The Tourism Authority of Thailand (“TAT”) announced via the Royal Thai Government Gazette on 30 October 2021 that as of 1 November 2021, earlier COVID-19-related restrictions would be lifted in the case of four designated ‘Blue Zone’ provinces: Bangkok, Krabi, Phang-Nga, and Phuket ...
It is not unusual for companies to choose famous and prestigious events, such as entertainment awards and sporting championships, as platforms to promote their products and services. The Olympic Games are no different. As the world´s most important sporting event, drawing the attention from individuals all over the world for more than two weeks, the Olympic Games are the perfect scenario for marketing actions ...
More hotels are imposing mandatory “resort fees” on their guests for amenities, and the amount of those fees is increasing at many of those hotels. Many consumers dislike these fees, even when they appreciate the value of the included amenities. A legal battle is underway over mandatory resort fees ...
A lot has been written about the Scottish case where William Grant sued the budget supermarket chain Lidl for trade mark infringement. The issue Lidl is selling a gin that one imagines was intended to look rather a lot like the well-established Hendricks gin. This Lidl gin is called Hampstead, although the similarity between the two products relates as much to get-up as to the (surely not coincidental) choice by Lidl of a nine-letter name that starts with the letter H ...
Yesterday, Shoosmiths hosted an event by The Fashion Network titled ‘The Future of Social Commerce: Connecting Business with Community’. During this event we heard from fashion industry leaders on social commerce's transformative impact on fashion and FMCG ecommerce - in partnership with The Ecommerce Club ...
As recently reported in the Los Angeles Times, the media and entertainment industry has been significantly impacted by the new normal presented as a result of COVID-19.1 Production studios, live theaters, cinemas, concert venues, and other media and entertainment companies are considering all of the ramifications of reopening business operations. The industry must also address long-term implications of COVID-19 for business growth through new business models and processes ...
STATUS QUO (ON MARCH 18, 2020) The Europe-wide spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is now also directly affecting the professional sports sector. As a consequence, there are not only games that are being played without fans and soccer leagues suspended from the Bundesliga all the way down to the 3rddivision, but even entire remaining seasons (including of the German Ice Hockey League and the German Volleyball League) have been canceled ...
As we enter each new year, we see more and more Awareness/National Days populating our calendars. Though some may seem rather obscure, the majority can be inspiring and put much needed emphasis on a lot of health, social and cultural topics ...
1. 1 Please describe the: (a) telecoms; (b) audio-visual media distribution; and (c) internet infrastructure sectors in the Philippines, in particular by reference to each sector’s: (i) importance (e.g. measured by annual revenue); (ii) 3-5 most important companies; (iii) whether they have been liberalised and are open to competition; and (iv) whether they are open to foreign investment ...
The IVAucher programme was set up to stimulate private consumption in the sectors worst affected by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (catering, accommodation and culture). With regard to these sectors, “catering” is used in the broad sense to cover restaurants, cafés, bars and catering companies providing food and beverage services, and “accommodation” refers to hotels and other short-stay accommodation for holidays and business travel ...
As in most countries, Brazil has strict regulations on sensitive advertising, especially as regards to alcohol, tobacco and other controlled substances. In Brazil, advertising is regulated by the Federal Constitution, which main directive is the freedom of speech. However, the Constitution also predicts that regulations referring to products that offer health and environmental risks will be provided by specific laws (section 220) and follow some restrictions ...
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has today published its report1 on immigration reform. As the MAC itself acknowledges, there will be “winners” and “losers” in any policy for immigration reform.On an initial reading of the report, it would appear the reforms proposed, while impacting all sectors, would be most challenging for those sectors employing a low-skilled workforce ...
The AGCOM (the Italian Media Authority) has recently published (on December 28th, 2010) two resolutions concerning the broadcasting services of audio and/or video contents (so-called “audiovisual media services”) in “linear” mode (“streaming” or “simulcast” services: Resolution n ...
The Olympic Games is a huge "brand", commanding global media attention; for adertisers, it represents a golden opportunity for a marketing boost. However, it is also one of the most fiercely protected brands in the world, with complex legal protection ...
The Online Safety Act 2023 implements broad reforms for how many businesses must operate their online services. Here, Matthew MacLachlan explains the action to take now to comply. The Online Safety Act 2023 (‘the Act’) received Royal Assent in October 2023. Although the Act is now law, it will not be enforced by the regulator, Ofcom, until secondary legislation is passed and when Ofcom’s draft codes of practice are finalised ...
Shoosmiths hosted one if its best attended Shoosmiths Aviation & Marine Breakfast Association (SAMBA) webinars on 25 February. Joined by representatives from industries across the marine spectrum (boatbuilding, finance, insurance, marinas and the RYA) Elliot Bishop and Sarah Fairweather discussed the impact of Covid and Brexit on the leisure marine sector in particular and the outlook for the coming year ...
Are you an influencer? Do you earn money or other benefits by creating content on social media? Influencers that are offered deals to advertise a brand’s products over social media platforms will qualify as traders and should thus disclose their adverts in a transparent manner. Over the coming weeks, the European Commission will be screening online posts to identify any sponsored posts uploaded to social media by influencers which could mislead consumers ...
Season 2 of the Journey Through a Contract series – let’s talk Definitions and Interpretation! Definitions and interpretation – often the first clause in a contract that you will encounter, but not necessarily the easiest one to start with when you are trying to understand your contractual obligations and rights ...
Episode 7 of the Journey Through a Contract series highlights the key considerations when a business is entering into a contract with a consumer. Felicity Forward, Ayesha Chandegra and Joel Murphie provide guidance on how to identify a consumer contract, what additional protections consumers have and how the law is set to enhance consumer rights through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. Listen to the podcast and send us your feedback to [email protected] ...
Workplace Christmas parties are just around the corner. While such celebrations are a great opportunity to strengthen team spirit and acknowledge everyone?s hard work, it is important to remember that it is not only up to employers to make sure they run smoothly?their entire workforces, managers and employees alike, are also responsible. Just think of potential situations of harassment where alcohol and fun times are combined ...
Lots of folks have been asking of late, “Do I have to show taxes in drink prices?” The Tennessee Department of Revenue recently clarified that including taxes in drink prices is optional. Previously, the state required that menu prices include both liquor by the drink and sales taxes. The law now gives taxpayers the option to include taxes on the final bill to the customer, instead of in the sales price listed in menus. A copy of the notice from Revenue is included here ...
Just before Americans sat down to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends, with many of them probably choosing to overlook the total calorie count of those meals, the FDA released the long awaited rule on nutritional labeling applicable to chain restaurants and other venues serving restaurant type food (79 FR 71156). The FDA’s final menu labeling rule implements certain amendments to the Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act ("FD&C Act") that were part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 ...
Do social media users have a fair choice between giving up their privacy and paying a subscription fee? The European Data Protection Board has given its opinion on what’s fair for large platforms in the latest shake up of personalised online advertising. When it comes to justifying processing personal data for targeted advertising under EU data protection laws, Meta (along with other online platforms) has been feeling the squeeze ...
