Firm: All
Practice Industry: Corporate & Business, Dispute Resolution, Transportation
Region: All
Country/ State: All
Tag: All
Plesner | May 2016

By a judgment of 24 May 2016 in the MT Højgaard/Züblin case (Case C-369/14), the Court of Justice of the European Union has pronounced on the possibilities of changing the identity or the composition of a preselected entity during an award procedure. The case was a result of E ...

Dykema | May 2016

On May 12th, Governor Snyder issued Executive Directive No. 2016-1 ("ED 2016-1"), which seeks to improve infrastructure in the State by utilizing the Michigan Department of Transportation ("MDOT") in multiple ways. ED 2016-1 requires MDOT to work with a number of agencies, including coordinating with: - The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to identify and address major infrastructure projects where inadequate facilities could cause threats to water or wastewater services ...

In an opinion that will make vacating arbitration awards even more challenging, the Texas Supreme Court unanimously held that the Texas Arbitration Act (“TAA”) sets out the exclusive grounds for vacating arbitration awards arising from agreements governed by that statute, and that common law vacatur grounds are no longer viable. Hoskins v. Hoskins, No. 15-0046, --- S.W.3d --- (Tex. May 20, 2016). Read the full alert ...

Plaintiffs frequently bring class action claims for alleged statutory violations for which Congress has provided private rights of action and statutory damages. In many of these instances, plaintiffs do not allege any specific, tangible harm (such as monetary loss), but claim that the violation of these so-called “statutory rights” by itself constitutes injury-in-fact sufficient to satisfy standing requirements. This week, the Supreme Court held in Spokeo v ...

ENSafrica | May 2016

On 17 May 2016, the Competition Commission (the “Commission”) held a press conference to update all stakeholders on the Grocery Retail Market Inquiry (the “Inquiry”). The press conference introduced the Inquiry Panel (the “Panel”) and provided an opportunity for stakeholders in attendance to ask any questions to assist in clarifying the purpose of the Inquiry and what can be expected during the process. A summary of the press conference is set out below ...

The turn of the year is often a time for reflection and review.For business founders and owners this might be the one time of the year when the phone rings (less) and the inbox is more sparse ...

ALRUD Law Firm | May 2016

Dear All! We would like to update you of recent strategic directions report released by the Russian Data Protection Authority (‘Roscomnadzor’) in connection with 10th anniversary of the Russian Law on Personal Data (Federal Law No.152-FZ dd. 27 July 2006). General background The report was released and presented by the Roscomnadzor’s officials at the end of March during press conference for the media ...

ENSafrica | May 2016

ENSafrica successfully represented Virgin Active in a South African Advertising Standards Authority (“ASA”) matter, regarding a Virgin Active TV advertisement that used the expression “get off your ass”. The case in question is S Jack & others v Virgin Active South Africa (Pty) Ltd, and the ruling was handed down on 26 February 2016. The point of the advertisement was to persuade people to start working out at Virgin Active gyms ...

ENSafrica | May 2016

A recent Australian decision on keyword usage of a registered trade mark is in line with decisions in many other countries, including South Africa. The facts in the case of Veda Advantage Limited v Malouf Group Enterprises (Pty) Ltd (2016) FCA 255 were straightforward. Veda is a company that compiles credit reports and has trade mark registrations for the trade mark Veda in class 36 for financial services. Malouf is a company that helps people remove their negative credit ratings ...

ENSafrica | May 2016

A recent South African court ruling dealing with one company’s use of another’s trade mark on an aggregator website has attracted some interest. The case in question is Car Find (Pty) Ltd v Car Trader (Pty) Ltd and Others (South Gauteng High Court, Judge van Oosten, 12 February 2016) ...

ENSafrica | May 2016

A recent European Union ("EU") trade mark decision on the registrability of the trade mark Corn Thins is interesting not only because it deals with newly coined expressions and the issue of distinctiveness, but it also shows how a bit of common sense can go a long way ...

