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) ...
The recent CIS v IBM decision touches on two topical issues in IT disputes: maintenance and replacement of legacy systems, and use of agile implementation methodologies. It is also a useful reminder of some important basics regarding the management of troubled IT projects. The case and the issues The claimant (Co-op) was the insurance business of the Co-op group ...
The use of AI systems and chatbots by employees and employers is gaining more and more foothold at workplaces. It is relevant for the employer to be aware of the regulation applicable to employees' use of AI systems and chatbots and to ensure that the employer's own use of AI systems takes place within the applicable regulation in terms of employment and personal data law. Use of AI Systems by Employees AI systems and chatbots are useful tools for employees ...
Experis, a global leader in IT professional resourcing, project services and managed services, recently conducted a survey of over 2000 British employers in relation to the employment outlook for 2023. In response, 54% of employers anticipate that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have a positive impact in headcount over the next 2 years ...
Those of us who grew up in the 70’s or 80’s may recall the excitement of Marty McFly wandering around in the then distant future of October 2015. Yes, 2015. Just over 5 years ago. ‘Where are the flying cars?!?’, you might be forgiven for asking. ‘And why don’t our Hover Boards, you know, hover?’ It's a common theme. George Orwell’s 1984 never happened as predicted and there’s no Big Brother watching us from a screen on the wall ...
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on December 4, 2018, inHelsinn Healthcare SA v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc.as to whether the “on-sale” bar under the America Invents Act (“AIA”) renders an inventor’s private sale to a third party as prior art for purposes of determining patentability. 35 U.S.C ...
Since it came into force on September 1, 2022, the Select Luxury Items Tax Act1 has caused quite a stir in the aviation industry. Many of those operating in the industry have voiced their discontent, claiming that the tax affects their competitiveness on the international stage. In general, the luxury tax applies to the sale, lease or import of certain aircraft costing more than $100,000 ...
The Indonesian aviation sector has grown rapidly over the past few years. Due to this, airlines and lessors have been capitalising on the general availability of diverse sources of funding. In particular, aircraft sale-leaseback or lease trans-actions are used more frequently due to competitive pricing and Indonesia has been trying to develop a legal framework to accommodate the financing and leasing of aircraft ...
In South Africa, the song Akanamali, sung by the artist Sun-El Musician and featuring Samthing Soweto, was one of the most popular songs of 2017. Towards the end of the year, South African financial services giant First National Bank (“FNB”) ran a campaign to promote its products and services. It called this campaign Akanamali and featured the hook of the song, which was about a lack of money ...
When Alabama’s Legislature convenes for its annual session on February 2, lawmakers will once again be asked to consider a bill that would provide certain Alabamians with access to medical cannabis ...
The August 2016 issue of the Asian Legal Business (ALB) Asia Edition includes a regional update by SyCipLaw partner Maria Teresa Mercado-Ferrer entitled “A Need to Clarify Powers of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and Local Government Units Relative to Peza-Registered BPO Companies”. The regional update can be found on page 15.Read the full ALB August 2016 issue for free ...
It has been almost two years since Republic Act No. 10667, otherwise known as the Philippine Competition Act (the PCA), took effect on August 8, 2015 ...
The November 2016 issue of the Asian Legal Business (ALB) includes a regional update article entitled “Evidentiary Issues in Arbitration”, contributed by SyCipLaw Partner Ramon G. Songco and Associate Arvin Kristopher A. Razon. The article enumerated and discussed the laws that aimed to address concerns in resolving disputes in arbitration, such as how evidence is presented, assessed for relevance and competence, and protected during arbitration proceedings ...
This post discusses the Alberta Court of Appeal's recent decision in Hannam v. Medicine Hat School District No. 76,[1] which stands as an emphatic reminder that the Supreme Court of Canada has directed courts to grant summary judgment when a fair and just determination can be made without a trial ...
For a long time, socialising at work was synonymous with drinking alcohol, but in recent times we have seen this trend start to shift. This is positive news for employers who risk social events centred around alcohol inadvertently isolating those to choose not to drink. With minimal alternatives available in the past, some employees have felt a certain pressure to drink at events to ‘keep up’ with colleagues ...
Companies subject to product liability lawsuits – and their counsel – know the importance of promptly examining whether the company is subject to general personal jurisdiction or specific personal jurisdiction of the forum court. A court with general personal jurisdiction over a defendant can hear any and all claims against that defendant. After the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Daimler AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct 746 (2014) and BSNF Railway Co. v ...
According to the fourth quarter 2001 report of Lodging Econometrics, the accelerated decline in the operating performance of the lodging industry will continue until the middle of the first quarter of 2002 due to the events of September 11, 2001 and the recession. Further, while the operating performance of the lodging industry may show signs of improvement by September of 2002, their effects may not be felt until the first quarter of 2003 ...
The recent media coverage of the ENRON crisis and the related Congressional investigations have combined to precipitate new discussions about the adequacy of corporate governance, accounting oversight and financial disclosures. As a result, there is a strong push afoot for new federal requirements in these areas primarily through new SEC regulations. We are again reminded that “bad facts make for bad law” and a crisis often leads to over reactions ...
To Our Public Company Clients: The SEC has adopted new rules that generally require domestic public companies to publicly disclose information regarding the potential share “overhang” that exists as a result of all of their equity compensation plans. The new rules affect Regulation S-K and S-B Items 201 and 601, Items 10 and 14 of Schedules 14A and 14C, as well as Item 12 of Form 10-K and Item 11 of Form 10-KSB ...
Resignation of Two Argentine Presidents. In late December 2001, Argentina saw the rare occurrence of the resignation of two Argentine Presidents. First, Fernando de la Rúa resigned after public protests to the administration’s economic policies resulted in civil unrest. Also resigning at the same time was his Minister of Economy Domingo Cavallo ...
To Our Public Company Clients: The Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of public companies with revenues in excess of $1.2 billion during the last fiscal year to certify personally under oath in writing that their company’s SEC filings are materially correct (the “Order”). See http://www.sec.gov/rules/other/4-460.htm ...
Introduction One of the important legislative initiatives for the Fox Administration was a tax reform package that could improve tax collection, while reducing the government’s historic reliance on Pemex for its tax revenues (typically approximately one-third) ...
