In an uncertain market, there is often a renewed emphasis from investors not just on liquidity and rate of return on property investment opportunities, but also on the structuring of legal interests and the ability to ‘exit’ from a scheme ...
ossibly the most confusing issue in trade mark law is this: when are two trade marks confusingly similar? We’ll discuss two recent European trade mark judgments which hopefully don’t add to the confusion. THE MILEY CYRUS CASE Is the trade mark MILEY CYRUS confusingly similar to the trade mark CYRUS? That’s the issue that the European Union General Court had to grapple with recently ...
South African readers will know that Meghan Markle was a recent visitor to our shores. Meghan’s husband Prince Harry came too, but people weren’t too interested in him. As far as I am aware, Meghan had no problems with the South African press. She also had no copyright issues in South Africa. So, a far cry from what she is experiencing right now in the UK, her adopted home. Meghan is now involved in legal proceedings with the Mail on Sunday, a major British newspaper ...
View a PDF of the November 2018 Edition of the Haynes and Boone Media, Entertainment and First Amendment Newsletter. Must Websites Comply With the ADA? Website ADA compliance litigation is all the rage, manifesting itself as an epidemic of “website drive-by lawsuits.” Beyond the litigation controversy, the issue is whether websites must be accessible to the visually-impaired via screen reader software to comply with the ADA. Circuit Courts are split ...
Fox News v. TVEyes Shows Fair-Use Defense Remains Risky Business “It seems to me that if there were any logic to our language, trust would be a four letter word ...
The Libel Suit Strikes Back Much has changed since 1972 when reporters Woodward and Bernstein exposed President Nixon of wrongdoing. Through their extraordinary reporting, the public learned of “dirty tricks,” criminal actions and a cover-up led by this country’s leaders inside the White House. All resources available to these reporters including unnamed sources of information provided details that fueled these stories ...
2016 proved eventful on both the political stage and in the world of media and entertainment law, and sometimes the two worlds even collided. The year saw its share of high profile media lawsuits, favorable Congressional actions, and, of course, a presidential election like none other. Here are ten stories that made an impact in 2016 and will likely continue to impact media and entertainment law for years to come ...
Media organisations and journalists will now need to be more cautious when entering into contracts with third parties for interviews and information, following the decision of the High Court in ACCC v Seven Network. The court held that section 65A of the Trade Practices Act (TPA) will not afford protection to a media organisation against section 52 of the TPA when it engages in chequebook journalism ...
At this moment it makes sense to publish a newsletter exclusively on issues related with the Media sector, not only due to the circumstance that it is a sector that has deserved front page coverage in the Media, particularly in relation to the acquisition movements verified (we need only recall the recent assignment of 49% of the equity of SIC, of 100% of the equity of Lusomundo Serviços or of the put option of a significant part of the equity of Media Capital) but also to the recent legislative
We would like to inform you that several laws, that will have a significant impact on IT and data protection regulation, were adopted at the end of 2020 (“Amendments”). Further rules for blacklisting Internet resources The first amendment to Russian law is aimed at securing guarantees, for citizens’ rights, to freely search, access and disseminate information ...
On 6 April 2020, the Government approved a bill on certain measures to mitigate the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic on the tourism sector. On 8 April 2020, the bill will be discussed by the Chamber of Deputies Committee for Public Administration and Regional Development and subsequently by the Chamber of Deputies. The Act applies to package tours starting on 20 February 2020 through to 31 August 2020 ...
In a landmark decision, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (‘EUIPO’) has ruled that McDonald’s, one of the world’s largest fast food chains, will lose its EU trade mark for “Big Mac” ...
Metro Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced a detailed plan for the staged reopening of restaurants, bars and music venues, as soon as May 1. The real question is: will anyone reopen their dining room on May 1st? You can read the entire Roadmap here. Initial reactions do not look good if you are in the market for a sitdown meal on May 1 ...
Last week, Shoosmiths hosted an event by The Fashion Network titled ‘AI in Fashion Retail: Mastering the Future of the Style business’. During this event we heard from fashion industry leaders on how the retail sector is seeking to revolutionise their businesses using cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technologies ...
By choice or regulation, the future of the maritime industry bends toward decarbonization. The industry contributes (by one estimate) almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and depends on one of the dirtiest energy sources, bunker fuel. But cleaner alternatives are on the horizon for everyone. Companies that commit to decarbonization early have an opportunity to drive change instead of reacting to it ...
A key concern for shipowners and lenders will be where to register these new vessels. In this briefing, we consider three factors that usually influence the choice of flag state: (1) financing considerations, (2) recognition for the flag and (3) speed, responsiveness and certainty. Introduction Choosing the flag state where a ship will be registered requires balancing different factors ...
The increasing number of recalls of consumer products in recent years is indicative of a trend that has raised concerns for governmental authorities. In response, the Canadian government announced, on April 8, 2008, a reform of the existing legislation to strengthen the protection of human health and safety. The first step was the introduction of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (Bill C-52) and the second, the reform (Bill C-51) of the Food and Drugs Act (R.S.C ...
One of the objectives of Product Oversight and Governance requirements is for manufacturers and distributors of an insurance or investment product to take into consideration the interests of customers when designing and /or distributing the relevant product ...
We are proud to be sponsoring a networking reception that will be held at the Guildhall in the City of London on the 4th of December 2023, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Katya Tua, Edmond Zammit Laferla and Michael Psaila will be attending the event. 
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has proposed sweeping changes to the popular “short-form” Proposition 65 warning. On January 8, 2021, OEHHA issued a proposal to amend Article 6 “Clear and Reasonable Warnings” Section 25601. This Article sets forth “safe harbor” warning methods, including warnings for consumer product exposures ...
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that luxury brand owners can use their trade mark rights to prevent licensees selling goods to discount stores in breach of licence. Facts In 2000, Dior entered into a trade mark licence with Societe Industrielle Lingerie (SIL) for the manufacture and distribution of corseted clothing bearing the 'Christian Dior' trade mark ...
An important piece of regulation has been introduced in Montenegro recently, through the reduction of VAT on catering services in four stars hotels (in the north of the country) and five-star hotels (on the seaside), which will be effective from 2018 ...
The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has ruled that Christian Louboutin’s famous red sole does not consist solely of ashape that significantly increases the value of aproduct, and therefore can be registered as atrademark. This is an important victory for the fashion designer in the long-running battle concerning red-soled shoes ...
