Canadian patent government fees will increase up to 36% on January 1, 2024. The main fee increases are presented in the table below. Applicants may therefore wish to take certain actions and pay the accompanying fees in Canada by the end of 2023 to benefit from the lower 2023 rates at least in the following circumstances: Early filing of divisional applications may be especially advantageous as they involve high government fees ...
'He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice, he’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice’...but is Santa doing so in compliance with the GDPR? As the first Christmas trees and advent calendars go up in stores and homes across the UK, our thoughts may turn towards the joys – and pressures – of the festive season ...
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023. In total, it contained 110 proposed measures for delivering UK growth. From a pensions perspective, the focus was on consolidation of the UK pensions industry through: Taking forward the Mansion House reforms, starting with steps to increase consolidation within the UK pensions industry ...
In the New Year, the United States Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments over the damages a plaintiff can recover in a copyright infringement lawsuit. The Supreme Court will consider the question of whether damages are limited only to the three-year period before the plaintiffs filed suit, or whether they can be retrospectively awarded for a longer period, as long as the plaintiffs filed within three years of discovering the infringement. In Warner Chappell Music Inc. v ...
The UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) has recently published a blog containing a quick guide to help retailers assess the lawfulness of sharing criminal offence data ...
By: Anne Marie Ellis, John Epperson and Peter McGaw OEHHA is proposing a significant change to the Proposition 65 “short-form warning” to require that this warning identify a specific Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”) chemical. Currently, the short-form warning requires identification of a toxicological endpoint (i.e. cancer or reproductive harm) but not the chemical that has triggered the warning requirement ...
The United States Supreme Court will soon decide whether public officials may be liable for blocking constituents on social media. On October 31, 2023, the Court heard oral argument in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier[i] and Lindke v. Freed,[ii] cases in which local school board officials and a city manager, respectively, are alleged to have blocked constituents from commenting on, or viewing, public social media accounts used for both government business as well as personal affairs ...
The High Court handed down the approved judgment on Monday 6 November 2023 in the case between Siemens Mobility Limited (“Siemens”) and High Speed Two (HS2) Limited (“HS2”) ...
Yesterday, Shoosmiths hosted an event by The Fashion Network titled ‘Trend Forecasting & Analysis Masterclass: For Fashion & FMCG Retail Business’. During this event we heard from fashion industry leaders on how the landscape of retail and marketing is ever evolving, influenced by a myriad of factors ranging from consumer behaviour to emerging technologies ...
In the course of regular updates on Russian counter-sanctions, we would like to provide you with information on Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated November 08, 2023 No. 844 “On Additional Temporary Economic Measures Related to Circulation of Foreign Securities” (“Decree No. 844”). Decree No ...
On 26 October 2023 the Online Safety Act (‘the Act’) received Royal Assent, enacting rules designed to, in the UK government’s words, make the UK the safest place in the world to be online ...
For as long as there have been rules of evidence and courtrooms, there have been products that can impair litigants or witnesses—and products whose use carries the potential to trigger certain stigmas in the eyes of the finders of fact. Cannabis, which has been around longer than nearly every judicial system in the world and the subject of political and popular debate in the United States for the past century, may be the paradigmatic product at the moment ...
Since April 2018, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) has prohibited landlords from renting commercial properties that do not meet certain environmental standards ...
The U.S. Government Accountability Office's recently issued annual bid protest report is noteworthy because it shows that 31% of bid protests were sustained — more than double the rate for prior years— and that protesters received some form of relief from the procuring agency in more than half of the protests filed with the GAO in fiscal year 2023 ...
A recent data protection fine highlights the risks of getting a few key things wrong. Fines for large data security breaches always grab press attention, however a recent €600,000 fine from the French data protection regulator (the CNIL) brings into sharp focus the risks for businesses when they get a few key things wrong without any catastrophic failures amongst them ...
Following the route set out in the ongoing constitutional process and taking into consideration the draft prepared by the Expert Commission and the amendments presented during the respective discussion in the Joint Commission, the Constitutional Council approved yesterday, the Preliminary Draft of the New Constitution ...
Only five months after its first reading on 17 May 2023, the future is already in doubt for key aspects of the Renters (Reform) Bill. The changes proposed by the Bill include the abolition of ‘no fault’ evictions under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, meaning that landlords would be required to rely on the more combative section 8 process ...
Earlier in the year, we reported on the government’s announcement of increases to visa and nationality fees. These increases to application fees came into force on 4 October 2023, other than the substantial increase to the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) which was expected to come ‘later in the autumn’ ...
One of the most common questions I receive from clients is around the termination of leases, with confusion reigning around the terminology and procedures used in Scotland. It is not surprising that when given a remit to consider the law of commercial leases, the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) first turned its attention to the law relating to the termination of leases at expiry. In October 2022, following consultations, the SLC published its Report on Aspects of Leases: Termination ...
The Finnish government proposes significant changes to transfer taxation. Transfer tax is levied on the acquisition of shares and other securities and real property. The proposed changes may have significant effects to the taxation of M&A and real estate transactions. Some of the proposed changes will decrease the tax burden while some will result in increased tax liability. The most significant changes include: The general rate for securities (1 ...
Expectations are increasing and there is mounting pressure from investors and consumers for private and public sector organisations and charities to be seen to be doing something about ESG factors, including equality, diversity and inclusion. Diversity and inclusion are increasingly recognised as crucial factors in building sustainable and successful supply chains in the private, public and charity sectors ...
