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Dinsmore & Shohl LLP | April 2014

  Clients unfamiliar with patent prosecution are often surprised to learn that few patent applications receive a first-action allowance, or FAA. There are even rankings of law firms that receive the most FAAs each year. But what does an FAA signify? Is it a cause to celebrate, or to conduct a post-mortem? The answer is, of course, “it depends ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | April 2014

The D.C. Circuit recently expanded the scope of the False Claims Act’s first-to-file defense. See United States ex rel. Shea v. Cellco Partnership, __ F.3d __, 2014 WL 1294687 (D.C. Cir. April 11, 2014). The court concluded that this defense – which bars FCA suits based on facts related to a “pending action” – applies even after the first action is dismissed ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | April 2014

Although a federal court recently ruled that the United States Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has the authority to regulate data security practices, a clinical testing laboratory is arguing that the FTC’s regulatory authority does not extend to entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) ...

ENSafrica | April 2014

The Botswana Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr OK Matambo delivered his 2014 budget speech to the National Assembly on 3 February 2014, in which he proposed fundamental VAT changes with regard to the supply of basic food items and all farming equipment ...

ENSafrica | April 2014

On 7th March 2014 the Supreme Court of Appeal delivered judgment in the as yet unreported case of Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service v Mobile Telephone Networks Holdings (Pty) Ltd, (966/2012) [2014] ZASCA 4 (7 March 2014) which dealt with the deductibility of audit fees incurred for a dual or mixed purpose and the apportionment thereof for tax purposes in light of section 11(a) of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, as amended (‘the Act’) read with sections 23(f) and 23(g) of the A

ENSafrica | April 2014

Launching a market inquiry into a certain, seemingly problematic sector of the South African economy is not a new modus operandi for the South African Competition Commission (the “SA Commission”). In the past the SA Commission has relied upon general powers found in the Competition Act, No. 89 of 1998 (as amended) (the “Competition Act”) to conduct a market inquiry into the retail banking sector (the “Banking Inquiry”) and the supermarket sector (the “Supermarket Inquiry”) ...

ENSafrica | April 2014

Times have certainly changed. Ten years ago a tax query from a SARS assessor would find its way to the desk of the financial director or in-house tax advisor who would send it off to their auditors. The auditors would, in turn, give it to their tax department who would draft a reply to SARS and hope the matter went away. If not, an informal meeting between the financial director and tax advisor at the audit firm would usually settle the dispute ...

ENSafrica | April 2014

In Roshcon (Pty) Ltd v Anchor Auto Body Builders CC (“Roshcon”) the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”), in a unanimous judgment drafted by Wallis JA, has clarified the issues caused by its previous decision in SARS v NWK Limited (“NWK”). Roshcon was not a tax case; it concerned supplier and floorplan agreements relating to the sale of trucks, with a reservation of ownership to a finance house as security until the trucks were fully paid for by the purchaser ...

ENSafrica | April 2014

Each of the Common Monetary Area (CMA) Member States presented their 2014/15 Budgets during February 2014.  An overview of the Budgets of Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland reveals Namibia as the only country proposing fiscal amendments of any significance.  A common theme of these Budgets is a concern about the increased uncertainty regarding the future of the South African Customs Union (SACU) and a firm intention to reduce reliance on SACU revenue ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | April 2014

Beleaguered companies suffering from data breaches got more bad news when a federal judge held that the United States Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has the authority to regulate corporate cybersecurity practices ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | April 2014

Beleaguered companies suffering from data breaches got more bad news when a federal judge held that the United States Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has the authority to regulate corporate cybersecurity practices ...

Makarim & Taira S. | April 2014

To strengthen the competitiveness of retail trading businesses carried out by modern stores and shopping centers, the Minister of Trade issued Regulation Number 70/M-DAG/PER/12/2013 on 12 December 2013 concerning Guidelines on Administrating and Fostering Traditional Markets, Shopping Centers, and Modern Shops (Reg. 70). Reg ...

