Mondaq Business Briefing back issues from December 2006:
Comparative Advertising In Canada - The Changing Landscape.
Dec 01, 2006 ... Article by Anthony Prenol, [c] 2006, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Intellectual Property, November 2006 When the Supreme Court of Canada released its decisions this summer in the Veuve Clicquot and Mattel cases (see The ...
Keays V. Honda: Court Of Appeal Lessens "Whack" Of Trial Judge's Punitive Damages Award, Though Impact Still Felt.(Honda Canada Inc.)(Kevin Keays)
Dec 01, 2006 ... In March of 2006, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded Kevin Keays a record $500,000 in punitive damages, in addition to 24 months pay in lieu of notice, after Honda terminated Keays' employment for frequent work absences due to chronic fatigue syndrome.1 On September 29, 2006, ...
KSR International v. Teleflex: U.S. Supreme Court Hears Argument On Test For Obviousness.(KSR International v. Teleflex)
Dec 01, 2006 ... On Tuesday, November 28, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in KSR International v. Teleflex, reviewing the Federal Circuit's "teaching suggestion or motivation" (TSM) test for obviousness. Several justices voiced concern over the Federal Circuit obviousness test; Justice ...
Anticipation Does Not Require Appreciation.(cases)
Dec 01, 2006 ... The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, reversing a bench ruling on the issue of validity, relied on the long-held rule that prior art compositions anticipate even when there was no knowledge of the relevant properties of the composition to find the patent-in-suit anticipated ....
Court Narrows Literal Construction, But Catches Infringer In Equivalence Net.(cases between Abraxis Bioscience, Inc., v. Mayne Pharma (USA) Inc., )
Dec 01, 2006 ... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the district court's claim construction and holding of literal infringement, but affirmed its holding that Mayne's generic product infringed Abraxis' (formerly AstraZeneca's) three patents covering DIPRIVAN. Abraxis Bioscience, ...
Movin' On Up: The Costs And Benefits Of Graduating To The TSX.(Toronto Stock Exchange)
Dec 01, 2006; ... Article by Martin Aquilina and Jonathan Gilhen (student-at-law) One of the biggest decisions a board of directors will face during the life of a corporation is the decision to go public. The board will weigh the benefits, such as improved access to capital and added liquidity ...
British Virgin Islands Hosts Successful Funds Seminar In London.(British Virgin Islands International Finance Centre)
Dec 01, 2006 ... December 1 2006: The British Virgin Islands International Finance Centre has hosted a successful seminar for London-based executives in the mutual and hedge fund industries. The private event, held at the newly refurbished William Kent House at The Ritz earlier this month, attracted some ...
Saving Acceptance Facilities For Everyone.
Dec 04, 2006 ... Key Point The Takeovers Panel has definitively declared that institutional acceptance facilities are an acceptable tool for takeover bids. The later stages of Toll's bid for Patrick saw a Takeovers Panel challenge to Toll's institutional acceptance facility. ...
Border Measures In Malaysia.(trade agreement)
Dec 04, 2006 ... Introduction Combating counterfeit goods has been one of the most talked about issues in the Intellectual Property ('IP') industry for the past few years. This issue is very relevant in present times when many countries are moving towards globalisation and international trade ....
Setting Up A Branch In Switzerland.(finance business entrepreneurs)
Dec 04, 2006 ... When establishing any kind of business in Switzerland, the first - sometimes only - suggestion made to entrepreneurs by their financial or fiduciary advisers is to set up a joint stock company. Would be entrepreneurs will be offered standard bye-laws and regulations, directors domiciled in ...
Rural Succession- Be Wary Of Your Children.(Parents responsibility)
Dec 04, 2006 ... You work hard building up the family property.You make sacrifices to educate your children, some stay to help you on the property and others move away to greener pastures, to the city or overseas. Some children don't go just because they want to but often because the family farm ...
The Challenges Of Trade Mark Protection In China.(Intellectual property rights)
Dec 04, 2006 ... China is still the world's leading producer of pirated goods - from DVDs to clothing, from sports goods to construction materials. China introduced patent, copyright and trade mark laws and signed various treaties concerning IP rights in the early 1980s. Since then China has ...
Credit Checks- Know Your Rights.
