Data Protection Authority has investigated whether Disqus has been sharing information about the users of the comment sections with marketing companies, without the knowledge of neither the users nor the owners of the online newspapers, and in breach of the GDPR ...
The dispute relates to MV «Cheshire» incident in 2017, where a cargo of 42,000 metric tons of fertiliser was subject to a major decomposition incident off Gran Canaria, during a voyage from Norway to Thailand. The fertiliser was completely damaged and the vessel was declared a total loss. The cargo owners held the ship owners jointly liable for the cargo damage. Bibby Transport Ltd and a number of H&M insurers held the fertiliser producer liable for the damaged vessel ...
Maritime activities a natural habitat for Norwegians Norway is a maritime nation with an extensive coastline. A coastline dotted with towns and hamlets form where the inhabitants for generations have ventured onto the high seas to trade and exploit its natural resources. Today several hundred thousands of Norwegians work in ocean related industries, traditional once such as coastal and high seas fisheries and transportation, newer once such as aquaculture and oil & gas activities ...
On 9 September 2024, Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister and European Central Bank President, presented his highly anticipated report on «The Future of European Competitiveness» to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen [1][2]. This comprehensive report analyzes the challenges faced by European industries and companies in the Single Market and proposes strategies to enhance the EU’s competitiveness [2] ...
