Open Finance is becoming a pivotal element in the evolution of the European Union’s regulatory framework for payment services, most notably embodied in the anticipated Third Payment Services Directive (“PSD3”) ...
Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) are financial institutions that offer electronic money services to customers. Legislation on EMIs is partially harmonised in the EU as there is only an Electronic Money Directive (Directive 2009/110/EC) (“EMD”) rather than a regulation. In Malta, the EMD is transposed in the Financial Institutions Act, Chapter 376 of the Laws of Malta ...
The progression of online financial ecosystems supporting any modern economy hinges on the citizens’ use of new financial technologies. In Malta, the word ‘fintech’ is neither defined by law nor found in the jurisdiction’s primary legislation. Yet, local stakeholders on the island commonly limit the meaning of the word to blockchain-based finance ...
Robo-Advisors (sometimes spelt as Robo-Advisers) are digital investment advisory platforms that provide automated, algorithm-driven financial planning services with little to no human supervision. In this article our Oluwapelumi Omoniyi takes a cursory look at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rules on Robo-Advisors and highlights the rationale behind the move to regulate Robo-Advisors ...
Current Regulatory Regimes Bermuda was one of the first jurisdictions to introduce sector specific laws and regulations relating to the issuance of ‘digital assets’ and the provision of ’digital asset business’ services. Bermuda's regime regulates the activities of issuers and services providers rather than the technology or digital assets themselves ...
On 25 May 2020, the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR") has been applied for two years. A few days prior to the GDPR's anniversary, the first administrative fines for violations of data protection were imposed in Finland. In Finland, an administrative fine under the GDPR may be imposed by the Sanctions Board formed jointly by the Data Protection Ombudsman and two Deputy Data Protection Ombudsmen ...
The Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) recently launched “Ethics: Enduring or Evolving?”, the second installment of the FINEX Ethics Committee's book project focused on ethical challenges and issues of ethics in business. It includes an article on “Digital Ethics and the Philippine Law” by SyCipLaw Senior Partner and TMT expert Rose Marie M. King-Dominguez. In the article, Ms ...
The German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) sees the decision as a success: On November 11, 2020, the District Court of Bonn reduced the fine imposed on 1&1 Telekom GmbH for a data protection breach from an original EUR 9.55 million to EUR 990,000.00, thereby fundamentally calling into question the fine practices of the German supervisory authorities ...
The FSI has published the BIS’s research paper titled “Fintech regulation: how to achieve a level playing field” in February 2021 (the “Paper”). The Paper explores how regulation should evolve to encourage fair competition between traditional banks and new fintech and big tech players ...
On 17 July 2023, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its High-level Recommendations for the Regulation, Supervision and Oversight of Crypto-asset Activities and Markets: Final report (Report A) and its revised High-level Recommendations for the Regulation, Supervision and Oversight of Global Stablecoin Arrangements: Final Report (Report B) ...
On 30 July 2021, the Financial Services Authority (“OJK”) has issued OJK Regulation No. 12/POJK.03/2021 on Commercial Banks (“POJK 12/2021”). POJK 12/2021 was issued to anticipate, amongst other things, a business development and banking trend including the development and innovation of information technology. One of the interesting topics of POJK 12/2021 is the introduction of provisions on digital banks ...
On 14 December 2022, the People's Bank of China ("PBOC") issued for public comments the Measures for Administration and Supervision of Financial Market Infrastructures (the "FMI Measures"). The public comment period is open until 14 January 2023 ...
In November 2019, the Financial Market Commission published, for public consultation purposes, a proposed amendment to its Updated Regulations Compendium (URC), by means of enacting a new Chapter 20-10, on Information Security Management and Cybersecurity (the New Regulation) ...
As noted in our previous client update, judicial rulings on the patent-eligibility of software and business method patents under section 101 of the U.S. Patent Act have run heavily against patent owners since Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. ___, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014). (See 11/17/2014 Client Update). On Friday December 5, 2014, however, the U.S ...
On 21 May 2021, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) issued its consultation conclusions (Conclusions) on the proposed licensing regime for virtual asset services providers (VASPs). The Conclusions follow publication of the FSTB’s consultation paper of 3 November 2020 (Proposal). For details of the Proposal, please refer to our article of 24 November 2020 ...
At the end of June, the US entertainment industry won a long fought victory to help bring file swappers to heel ...
The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is providing EUR 50 million annually until 2023 to promote computer games in order to strengthen Germany as a location for developers. In the now launched second phase, large-volume projects are being funded ...
Background In its ruling of June 15, 2021 (Case No. VI ZR 576/19), the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) for the first time took a comprehensive position on the scope of the right to access pursuant to Article 15(1) GDPR. Article 15 GDPR standardizes the right of access of a data subject vis-à-vis a controller ...
On 27 May 2020 the Federal Council adopted the Ordinance on Protecting against Cyber Risks (OPCy, available in French and German), which is set to enter into force on 1 July 2020. This move is the next step in a series of measures taken by the Federal Council to adopt a new organisational structure and implement a national strategy to protect Switzerland against cyber risks (NCS, available in German, French, Italian and English) ...
While many countries have introduced far-reaching obligations to report cyber incidents, Switzerland has not yet followed this lead. However, on 13 December 2019 the Federal Council adopted a report which considers key issues with regard to the introduction of a general reporting obligation for operators of critical infrastructure. The report also discusses possible implementation models. A decision is expected by the end of 2020 ...
On 27 November 2019 the Federal Council adopted a dispatch message to improve the legal framework governing distributed ledger technologies (DLT) in Switzerland. The Federal Council's objective is to increase legal certainty, remove obstacles to DLT-based applications and limit the risk of abuse. Parliament will examine the dispatch message in early 2020. The government's press release is available in English, German, French and Italian ...
Judicial rulings on the patent-eligibility of software and business method patents under section 101 of the U.S. Patent Act have run heavily against patent owners since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 19, 2014 ruling in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. ___, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014). (See Client Update here ...
The Federal Circuit today overruled a federal district judge and held that Oracle’s API computer source code qualifies for copyright protection, potentially breathing new life into Oracle’s billion-dollar lawsuit against Google. Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc., Case No. 13-1021 (Fed. Cir. May 9, 2014) ...
Key Notes FDA announces flexible approach to enforcement of Nutrition and Supplement Facts labeling requirements for small food manufacturers and manufacturers of packaging for single-ingredient sugars, in part due to the impacts of COVID-19. The FDA adopted final rules updating the Nutrition and Supplement Facts1 labeling requirements (the “Rules”) that are effective on Jan ...