Dec 04, 2006; ... Have you ever applied for credit, whether that credit is in the form of a loan, a credit card or even a hire purchase agreement? Or are you in the business of providing credit? If so, the new Credit Reporting Privacy Code will affect you. As New Zealanders' love affair with ...
Phone Driving- To Use Or Not To Use.(road safety regulation)
Dec 04, 2006 ... Phone Driving - all of us have heard about phone driving, drivers brought to book, fined, having their hand phones forfeited, and suffering 12 demerit points entered against their driving record. What is actually prohibited by the law? This article seeks to distinguish "old ...
Focus on Technology, November 2006 - Sun Microsystems Shines New Light on Open Source Software: Effectively Managing the Risks of Using Open Source Software.
Dec 04, 2006 ... Sun Microsystems Shines New Light on Open Source Software: Effectively Managing the Risks of Using Open Source Software On November 13, 2006, Sun Microsystems ("Sun") announced that it would be releasing the source code of its implementations of Java technology as free software ...
Isle Of Man Poised To Be Europe's Corporate Capital Of Choice.
Dec 04, 2006 ... The Isle of Man has enjoyed continuous economic growth for over two decades while at the same time introducing zero business tax, radically reforming its company law and maintaining a 'triple A' credit rating. ANDREW ASHWORTH of Abacus Trust - one of the Island's many success stories, with ...
Trademark Protection In Canada: Are You Official Or Are You "Famous".
Dec 04, 2006; ... A substantially similar article was originally published in IP & Technology Programme, October 2006. At first glance, official marks and famous marks appear to have little in common. In spite of a seeming lack of commonality, however, they do share one very important attribute: ...
The Backlog Of The MIIP And The Federal Courts: One Of The Major Problems For The Industrial Property Litigation In Mexico.(Mexican Institute of Industrial Property )
Dec 04, 2006; ... The Mexican Industrial Property (IP) Litigation system is divided in three general instances/stages that in some cases could be increased to four instances/stages. This structure implies, in a first situation, that a final decision in IP litigation could be obtained after a long time since ...
Tax Accounting Review - Year-End Tax Planning Guide.(tax rules)
Dec 04, 2006 ... By the Tax Accounting Group of Duane Morris With tax law constantly changing, new tax-savings strategies are always emerging and this year is no exception. One wrinkle in planning for this year is that the much anticipated "extender package" has not yet been passed by Congress ....
Combined Cogeneration (and Chiller) Construction Projects.(Cogeneration power plants construction)
Dec 04, 2006 ... It has been said that smaller on-site cogeneration plant construction projects have many of the challenges of larger power plant projects but on leaner budgets. This may be an exaggeration, but it embodies the point that smaller projects can be complex. The reality is that very few large ...
Office Holders' Remuneration.
Dec 04, 2006; ... It is not often that office holders' remuneration comes before a court. For many sorts of office holder there are provisions for the remuneration to be agreed with a committee or the creditors generally. SIP 9 provides guidance on the information to be provided to such bodies. In the last ...
Real Estate Investment Trusts: Draft Guidance Published.
Dec 04, 2006 ... On 30 November 2006 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published draft guidance on the UK Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) regime. This represents HMRC's view on how the legislation (contained in the Finance Act 2006 and regulations made on 1 November 2006) will be interpreted and applied by ...
Go Medical Specification Didn't Go Far Enough.(Go Medical Indus. Pty Ltd. v. Inmed Corp.)
Dec 04, 2006; ... Addressing the issues of whether one must satisfy the best mode requirement in the first application to enjoy the priority date of that filing and what criteria must be met by a licensee seeking to invoke the Lear doctrine, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the ...
New California Laws Impacting Employers In 2007.(employers benefits law)
Dec 04, 2006 ... The 2006 session of the California Legislature produced several new bills which will impact the state's private sector employers in the coming year. Below is an overview of the bills, signed by the Governor, which we view as the most significant. These laws will become effective January ...
Doing Business In The USA: Selecting The Form Of Business Enterprise In The U.S.
Dec 04, 2006 ... I. Forms of Business Entities in the U.S. An investor from outside the United States may choose among a variety of company structures to do business in the U.S. The main forms are: Corporation: either a U.S. subsidiary or a U.S. branch of a non-U.S. corporation. ...