Makarim & Taira S. | April 2014

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 38 of 2013 on Compensations for Land, Buildings, and Plants Located under High Voltage Air Channels (SUTT) and Extra High Voltage Air Channels and Free Spaces (SUTET) has been enforced as of 24 December 2013. The Regulation provides the procedures as well as formula for compensation for the owners of impacted land, buildings, and plant due the establishment of electricity infrastructure ...

Makarim & Taira S. | April 2014

On 29 July 2013, the Indonesian Minister of Trade (MOT) issued Regulation No. 35/M-DAG/PER/7/2013 on Affixing Retail Prices and Tariffs to Goods and Services (Reg. 35). The Regulation came into effect 6 months as of its enactment, i.e. on 29 January 2014.  It is an implementing regulation of Law Number 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection. Two of its provisions will have a significant impact on businesses in Indonesia ...

Makarim & Taira S. | April 2014

In 16 January 2014, the Constitutional Court (“MK”) granted the request for a judicial review of Article 335 of the Criminal Code (“KUHP”) and removed the phrase, “offensive act” from Article 335 of the KUHP. The reason for removing the phrase, “offensive act” is that it allows investigators and public prosecutors to act arbitrarily against certain people ...

Makarim & Taira S. | April 2014

An amendment to Law No. 30 of 2004 pertaining to Notary was issued on 15 January 2014 (Law No. 2 of 2014). The amendment came into force on its issuance date and various amended provisions were introduced, such us provisions on requirements for the appointment of a notary, confirmation of the Indonesian language as the formal language of a notarial deed or obligations of a notary and restriction on double positions. A number of interesting points were also addressed ...

On 6 April 2014, the historic remedy of distress ceased to exist. The tool that landlords have used for centuries has been replaced by the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (‘CRAR’) regime.Tenants have welcomed this development as CRAR prevents bailiffs from simply turning up unannounced at the tenant’s address in order to seize goods. Landlords on the other hand are now faced with a more complex process and the loss of the element of surprise ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | April 2014

What to Know When Pursuing Coverage For A Cyber/Privacy Breach During an investor conference call on Wednesday, February 26, Target CFO John Mulligan reported that the highest profile data breach of 2013 cost the retailer $61 million in out-of-pocket expenses during the fourth quarter, of which $44 million was covered by insurance ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | April 2014

The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has temporarily suspended the issuance of private letter rulings on master limited partnership (“MLP”) “qualifying income” under Internal Revenue Code Section 7704(d) during the pendency of an internal committee review of existing rulings in that area ...

Lavery Lawyers | April 2014

In the last few years, pension deemed trust issues have been a subject of debate before the courts. The Supreme Court of Canada itself addressed some of these issues in the Indalex case ...

O'Neal Webster | April 2014

In addition to being the world’s leading international finance centre in which to set up companies, the British Virgin Islands (‘BVI’) is now regarded as one of the world’s premier trust jurisdictions. The general principles of the trust laws of the BVI are derived from those of English trust law.  The principles of English common law and equity apply, as supplemented by BVI statute ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | March 2014

On March 26, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) hosted a roundtable to discuss cybersecurity. The roundtable focused on how cybersecurity affects markets and how public companies and other businesses should address cybersecurity issues ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | March 2014

Confronted with three different standing tests applied by the Circuit courts to Lanham Act false advertising claims, the Supreme Court has answered the question of which test to apply: “None of the above.” In Lexmark International, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., Slip op. March 25, 2014, Justice Scalia, writing for a unanimous Court, rejected each of the tests employed by the Circuits in favor of a “zone of interests” test ...

If all’s fair in love and war, and business is war, it must follow that all is fair in business. We should therefore not concern ourselves with fairness in our business dealings, but focus on maximising our personal gain, irrespective of the impact of our decisions on others. Adopting the above approach is not only likely to harm you but also your business. People are social beings and have evolved to reward cooperation and punish avarice. Take two individuals - Mr Smith and Mr Jones ...

Wardynski & Partners | March 2014

Comments on the consequences of failure to observe the required form when selling shares in a limited-liability company and the possibility of correcting this defect. The current Commercial Companies Code went into effect in Poland in 2001, stiffening the requirements with respect to the form for transfer of title to shares in a limited-liability company (sp. z o.o ...

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