With the rise of DALL-E 2, Midjourney and others, AI powered tools are becoming more capable and impressive. Brands have started to use these tools for marketing campaigns such as BMW’s advertising campaign for the 8 Series Gran Coupé, where the car became a canvas for an AI-powered robot artist ...
New anti-harassment law in time for new virus panic. The COVID-19 crisis that began in Wuhan, China, brings to mind earlier epidemics. In 2003, we were in the grip of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars). It was the first pandemic in the era of the Internet, blogging and social media. Amid the panic about infections, one individual was widely labelled a “super spreader”. Her name and personal details were published ...
The liability of online platforms relating to infringing IP material that appears on their platforms is an interesting topic. Who is liable for infringing material that appears on online platforms, the person who posts the material or the online platform? This was recently considered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in two separate cases. Some preliminary points Copyright news in South Africa these days is scant ...
Introduction: Lawyers as Stewards of a Noble Profession In the final scenes of the movie “A Few Good Men” – one of the great classics of legal cinema – under dramatic, but extremely risky cross-examination by Lt. Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise), Col. Nathan Jessup (played by Jack Nicholson) admitted to directing the kind of “Code Red” discipline which led to the unintentional death of a Marine stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba ...
Whither Advance Ruling under Income tax law? ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is an adage that applies equally to litigation - specially to tax litigation. Towards this end and based on several committee reports starting from Wanchoo Committee (1971) to Choksi Committee (1978) and Raja Chelliah Committee (1993), the Government eventually introduced a mechanism for advance rulings by inserting a new Chapter XIX-B in Income Tax Act 1961 (the Act) ...
The White House recently issued a report outlining potential incentives that may be available to companies that adopt the voluntary cybersecurity framework currently being developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (the “Framework”). Both the incentives program and the Framework are being developed pursuant to the February executive order aimed at improving the cybersecurity of America’s critical infrastructure (read our prior coverage of the executive order here) ...
On October 7, 2022, the White House released its National Strategy for the Arctic Region, further developing the federal government’s approach to the northernmost region, which is under intergovernmental purview. The document is an update to a policy released in 2013, and is intended to express the federal government’s “affirmative U.S ...
The Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by the former general counsel of a clinical laboratory because the counsel disclosed confidential information in violation of state ethics rules. In Fair Labor Practices Associates v. Quest Diagnostics Inc., 2013 WL 5763181 (2nd Cir. Oct ...
This is the third in a mini-series of articles looking at whistleblowing claims. This article looks at the importance of having whistleblowing policies in the workplace. Having a clear and cohesive whistleblowing policy in place assists employees with making whistleblowing complaints in a correct and compliant way and enables employers to handle them effectively in response ...
In our fourth article on whistleblowing claims we focus on the need, in sensitive situations where concerns of serious (and perhaps even criminal) wrongdoing are raised, for the complaint to be dealt with confidentially and/or anonymously where possible ...
Blowing a whistle remains the most effective means of being heard above the crowd and drawing attention to an issue. Speaking up can help charities to do their work even better. The relevance of whistleblowing to charities A private member’s bill is wending its way through Parliament at the moment, looking to establish an Office of the Whistleblower ...
Facilitating whistleblowing and supporting those who do raise concerns is a very important health check for charities, who are judged not just on the basis of what they do, but also how they do it, and who need to remain mindful of “walking the talk ...
In the final instalment in our series of articles looking at whistleblowing claims, we look at types of whistleblowing claims and their potential remedy at an employment tribunal. Previously we looked at what amounts to a protected disclosure, how clear and effective policies in place helps employers to handle protected disclosures and the handling of complaints confidentially and/or anonymously ...
Can a company collect data about a (potential) infection with COVID-19? Both, in case of information on a suspected case and in a confirmed case, special categories of personal data are processed. Whether a company may process such health data of employees, customers, suppliers or other third parties is exclusively governed by Art 9 GDPR ...
Belgium is a complex country and many authorities have jurisdiction The Federal government is in charge of emergency planning. It can activate a federal stage emergency planning in which case the Federal Minister of the Interior has exceptional authority and can coordinate the emergency activities. As announced at a press conference on Thursday 12 March 2020, at about 10 pm, this federal stage has been activated ...
In the second instalment of The Fintech Times' ‘Where to Relocate’ series, we turn the spotlight to the Cayman Islands as a VASP-friendly jurisdiction. Situated in the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands offer a unique blend of regulatory excellence, technological innovation, and a commitment to fostering the growth of digital assets ...
Taking agricultural land out of production to offset the impact of nitrate pollution from housing can generate income for its owner and benefit developers and local authorities. The problem Nitrogen and Phosphorus are essential nutrients for plants. Used as fertilisers they boost growth and increase crop yields. They are also a pollutant ...
Americans have increasingly accepted meat and dairy alternatives as staples in their daily diets. For example, recent market research shows that two out of every five U.S. consumers plan to purchase plant-based meat products in 2023. The prevalence of these forms of alternative protein has set the stage for a semantic — and potentially paradigm-shifting — dispute over the very meaning of the terms "meat," "milk" and "dairy ...
The Renters (Reform) Bill was given its first reading in May 2023 after five years of consultation and refinement. The Bill seeks to provide greater flexibility and security for residential tenants in England by imposing additional restrictions and obligations on private landlords. The reforms also look to improve the leasehold system through increased regulation, digitisation and standardisation. A noticeable omission from the Bill, however, is an exemption for private lettings to students ...
To give effect to the constitutional right to privacy, on 20 August 2013, the National Assembly passed the Protection of Personal Information Bill (B9D of 2009), which is largely based on the European Data Protection Directive (to be replaced in due course by the stricter General Data Protection Regulation). The Bill was signed into law by the President on 19 November 2013 and was gazetted as the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPI”) on 26 November 2013 ...
Key Points The FDA will exercise enforcement discretion when Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels (a) exclude allulose from Total Sugars and Added Sugars declarations, and (b) use as low as 0.4 kcal/g for allulose calorie count; but allulose must be included as a Total Carbohydrate. Allulose is a basic form of carbohydrate that is naturally occurring in a variety of sweet foods, such as raisins, maple syrup, and brown sugar ...
A director should seriously consider resigning in the following situations:• in the case of a material contravention of the law or violation of the corporation’s by-laws, its shareholders agreement or the corporation’s undertakings, if the contravention is not rectified promptly;• in the case of bankruptcy or insolvency, if the director is unable to obtain adequate protection from the trustee, the corporation’s creditors or other third parties;• if the corporation or the Boar