Doing Business In The USA: Immigration Law.(US visa requirements)
Dec 04, 2006 ... Introduction Foreign employers who wish to send personnel to the United States either for business meetings or to work for extended periods of time must obtain visas for their employees. There are two main visa categories: Nonimmigrant visas-these ...
Doing Business In The USA: Antitrust And Unfair Competition.(Federal Trade Commission Act)
Dec 04, 2006 ... The antitrust laws of the United States are intended to protect competition-that is, their purpose is to insure a competitive economy and to prevent the exercise of excessive control of a market by any particular business entity. The principal antitrust laws include the Sherman Antitrust ...
Follow The Local Rules -- Carefully!(non-infringement rules)(02 Micro International Limited v. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.)
Dec 04, 2006 ... In a second case in less than four weeks where a party literally lost its claim on a failure to adhere to a procedural order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment of non-infringement based on a district court's insistence on adherence to ...
Don't Be Caught Holding An Empty Bag -- Put Adverse Party On Notice Of All Theories.(cases of pharmaceutical industry)
Dec 04, 2006 ... In a recent decision reflecting its substantial deference to district courts' application of their own procedural rules, even when the result is termination of the case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a patent infringement case after plaintiff's ...
It's Official: Thelen Reid And Brown Raysman Now One Firm.(Thelen Reid's Stephen V. O'Neal and Brown)
Dec 04, 2006 ... SAN FRANCISCO AND NEW YORK (December 1, 2006)-Thelen Reid & Priest LLP, a national leader in construction, energy, and project finance law, and Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP, a pioneer in technology law with one of the country's premier real estate finance practices, began ...
Impact Of The Residential Property (Amendment) Act 2006.
Dec 05, 2006 ... The Residential Property (Amendment) Act 2006 (Act 9 of 2006) ("RPA Changes") came into effect on 31 March 2006. The RPA Changes have advantages all round for developers and home purchasers. It has also simplified some of the procedures for submission of documents. The key ...
Redundancy - Getting It Right.(evaluation of employee rights)
Dec 05, 2006 ... In the past six months the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court have issued several decisions about redundancy. The prevalence of redundancy cases serve as a timely reminder that a redundancy must be justified and carried out in a procedurally fair manner. The following ...
China's First Taxation Policies On Asset-Backed Securities Released.
Dec 05, 2006 ... In March 2005, China kicked off the experiment on securitization of credit assets, which allowed banks to sell their credit assets through issuing the securities in the capital market for refinancing. It was regarded as an important step in China's financial reforms with the aim of ...
Intermune's CIA Signals OIG's Expectations For Pharma Promotional Activity.(corporate integrity agreement, Office of Inspector General )
Dec 05, 2006 ... Executive Summary Action: Pharma manufacturers may face federal civil False Claims Act liability for causing false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs, even though they submit no such claims themselves. In addition, these manufacturers may also face criminal ...
Gathering Evidence In The Cayman Islands To Support Proceedings Elsewhere.
Dec 05, 2006 ... Gathering evidence in the Cayman Islands is governed by the Evidence (Proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) (Cayman Islands) Order 1978 (SI 1978/1890) (the 1978 Order). The 1978 Order extended to the Cayman Islands the provisions of the Evidence (Proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975, ...
International Client Alert, November 2006.(Bureau of Industry and Security fined EP MedSystems Inc.)
Dec 05, 2006; ... BIS Fines EP Medsystems For Filing Voluntary Disclosure A settlement agreement entered into between EP MedSystems and the Bureau of Industry and Security ("BIS") on November 3 does little to refute the common wisdom that companies should never file a voluntary disclosure with ...
Green Light For LNG Into Singapore.(Liquefied natural gas)
Dec 05, 2006 ... Following an extensive feasibility study, the Singapore Energy Market Authority (EMA) has released a final report regarding the importation of LNG into Singapore which recommends the development of an LNG receiving terminal in Singapore with significant private sector involvement. ...
CMS Takes Another Step Toward Achieving Price And Quality Transparency.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
Dec 05, 2006 ... On November 20, 2006, as part of its Health Care Consumer Initiatives, CMS posted to its website detailed Medicare payment information for certain common services provided by physicians and outpatient hospital departments. This data follows the posting of similar hospital inpatient data in ...
