Beginning next month, used car dealers in West Virginia may sell vehicles directly to consumers without a single warranty that the vehicles are operational or safe to drive. The so-called “As Is” bill – approved last March by the West Virginia Legislature – will allow merchants to make sales on an “as is” basis, effectively eliminating any implied warranties about a vehicle’s merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose ...
Overruling 38 years of precedent, the NLRB has determined employers have no duty to permit union organizers to use “public space” to solicit union support on their property. UPMC and SEIU, 368 NLRB No. 2 (June 14, 2019). UPMC is a hospital system based in western Pennsylvania. SEIU organizers visited the hospital cafeteria and distributed organizing materials to employees over lunch discussing union organizing activity ...
Following their only loss of the 1985-1986 season, the Chicago Bears produced the first hip-hop song recorded by a professional sports team — the “Super Bowl Shuffle.” The Bears went on to win their next 15 games and eventually beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. The Shuffle became synonymous with the Bears and their victorious season, and 33 years later it found itself at the heart of a lawsuit ...
Whatever your views on Brexit, the deferment of the UK’s leaving date from the EU provided British industry some welcome breathing space to prepare for Brexit. Given the issues that still divide the two main political parties, the UK may yet leave the EU without a deal on 31 October ...
Coordinating cross-border due diligence is a key skill that more often than not underpins complex, multi-jurisdictional merger and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity (PE)-led transactions. Where due diligence really adds value is in the early stages of the transaction, when local knowledge and expertise are vital to understanding the context of data room information ...
The presence of a small amount of undeclared sesame in a particular product may seem trivial but, for those who are allergic, it can provoke a major reaction. Such was the predicament faced by Pret a Manger in July 2016, following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse that same month due to the undeclared presence of sesame in a Pret baguette ...
Some brands simply seem to play a major role in our lives – Apple, Facebook, Google, Netflix. These are brands that for many of us have become something of an ever present. One brand that surely belongs on that list is Amazon, one of the most important, influential and high-profile brands in the world. Brand Finance recently declared Amazon to be the world’s most valuable brand, valuing it at USD 50 billion. So, it makes sense to keep abreast of what is going on there ...
From re-sharing cat videos to creating memes, tweaks in our three-decade-old Copyright Act will help clarify what’s permissible and what’s verboten as we continue to indulge in our insatiable appetite for social media. Chinese New Year Eve, 2019. Social media was ablaze with a viral video (YouTube link) of an altercation between a Malay Gojek driver and his Chinese passenger objecting to a route that would incur ERP charges ...
Some may be wondering what a “telekung” is as it is probably not a common term. A Telekung is a Muslim prayer outfit for females. The general perception of prayer outfits is that they are dull and unfashionable as they have to be modest rather than trendy. However, there has been a drastic shift in the fashion industry in recent years where there are an increasing number of fashionable yet modest clothes in both local and international markets ...
In a landmark decision, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (‘EUIPO’) has ruled that McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest fast food chains, will lose its EU trade mark for “Big Mac” ...
An expert panel of the Pro League (the organization representing the interests of all professional Belgian football clubs) appointed by the latter and presided by Belgian minister of State, Melchior Wathelet, was consulted on the role of football agents within the current Belgian football landscape. The panel was asked to formulate recommendations and ‘best practice’-proposals to the Pro League ...
The online retail sector has seen a considerable increase in intervention by the competition authorities both on a national level and in Brussels. Most recently, in December 2018, the European Commission fined the clothing company Guess € 39.8 million for applying online sales and advertising restrictions ...
The government has approved, by royal decree-law, a legal reform introducing a number of changes to the Retail Trade Law. Royal Decree-Law 20/2018, of December 7, 2018, on urgent measures to foster economic competitiveness in the industrial and trading sectors in Spain, published in the Official State Gazette last Saturday, December 8, amends Retail Trade Law 7/1996, of January 15,1996 ...
Whether you are a business pushing out an edgy ad campaign, or one with an unsolicited media crisis on your hands, in the age of the Internet you are just keystrokes away from things going “viral”. It is important to be prepared. Like many bad ideas, it started innocuously enough. In late November, Dolce & Gabbana uploaded a series of videos on its social media platforms that starred a young Chinese woman wearing a red sequin dress ...
View a PDF of the November 2018 Edition of the Haynes and Boone Media, Entertainment and First Amendment Newsletter. Must Websites Comply With the ADA? Website ADA compliance litigation is all the rage, manifesting itself as an epidemic of “website drive-by lawsuits.” Beyond the litigation controversy, the issue is whether websites must be accessible to the visually-impaired via screen reader software to comply with the ADA. Circuit Courts are split ...
This case highlights the importance of registering a franchise with the Registrar of Franchises and the consequences of not doing so. In particular, the effect and applicability of section 6(1) of the Franchise Act 1998 (“FA 1998”) are discussed. Facts The subject matter was “Dr. Fong’s Method” of teaching mathematics to students in primary and secondary school, which was developed by Dr. Fong Ho Kheong (“Dr. Fong”). Dr ...
In less than a decade, China has become the largest e-commerce market in the world, accounting for over 40% of global e-commerce according to a recent report by McKinsey. The breath-taking speed of development has left law makers scrambling to regulate the booming e-commerce industry ...
The Gambling Policy Division of the Irish Department of Justice has joined 14 other gambling regulators from around the globe in signing an International Declaration expressing concern about gambling in video games. The regulators presented a united front in addressing the "blurring of lines between gambling and other forms of digital entertainment". The increasing presence of gambling in the video gaming world has been raised as a growing concern ...
What needs to happen to secure the most sought-after international events on the sporting calendar? As Australia continues its reputation as a dependable major sports event host through the likes of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Invictus Games Sydney 2018, there has been an upsurge in interest from Australian cities, metropolitan and regional, to host major sporting events ...
Cryptocurrencies have captured the imaginations of individuals and emerging businesses drawn to their potential to serve as alternative stores of value, to reduce transaction costs by eliminating intermediaries. Most notably in popular culture and media - to provide eye-catching opportunities for speculative investing ...
As part of Budget 2019, the Irish Minister for Finance announced that Irish betting tax will increase from 1% to 2% of turnover. Betting intermediary tax will also increase from 15% to 25%. The tax increases will take effect from 1 January 2019. Parties in support of this increase have suggested that additional revenue generated by this increase should be directed towards gambling addiction services ...
Brick and mortar retailers are rapidly diversifying checkout and payment methods to combat the erosion of sales to online channels and provide an improved shopping experience for consumers. From self-checkout kiosks, to store-specific mobile applications for payment, scan-as-you-go devices, and even ‘just walk out’ models, retailers are reinventing consumer’s notions of the traditional checkout line by going cashierless ...
The rise of e-commerce and the struggle many brick-and-mortar retail stores face is nothing new. Customers are increasingly choosing to shop for clothes, furniture and even groceries from the convenience of their own homes. More recently, however, this shift in the way consumers shop has given rise to new types of retail stores – small showrooms and “pop-up shops ...
