EU co-legislators reach agreement on gas market reform This week, Members of the European Parliament and the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU reached a provisional deal on the ongoing reform of the EU’s gas market. The main objectives of the new reform are to address climate change and energy security. It aims to help decarbonise the EU by supporting increasing renewable gas and hydrogen production and integrating them into the EU's energy networks. It will also help secure the energy...

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This time last year there was optimism that a 2022 year-end fix would be passed by Congress and Section 174 research capitalization would be deferred or eliminated altogether. Instead, Congress failed to act and tax year 2022 proved to be one of the most challenging for taxpayers subject to Section 174. Aside from the increases to taxable income that plagued taxpayers, the glaring lack of guidance under Section 174’s new capitalization regime made navigating the law change exceedingly difficult. In...

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In this week’s Roar: a new Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure, confused shippers in the EU, air operators flying high, a shrinking pool of container boxes, and benchmark diesel prices continue to fall. Cyber Monday brought some upgrades to the Department of Transportation—a new Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy. With $2m in funding for the current fiscal year and a request for $7.3m for the next, the aim is to maintain and improve U.S. supply chains. Announced by...

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Mike Tyson famously quipped, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth," highlighting the stark difference between theory and reality. This rings especially true in today's digital battleground, where companies are learning the hard way. The surge in cyberattacks isn't just a fleeting concern; it's a knock-out blow to unprepared systems. According to the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report, over half of the 5,000+ companies surveyed in 2023 have already felt this punch, facing one or more...

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The past 12 months have seen some interesting developments in several distinct areas of intellectual property law. Among the most important developments were emerging trade mark protection issues for well-known literary characters coming out of copyright. There was also a surge of trade mark litigation regarding the area of copycat advertising and packaging. We look back on some popular insights from our award-winning Intellectual Property team on these developments. Lidl and Tesco Caught in a Vicious Circle One of the biggest developments of...

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Sika acquires a stake of 30% in Concria Oy, a Finnish startup company specializing in highly innovative concrete floors. Concria has developed a new technology for concrete flooring, offering a wide range of advantages to contractors, architects, and property owners. Sika’s global network and complementary product portfolio will provide an attractive growth platform. Concria has developed an excellent technology that represents a novel approach to concrete floor installation and polishing. It includes special dry shake hardeners as well as a...

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We are writing to inform you of a new regulation under the federal Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) that, for the first time, will require disclosure of information about all corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships (unless exempt) and personal information about their beneficial owners as well as personal information about the persons who form those entities. This requirement is effective on January 1, 2024 for all such entities unless otherwise exempt by the regulation.  Cozen O’Connor can assist with the...

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The United Kingdom’s Online Safety Bill has recently received royal assent and become law as the Online Safety Act (OSA). What is the OSA? The OSA aims to regulate online content or activities that are deemed harmful to individuals, especially children. The OSA offers online users more control over online content, particularly by mandating firmer protections for children and directly placing legal responsibility on online services to prevent and remove harmful content. To whom does the OSA apply? In addition to online service...

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Under Section 922 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Congress expanded protections for whistleblowers reporting possible violations of federal securities laws to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Specifically, the statute established certain financial incentives and confidentiality guarantees for whistleblowers reporting potential violations of securities laws. In 2011, the SEC implemented rules (as subsequently amended) regarding the Dodd-Frank whistleblower program. Under SEC Rule 21F-17(a), no person may take an action to impede an individual from communicating directly...

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