Cyber criminals have developed new ransomware techniques to improve the efficiency and profitability of their attacks. These include targeting large and high-value entities such as governments and the health care sector (also known as “big game hunting”), and the selling of user-friendly ransomware software kits (also known as ransomware as a service) ...
Law and regulation in this area are developing at pace and it’s no longer just those businesses looking for ESG linked products which need to be analysing their Environmental, Social & Governance (‘ESG’) behaviours. This article considers what businesses may wish to be doing voluntarily, either as good practice or in preparation for a financing, in terms of developing their ESG practices ...
This article looks at what ESG means, what we really mean when we talk about ‘ESG lending’, and the types of ESG lending available. When people talk about ‘ESG Lending’ they’re often talking about sustainable lending - encompassing social loans, green loans and sustainability linked loans. Potentially available to all businesses, now is a great time to get familiar with these types of products, as well as the corresponding jargon ...
The purpose of section 197 of South Africa’s Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”) is to protect and maintain employment in circumstances where a transfer of business takes place. In terms of section 197 and section 197B(1)(b), a “transfer” means the transfer of a business by one employer (the old employer) to another employer (the new employer) as a going concern ...
The South African Government's new Preferential Procurement Regulations, 2022 (“2022 Regulations”) have created uncertainty about how organs of state will identify "specific goals" in their procurement processes. While the regulations do not specifically require the consideration of B-BBEE, organs of state can still use it as a factor in preference point scoring, along with or instead of other goals like employment equity, green procurement, and local content and production ...
The Regulation’s overall goal is to encourage Member States to carry out Strategic Mineral Projects involving minerals such as e.g. Copper, Titanium, Nickel – battery grade, Lithium – battery grade, and Rare Earth Elements for magnets. The aim for the EU’s extraction capacity is set to be at least 10 % of the Union’s consumption of strategic raw materials ...
Originally published in West Virginia Banker With plaintiff attorneys seeing potential large dollar settlements and verdicts, along with increased regulatory scrutiny, banks need to review their overdraft practices. As noted by the American Bankers Association, banks resolve most customer inquiries and disputes informally, with a phone call or through digital channels. Banks are incentivized in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace to do so to maintain customer satisfaction ...
Debtors hoping to discharge their obligations in bankruptcy may find a new hurdle based on the US Supreme Court’s Feb. 22 ruling. Relying on the plain language of the Bankruptcy Code, and Congress’s use of passive voice, the Supreme Court held that funds obtained through fraud, regardless of who committed such fraud, are not dischargeable through bankruptcy ...
Apple Inc. v. Vidal, Appeal No. 2022-1249 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 13, 2023) In our Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit allowed Apple’s challenge to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“PTAB”) Fintiv rules to proceed, at least on limited grounds regarding whether in promulgating the guidelines the USPTO failed to follow notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act ...
Many construction contracts used in the industry include clauses mandating that any disputes be decided by binding arbitration rather than a jury or bench trial. The standard AIA forms provide the parties with the option of court or arbitration. Trial courts, overwhelmed by a flood of cases and supported with strong caselaw and statutory precedent, regularly enforce arbitration clauses ...
On February 17, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced rules related to the registration-based stock issuance system, marking a full transition to the "registration-based" era, 33 years after the establishment of China's capital markets ...
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are increasing their scrutiny and enforcement of ‘green claims’ to protect consumers from 'greenwashing'. What are green claims? Green claims (also known as ‘environmental claims’ or ‘eco-friendly claims’) are claims that a product, service, or business provides a benefit or is less harmful to the environment ...
Following a wave of recent prosecutions in relation to cash fraudulently obtained through the various Covid-19 support schemes, we consider the criminal and civil ramifications on a legitimate business which has received cash from someone who has been prosecuted and offer some helpful tips to reduce the risk of your business inadvertently laundering the proceeds of crime ...
Regents of the University of Minnesota v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., Appeal No. 21-2168 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 6, 2023) The Federal Circuit’s only precedential patent opinion this week focuses on the written description requirement in the context of an anticipation analysis in the chemical arts. Specifically, it concerns whether disclosures in asserted prior art were sufficient to disclose a claimed molecular structure ...
On January 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its proposed rule barring most non-compete agreements that would apply to employees. We previously summarized the proposed rule here and here. The original deadline for comments on the proposed rule was March 20. On March 6, the FTC announced it is extending the deadline to submit comments to April 19. As of March 9, a total of 16,965 comments (8,848 electronically) have been received on the proposed rule ...
Compliance related themes have become a widely discussed and increasingly important topic for corporates around the world. Increased ESG requirements and awareness have made companies rethink what responsible corporate everyday life looks like. At the same time corporate crimes and, for example, cyber-attacks and data breaches are ever increasing and may lead to detrimental consequences on business ...
After a long pause, we are pleased to release a new version of our regulatory Guides. To cover the gap since the last publication, we would like to devote this Guide to an overview of key changes and trends that took place in 2022. 2022 was a challenging year for many companies working on the Russian market as well as for the Russian market and economy as a whole ...
This is the third alert in a series designed to inform physicians and other health care providers of what to do in the event of a State Medical Board of Ohio (“Board”) investigation, how to potentially avoid an investigation and what to expect during a license disciplinary case ...
Illinois has the strictest biometric privacy law in the country with the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). The BIPA requires employers who collect employees’ biometric data to follow a number of protocols. These protocols include (1) maintaining a written policy about the collection and storage of employee biometric data, (2) providing employees with written notice of that policy, and (3) obtaining informed consent from employees to collect biometric data ...
Over the weekend, the EU announced its 10th sanctions package against Russia as a response to the invasion of Ukraine. The timing of the 10th sanctions package coincides with the anniversary for Russian invasion of Ukraine. The measures implemented in the new sanctions package include, inter alia: Additional sanction listings of 121 individuals and entities ...
February 27, 2023 By: Leah Lively and Jack Darrington All employers should be aware of the recent decision by the United States Supreme in Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. Hewitt dealing with exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Hewitt court held that a well-compensated employee paid a daily rate, rather than a fixed weekly or monthly salary, was not exempt from the FLSA and its rules regarding overtime pay ...
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Appeal No. 2023-1186 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 24, 2023) In this week’s Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a permanent injunction requiring appellant Jazz Pharmaceuticals to de-list its U.S. Patent No. 8,731,963 from the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalents Evaluation publication, colloquially known as the “Orange Book ...
While a recent Pennsylvania ruling issued In February 2023 has been hailed as a victory for the underfunded school districts in the state, it could be a long road ahead before meaningful change makes its way to the students, teachers, and schools who need it the most ...
