View the PDF version of the August 2018 IP Beacon. Squarely Decided: The Fifth Circuit Sides with Spongebob On May 22, 2018, inViacom Int’l, Inc. v. IJR Captial Invs., LLC, 242 F. Supp.3d 563 (2017), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment in favor of Viacom International Inc. (Viacom) on its trademark infringement and unfair competition claims against IJR Capital Investments, LLC (IJR) ...
View the PDF version of the April 2018 IP Beacon. Are Works Generated by AI Subject to IP Protection? When Philip Dick wrote the 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," the inspiration for the 1982 film "Blade Runner," artificial intelligence was more fiction than science. Fifty years later, theHarvard Business Reviewpredicts that AI will be the single biggest technological development of our era, as transformative as the steam engine or electricity ...
On the 12th of July 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a Consultation Document on the reporting of major ICT-related incidents with a consultation period expiring on the 5th of August 2022. The MFSA worked on introducing an updated major ICT-related incident reporting process that replaces the previous process that was communicated on the 25th of September 2019 entitled ‘Cybersecurity – Threat Mitigation’ ...
Bankruptcy courts are granted, under Section 105(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, the equitable power to “issue any order, process, or judgment that is necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this title.” The reality of chapter 11 is that complex issues inevitably arise, and these issues will occasionally challenge the traditional methods and tools utilized by debtor’s counsel to craft an appropriate solution ...
a recent Superior Court decision rendered in the Province of Quebec is of interest. This decision rendered by Judge Jean-François Emond, sitt ing in Bankruptcy division for the Superior Court in the District of Quebec City, deals with a Progress Payment Agreement and a Mast er Lease Agreement between a financing company, Maxium Financial Services Inc. (hereinafter: “Maxium”) and a golf cart rental company, Desrosiers Golf Inc. (hereinafter: “Desrosiers”) ...
The sixth edition of The International Capital Markets Review is already available. The Philippine chapter outlines governing laws, legislative bodies, and recent jurisprudence, and also contains information on recent developments in relevant laws and regulations, especially those affecting debt and equity offerings and those affecting derivatives, securitizations and other structured products. The chapter was contributed by SyCipLaw partner Maria Teresa D ...
I. Legal Framework The banking business in the Republic of Panama is regulated by Decree-Law No. 9 of February 26, 1998 and its amendments (the “Banking Law”). The Banking Law created the Superintendency of Banks (the “Superintendency”), which is the government agency in charge of supervising and overseeing banking operations and the exercise of the banking business in the Republic of Panama ...
In a judgment rendered in the case of9210-6905 Québec Inc. (proposal of),1the Superior Court of Québec held that an interim receiver is not required to obtain a clearance certificate from the tax authorities before proceeding with the distribution of a debtor's property, and is not subject to personal liability for this reason ...
The Intellectual Property and Related Rights (Amendment) Law of 2022, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus on 7 October 2022, aims to harmonise the Cyprus copyright regime with various acts at the European Union (‘EU’) level and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. This Law amends and redefines already existing concepts and establishes new definitions and obligations ...
On May 19, 2016, the concept of a “Bankruptcy,” as the legal term was defined, ceased to exist under Panamanian law. Law 12 of 2016 (the “Insolvency Law”) entered into force on that date and introduced new proceedings into our legal system. These proceedings are referred to as Reorganization and Liquidation ...
After nearly five years of legislative effort in Mexico, particularly in the area of tax, a structure has been established that will make it attractive for companies to issue, and investors to acquire, securities based on a beneficial interest in an Infrastructure and Real Estate Trust (known by its Spanish acronym “FIBRA”) ...
After several years of legislative effort in Mexico, particularly in the area of tax, a structure has been established that now makes it attractive for companies to issue, and investors to acquire, securities based on a beneficial interest in an Infrastructure and Real Estate Trust (known by its Spanish acronym “FIBRA”) ...
In a typical bankruptcy filing, a debtor seeks the benefit of two concepts. First, the debtor seeks the breathing room afforded that debtor by the automatic stay. Second, the debtor seeks to discharge all debt obligations adjudicated in the bankruptcy case. Absent these protections, a bankruptcy filing serves little purpose. As a result, a creditor or trustee who can attack the debtor's entitlement to a discharge threatens the heart of any filing ...
Preparing and maintaining statutory company registers can use up valuable resources of the finance department or directors of the company, however if a company is sold it is one of the first documents that the buyers’ solicitors will request. It can be costly, and time consuming to re-create registers and it can hold up any sale ...
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 ...
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 ...
The case of Re Arboretum Devon (RLH) Ltd (28 April 2021) concerned a challenge to the validity of the ranking of the parties to an intercreditor agreement, the outcome of which signified the importance of intercreditor agreements and their drafting. An intercreditor agreement (“ICA”) can be a very powerful tool and it can limit or prohibit unwary creditors from being able to take action and recover debt ...
In 2013, Virginia Ginni Rometty - CEO of IBM, said “I would like you to think of big data as the next natural resource that can be to our era what steam, electricity and oil were for the Industrial Age." Probably, you have read or heard: Data is the new oil! Data is the new bacon! Data is the new currency! These analogies have become very popular because data is now considered one of the most important commodities ...
The recent case of Cooper v Bank of Scotland plc has once again highlighted the problems arising where a lender takes security over a matrimonial home to support the business debts of one of the spouses. In this case, Mrs Cooper argued that she signed the security as a result of misrepresentation by her husband. The Court agreed with this and ordered that the standard security granted by Mrs Cooper over her one half share in the Property was not enforceable ...
The rule that a party receiving documents in litigation holds them subject to an implied undertaking to use them only in the proceedings in which they were produced has been a fixture of practice in British Columbia since 1995. However, while the rule is easy to state, it often proves more difficult to apply in practice and carries with it the potential for very serious sanctions for breach ...
On August 11, 2021, the California Court of Appeals for the Second District extended the Pebley v. Santa Clara Organics (“Pebley”) Court’s analysis as applied to the admissibility of unpaid medical liens. Based on the Court’s reading of Howell v. Hamilton Meats[1] (“Howell”) and its progeny, the Court in Malak Melvin Abdul Qaadir v. Ubaldo Gurrola Figueroa et al ...
While the SEC’s amendments described in our prior blog post (locatedhere) provide relief to companies in a number of industries – including oil and gas, foreign private issuers, business development companies, and investment funds – we’re taking a closer look at the impact the amendments will have REITs and other real estate companies ...
The impact of the coronavirus raises a number of questions for landlords and tenants of commercial property. This article considers the most frequent questions we are asked. Can I claim a reduction in rent if I am unable to use my premises? In most cases you will not be able to claim a reduction in rent ...
The coronavirus (COVID-2019)[1], which today affects more than 150 countries and territories around the world, has already had, and continues to have, a significant impact on the global economy ...
Economic sanctions The sanctions imposed by the UK, European Union and US following the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia target the Russian economy. Whilst Russia is the largest country in the world, in terms of the global economy it only made up 3.11% of Global GDP in 2020. The sanctions imposed however will still have wide ranging impacts on all areas of the global market, and can already be seen in dramatically rising energy prices ...