One of the biggest news reports in the region last week was the acquisition ofPorto Montenegro, the luxury yacht marina located in Tivat, by the View More

On Friday, April 27, 2016, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit declined to reevaluate the venue rules for patent litigation. In a closely watched case titled In re: TC Heartland LLC, petitioner TC Heartland requested that the Federal Circuit reshape patent litigation venue rules, and largely eliminate the ability of patent owners to file suit in popular venues like the Eastern District of Texas ...

The United States Supreme Court agreed on Monday, May 2, 2016 to hear argument on what one party called “the single most vexing, unresolved question in all of copyright”—determining when a feature of a “useful article” like clothing is eligible for copyright protection ...

Recently, the Texas Supreme Court issued two very important decisions on First Amendment law that could have a broad impact on media companies doing business in Texas. Both cases evolved from defamation claims filed by Salem Abraham, a school board member in Canadian, Texas. Read the full alert ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | April 2016

In the late 1980s, stories of garbage hauled in the same trucks regularly used to transport fruits and vegetables caused public outrage. Outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, including a salmonellosis outbreak that affected 224,000 consumers, have been attributed to contamination of transportation vehicles. Recently, a major U.S. foodservice distributor was penalized after its practice of storing seafood, milk and raw meat in unrefrigerated sheds was uncovered ...

So, I confess to being old enough to remember the ‘Do You Yahoo!’ television adverts of the 1990s… A certain comb over look that was replaced by a not insubstantial afro wig, a talking dolphin – ring any bells?Regardless, for many of us Yahoo! was the place where we started our online adventures ...

ENSafrica | April 2016

On 30 March 2016, a new Industrial Property Code (the “Code”) came into force in Mozambique. We draw your attention to the following noteworthy changes brought about by the Code: · The deadline for invalidating IP rights on the basis of prior conflicting rights has been shortened from one year to 90 days, calculated from the publication of the initial decision of the Industrial Property Institute (“IPI”) granting the IP right ...

ENSafrica | April 2016

A Chinese court recently ordered a Chinese company that had blatantly infringed one of the world’s better known trade marks to pay significant damages to the trade mark owner. African companies that have heeded their lawyers’ advice and registered their trade marks in China should take heart from this. The facts in this case are simple. The 3M Company has two Chinese trade mark registrations for the trade mark 3M ...

ENSafrica | April 2016

A recent European case in which Adidas successfully objected to a two-stripe device trade mark for footwear is interesting for us in Africa. For starters, it’s a welcome respite from the almost endless stream of bad news that we get from up north regarding non-traditional trade marks – shape trade marks seem to be having a particularly hard time at the moment ...

ENSafrica | April 2016

The Competition Tribunal has imposed a record penalty of R10-million for failure to notify the competition authorities of a merger ...

ENSafrica | April 2016

South African Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel, has announced that, from 1 May 2016, cartel conduct (price fixing, market allocation and collusive tendering) comprises criminal activity. Directors or persons with management responsibility who participate in cartel conduct or who are aware of cartel conduct and fail to take appropriate action can be criminally prosecuted ...

Karanovic & Partners | April 2016

Following onrecent newsregarding the mutual desire of both sides to improve the commercial relations between Slovenia and Serbia, there are now additional reports to substantiate these claims ...

Wardynski & Partners | April 2016

The fairly long waiting time for registration of trademarks at the Polish Patent Office often means that instead of seeking protection in Poland, businesses decide to register with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO, formerly OHIM). Although much more expensive, proceedings there are generally fast and simple. Major changes have now been made to Poland’s Industrial Property Law with the aim of making the Polish Patent Office more competitive with EUIPO ...

Haynes and Boone, LLP | April 2016

The unprecedented arrest of two public officials in connection with alleged municipal bond fraud further escalates the government’s relentless patrol of the municipal securities industry. On April 14, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed civil fraud charges against the town of Ramapo, New York, the Ramapo Local Development Corp ...