Victorian E-Conveyancing Proposals.(Australia )
Dec 05, 2006 ... On 21 August 2006 the first ever electronic lodgement of a discharge of mortgage occurred in Victoria. Victoria is piloting electronic conveyancing. At this stage the proposals are limited to electronic settlements and the rest of conveyancing practice will remain unchanged. ...
Consultation Draft Reforms To Retirement Villages Act NSW Announced.
Dec 05, 2006 ... On 23 November 2006, the Minister for Fair Trading tabled a consultation draft bill to amend the Retirement Villages Act NSW (the Act). The amendments implement many, but not all, of the 50 recommendations made by the Office of Fair Trading in March 2005. There are a number of ...
Government Of Canada Announces Clean Air Act.
Dec 05, 2006 ... General Approach The government will be enacting a regime that proposes to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and air pollution. The government intends to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 and implement regulations that aim to decrease human made sources of air ...
The Independent Contractors Bill 2006.
Dec 05, 2006 ... In Australia there are a significant number of independent contractors, with estimates ranging from 800,000 to 2 million. The Federal Government has long criticised the states for their legal arrangements governing contractors. The criticism comes from the fact that state laws drag ...
Workplace Relations And Employment Law.
Dec 05, 2006; ... By Heinz Lepahe and Claire Cooper All the latest on unfair dismissals There has been a lot of media coverage about the Howard Government's changes to unfair dismissal laws. Unfair dismissal remedies are no longer available to employees terminated by a "constitutional ...
Limitation of Liability For Pennsylvania Architects.
Dec 05, 2006 ... Indemnification provisions are frequently utilized in construction contracts to shift the liability for loss from one contracting party to another.1 Under Pennsylvania law, such provisions are generally valid and enforceable with a notable exception.2 Under s. 491 of the Pennsylvania ...
Diversification Rights and Notice Requirement for Retirement Plans With Investment In Employer Securities-IRS Delays Date For Providing Notice And Issues Model Notice.
Dec 05, 2006 ... As we previously reported, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (the "Act") made significant changes to the laws governing retirement plans. While the effective dates of many of these changes are staggered over the next several years, there are two related changes that are effective almost ...
Illinois Title Insurers No Longer Liable For Faulty Title Commitments.
Dec 05, 2006 ... In the construction industry, many parties routinely rely upon title commitments to determine the current state of title. Lenders, contractors and lien claimants may request title commitments ancillary to entering into agreements with the property owner or when enforcing their rights ...
Ohio Voters Approve Smoking Ban And An Increase In Minimum Wage.
Dec 05, 2006 ... After a heated election campaign, with both sides devoting considerable resources to promoting their respective positions, Ohio voters approved two new pieces of legislation affecting Ohio employers. Ohio voters approved a new statute providing for an almost complete smoking ban in public ...
Two-Part Inquiry Required To Determine Whether An Issue Is Referable To Arbitration.
Dec 05, 2006 ... The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, applying Ninth Circuit law to the issue of arbitrability of a defense, vacated a district court's denial of stay of litigation pending arbitration finding it had not performed the correct inquiry for arbitrability. Qualcomm, Inc. v. Nokia ...
A Rose (Or Grass) By Any Other Name...(United States Court of Appeals affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's refusal to register the mark "Rebel" for grass seed)
Dec 05, 2006 ... The U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in affirming the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's (the Board) refusal to register the mark "Rebel" for grass seed, agreed that the mark is a generic designation for such seed. In re Pennington Seed, Inc., Case No. 06-1133 (Fed. Cir., ...
Buying Online - Some Practical Issues For Buyers.
Dec 05, 2006 ... Most companies now trade online so it is important that buyers understand their legal position. Online contracts may be created in a number of ways but generally they are carried out by email exchange or via a supplier's website. The first question which may come to mind is ...
"Progressive Encroachment" Does Not Justify A Quarter Century Of Delay.(Tillamook Country Smoker )
Dec 05, 2006 ... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a laches defense where the senior user had knowledge of the junior user's activities, acquiesced in the junior user's use and only acted when, after 25 years, the channels of trade of the products of both users merged in the ...
Human Resources Management In A Hot Economic Climate.
