What do a squeak toy, whiskey, and dog poop have in common? If you are silently thinking to yourself “absolutely nothing,” it may surprise you to hear that the U.S. Supreme Court has spent months considering this question. On June 8, 2023, in a long-awaited win for trademark owners, SCOTUS ruled that a lower court erred when it issued a decision finding that a dog toy that parodies a famous liquor bottle, was covered by First Amendment free speech protections ...
In May, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, which addressed the statutory enablement requirement for patents. The decision is consistent with ongoing efforts to strike a balance between innovation and competition, while preventing the extension of monopolies beyond the invention disclosure ...
June 5, 2023 By: Joshua Robbins and Stephanie Shea While we wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the fate of the Chevron doctrine governing courts’ deference to agencies’ interpretations of law, its recent decision in another case has flown under the radar. In Calcutt, III v. FDIC, 598 U.S ...
On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision addressing the intent element of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) in United States ex rel. Tracy Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and United States ex rel. Thomas Proctor v. Safeway, Inc. The FCA imposes liability on anyone who “knowingly” submits a false claim to the federal government and defines “knowingly” to include actual knowledge, deliberate ignorance, or recklessness ...
On 16 March 2023, in Joined Cases C‑438/21P to C‑440/21P, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interpreted the concept of a ‘global marketing authorisation’. It held that Article 6(1) of Directive 2001/83 (the Community Code) sets out exhaustively the line extensions for which the marketing authorisations (MAs) will fall under the same global MA as the initial MA ...
On May 30, 2023, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo took yet another step to ban restrictive covenants in the employment context. In a memo issued to all regional offices, she set forth her view that nearly all non-compete provisions, with very limited exceptions, violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) ...
May 31, 2023 By: Stephanie Shea The California Unruh Act (specifically, California Civil Code § 51) prohibits “all business establishments of every kind whatsoever” from discriminating based on citizenship or immigration status, among other things. That protection applies to all persons within the jurisdiction of California. At the federal level, (simply put,) the federal civil rights statute (specifically, 42 U.S.C. § 1981), prohibits alienage discrimination ...
On 7 April 2023, the Belgian Cour de Cassation reversed its long standing case law and decided that (from now on) disputes concerning the termination of exclusive distribution agreements are eligible to be settled by arbitration. 1. The legal background The Belgian Economic Code (previously known as the 1961 Distributorship Act – the “Act”) provides special protection against the unwarranted termination of an exclusive distribution agreement ...
Introduction Last week, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) had concluded the negotiation of the first trade agreement under the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.1 This is the first bilateral trade agreement since the promulgation of the Taiwan Relations Act in 1979 ...
May 24, 2023 By: Peter McGaw When Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) settle CERCLA cases, they want finality. They don't expect to be asked to pay a second time for a claim they have already resolved by settlement. However, a concurring opinion in a recent Ninth Circuit decision casts doubt on the ability of a PRP to achieve finality through settlement. The Ninth Circuit’s decision in GP Vincent II v Beard was issued on May 17, 2023 ...
In March 2022, the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (“ECA”) was enacted and with it came the creation of a Register of Overseas Entities. Enforceable since January 2023, the register, which includes information about beneficial owners of property or land, attracts a financial penalty of up to £2,500 a day for those that did not submit information before the deadline of 31 January 2023 ...
The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (“DICA”) has issued an undated notice where it has listed the documents that all DICA registered companies are required to submit to DICA to obtain its approval to repatriate foreign currencies out of Myanmar (the “Notice”). We understand from the Notice that it applies only to DICA registered companies ...
As a matter of important update that may impact potential and scheduled payments of dividends, interest, royalties and other similar “passive types” of income from Russia, please be informed that on 18th of May 2023 Russian Media has announced that Double Tax Treaties (the “DTTs”) with “Unfriendly States” will be temporarily suspended by the Presidential Decree in June 2023 ...
The government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 19/2023/ND-CP dated 28 April 2023 (“Decree 19”) to provide guidance for the Law on Anti-Money Laundering. Decree 19, effective as of its issuance date, includes the following: Details on Know Your Client (“KYC”) Decree 19 sets out the specific situations in which financial institutions must carry out KYC procedures ...
The Supreme Court on 10 May 2023 considered whether damage caused by an oil spill in 2011 could constitute a “continuing nuisance” – and so extend the limitation period for a claim ...
The recent sanction judgment gives important guidance on the way in which the court's discretion should be exercised when sanctioning a restructuring plan and considers whether it is necessary for opposing parties to provide valuation evidence of their own ...
In the Industrial Tribunal case with number 3945/CC, the applicant, a Chief Operating Officer and Director, engaged with Amicorp Fund Services Malta Ltd, was dismissed by means of a letter of termination due to the fact that, according to the defendant company, he was not properly performing his functions. The Tribunal commented that the case was a particular one since it dealt with senior management, in which cases usually an amicable termination is arrived at ...
On 10 May 2023, theInformation Regulator(the “Regulator”), an independent body established to monitor and enforce compliance by public and private bodies with the provisions of the promotion of access to information act, 2000 and the protection of personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) announced that it had issued anEnforcement Noticeto the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (“theDepartment”) in terms of POPIA on 9 May 2023 ...
Recent developments in South Africa's legal landscape have led to confusion surrounding the grounds for appeals to the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”). In a notable case, the SCA's unanimous decision has cast doubt on the relevance of the interests of justice as a valid ground for appeal. This raises important questions about the appealability of certain decisions and the criteria for granting leave to appeal ...
In its recent judgement in Re Avanti Communications Ltd [2023] EWHC 940 (Ch) ('Avanti') the High Court decided that in some circumstances a charge can take effect as a fixed charge despite the chargor having some flexibility to dispose of assets without the consent of the charge holder. Background A charge expressed to be a fixed charge may be at risk of being re-characterised by a court as a floating charge if the charge holder fails to exercise sufficient control over the assets ...
While the unusual circumstances in the Tate Gallery case attracted plenty of press coverage for its consideration of nuisance in terms of overlooking, it is still business as usual for developers where rights of light are concerned ...
On 24 April the Pensions Regulator (TPR) published new guidance (Guidance) on the practical steps trustees should take to manage risk when using leveraged liability driven investments (LDI). The guidance replaces previous guidance issued by TPR in October and November 2022 in the immediate wake of the LDI liquidity crisis. Background On 23 September the Government announced its ‘Growth Plan 2022’ ...
It would be a surprise to many, but it has been common knowledge to criminal practitioners for years, that a criminal defendant’s sentence for a crime which they have been convicted can be increased based on consideration of conduct that the jury acquitted ...
Introduction On February 1, 2023, Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette introduced and tabled in the National Assembly Bill 8 entitled An Act to improve justice efficiency and accessibility, in particular by promoting mediation and arbitration and by simplifying civil procedure in the Court of Québec1 (hereinafter the ?Bill?). The Bill makes amendments to several laws, including the Courts of Justice Act2 and the Professional Code ...
