On June 1, 2022, both the EU and UK introduced new regulations providing a safe harbour (“Block Exemption”) for certain classes of restrictions in vertical distribution agreements. These changes would replace expiring old regulations. New Vertical Guidelines have also been issued by the European Commission, which is intended to be read alongside VBER to provide further guidance and clarity to businesses.  In the UK, the CMA is planning to do the same for VBEO. The CMA and the EU...

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As part of its 2022 Convergence Report, the European Commission finally paved the way for Croatia to enter the eurozone. After years on the side lines, the country may now become the twentieth country to join the EU’s common currency. Since joining the European Union as the, at the time, 28th Member State on 1 July 2013, Croatia has been on a steady path of aligning its economic, fiscal and monetary policy to that of the European Central Bank. While, technically, all...

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COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated our expectations that virtual connection can deliver better and more economical care. As a result, digital health companies have an unprecedented opportunity to innovate, but with that opportunity also comes significant regulatory challenges related to the collection and processing of personal health information. What legal requirements apply to the processing of health information? What are the risks associated with noncompliance? In this brief primer, we provide answers to these questions, and a window to what...

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Bans to Cover Luxury Goods, Commercial, Industrial, Medical and Laboratory Equipment and Materials On Friday May 20, 2022, Canada announced amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations, which were registered and entered into force on May 18, 2022. Notably, these amendments substantially expand the scope of purchase and sale restrictions imposed on Russia to broader categories of goods and new industries. A detailed summary of current sanctions related to the Russia/Ukraine conflict can be found in our previous insight, "Canadian...

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This article from ICLG - Anti Money Laundering was published in May 2022. The entire publication is available at: https://iclg.com/practice-areas/anti-money-laundering-laws-and-regulations/7-impacts-of-covid-19-and-the-increasing-use-of-technology-for-financial-institutions The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities at many banks and financial institutions that increased money laundering activity. A report from the Financial Action Task Force found that criminals were exploiting conditions during the pandemic to bypass customer due diligence, misuse online financial services, exploit economic stimulus programs, and misappropriate financial aid - all increasing the risk of corruption and money...

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This article is part of Portolano Cavallo’s “INFORM@Digital & IP” Newsletter. Click here to subscribe | On April 26, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “Court”) delivered its judgment (full text of the decision accessible here) in case C-401/19 – Poland vs. European Parliament and Council, concerning the validity of Article 17 Directive (EU) 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (full text accessible here – the “DSM Copyright Directive”). 1. Article 17 DSM Copyright...

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The USTR has announced that it is further extending certain China 301 exclusions that had been put in place and/or previously extended to help address the COVID-19 pandemic. The 81 exclusions at issue, which had been extended through May 31, 2022, are now being further extended through November 30, 2022. The extensions are effective for goods entered on or after June 1, 2022. We have prepared the below schedule of the COVID-19 exclusions that are impacted by this announcement.  The...

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We are pleased to announce the appointment of Catherine Kelly (Tríona) as a partner in our Employment & Benefits and Education teams. With one of the largest employment law teams in Ireland, Tríona’s promotion further underscores our depth and breadth of expertise. Tríona has over 20 years of experience in employment law specialising in the area of education. She works closely with education institutions and employers advising them on a range of complex matters. She regularly appears before the Courts,...

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In this two-part series, we take an in-depth look at how the shifting economic outlook and interest rate environment will impact the future trajectory of property values. As strong headwinds continue to collide with strong tailwinds, the macroeconomic environment is becoming increasingly complex for real estate investors to navigate. In this first part, we review the historical relationship between the economy, inflation, interest rates and commercial real estate price movements. The second part will take the learnings from part one and analyze...

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On 1 June 2022, the Belgian law transposing the EU directives on certain aspects of contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services (2019/770) and for the sale of goods (2019/771) will enter into force, thereby ushering in a number of changes. In brief Consumer law will be modernised in order to take into account the development of the digital market and to harmonise the rules on the supply of digital content and digital services. In particular, the two-year...

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