Dec 05, 2006 ... When No Longer in the Driver's Seat - How To Craft or Revise Enforceable Employment Contracts Introduction One of the best principles of leadership I have heard is: "Treat every employee like a volunteer." In a hot economy, combined with a mobile workforce ...
Smoking Ban To Come Into Force 1 July 2007.
Dec 05, 2006 ... All enclosed public places and workplaces will become smokefree from 1st July 2007. The implementation of the smoke-free elements of the Health Act 2006 will mean that virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces will become smoke-free environments. This will include ...
Cartel Law Amendment 2005.
Dec 05, 2006 ... It has only been three years since the Austrian cartel law was last amended. Whereas at that time the focus was on the creation of new authorities (Federal Competition Authority and Federal Cartel Prosecutor) and procedural changes, the new amendment primarily concerns substantive issues ....
Insolvency Practitioners Should Strike Early To Strike Out.
Dec 05, 2006 ... Following a liquidation or other insolvency procedure, insolvency practitioners may find themselves in the line of fire from disappointed claimants. As a result IPs, are often the targets for complaints and subsequently, litigation; in many respects this goes with the territory. Defending ...
Securities Law : A Guide To The Hong Kong Code On Takeovers And Mergers.
Dec 05, 2006 ... Introduction The Hong Kong Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Takeovers Code") regulates takeovers and mergers in Hong Kong and applies to public companies and companies with a primary listing of their equity securities in Hong Kong. The primary purpose of the ...
Lawyers Appeal Death Sentence For Alabama Inmate.
Dec 06, 2006; ... By Peter Racher and Donna Marron The American Bar Association's Death Penalty Representation Project seeks volunteer counsel to pursue post-conviction appeals for indigent inmates on death row who are without state-funded counsel. While proponents of the Death Penalty Project ...
A Comparative Study Of The Chinese Patent Law Practice.
Dec 06, 2006; ... PATENT LITIGATION Over the past few decades, many high-profile patent infringement cases have been litigated in the U.S. courts. After years of judicial practice and academic research, the U.S. has developed a set of legal doctrines on almost any patent-related dispute. These ...
Employers' New Headache: SF's Paid Sick Leave Law.(analysis of employers law )
Dec 06, 2006 ... On November 7, San Francisco voters approved the first law in the nation mandating that employers provide paid sick leave to all employees. The law is effective February 5, 2007. Proposition F provides an important benefit to employees, but poses several vexing and unresolved questions ...
Legal Project Management - Developing And Managing The Scope Of Work, Schedule, Budget And Communications For Legal Transactions And Dispute Resolution.
Dec 06, 2006; ... Managing a legal matter, whether it's a transaction or a dispute, can be equally as important as executing the actual legal work. Attention to both management and execution will help to ensure that client needs and expectations are met in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner ....
Theory Into Action - Calculating Damages Payments And Accounts Of Profits In Patent Cases.
Dec 06, 2006; ... It is all well and good to be encouraged to apply and obtain for patent protection. The main remedies for patent infringement are a narrow injunction to prevent future instances of the infringement, and either damages or an account of profits. In this article, we examine the measure of ...
Remoteness Not An Element Of "Innocent Use" In The Ninth Circuit.(Quicksilver Inc. v. Kymsta Corp.)
Dec 06, 2006 ... Addressing for the first time the issue of whether remoteness is a requirement of innocent use under the Lanham Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that it was not. The court added that incorporating a remoteness requirement into the law was the job of Congress, not ...
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Preemption Case Concerning National Bank Operating Subsidiary.
Dec 06, 2006 ... Contents: Developments of Note U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Preemption Case Concerning National Bank Operating Subsidiary FRB Issues Final and Proposed Amendments to Regulation E OCC Issues Interpretive Letter Concerning Application ...
Update - Postponement Of New ERISA Notice Requirement.(Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)
Dec 06, 2006; ... As we explained in our recent Legal Update (see New ERISA Notice Requirement May Require Action by December 2, 2006, November 2006), the Pension Protection Act of 2006 ("PPA") creates new diversification rights for participants in retirement plans that permit or require investments in ...
The Amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Four Essentials You Should Know.
Dec 06, 2006 ... On December 1, 2006, certain of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to provide consistent ground rules for parties dealing with Electronically Stored Information ("ESI") in discovery. Everyone talks about the amendments in the abstract, but you may still be wondering what ...