Following a trend towards protectionism that seems quite fashionable in many jurisdictions globally those days, the European Commission proposed, on 5 May 2021, a regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (hereafter “FSR”) intended to ensure a level playing field between companies subject to EU State aid rules and companies which are not. On 30 June 2022, the co-legislators (EU Parliament and Member States) reached a political agreement on the text, meaning that the regulation could be formally adopted...

All applications with a filing date or international filing date on or after July 1, 2022, MUST file sequence listings in accordance with the new international standard, WIPO Standard ST.26 format. This is implemented internationally starting July 1, 2022, including at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (“USPTO”), and the previous ST.25 format will eventually become obsolete. What are the main differences between ST.25 and ST.26? The main difference between the two standards is that ST.25 is ASCII text format...

For years, politicians across the EU have been discussing phasing out cars with internal combustion engines within the EU’s borders. On Wednesday, the EU environment ministers were in Luxembourg to discuss big parts of EU’s key climate legislation of the ‘Fit for 55’ package. After wrestling for more than 16 hours, the Council finally agreed: From 2035, new cars in the EU should be emission-free. EU states have now spoken out in favor of reducing the so-called fleet limits for cars to...

The FTC is increasingly focused on competition in gasoline and fuel markets and has “redoubl its commitment” to “aggressive antitrust enforcement” in these areas. The most recent example of this renewed commitment came earlier this month with the announcement of a consent agreement, requiring the divestiture of petroleum terminals in two states. The proposed transaction involved petroleum terminal and pipeline companies and the acquisition of 26 light petroleum product terminals largely located in the Southeast for approximately $435 million. The...

This article is part of Portolano Cavallo’s “INFORM@Digital & IP” Newsletter. Click here to subscribe | On June 9, 2022, the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali – “Garante”) issued a decision banning the use of Google Analytics without implementation of adequate additional safeguards. The decision is in line with the position of other EU supervisory authorities (including the French CNIL). It came in response to a claim against Caffeina Media S.r.l. (the “Company”) arguing that the use...

EB-5 regional centers officially reauthorized after preliminary injunction reverses USCIS’ decision to deauthorize all regional centers On Friday, June 24, 2022, the Federal Court in the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction to stop United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from requiring all regional centers to seek redesignation. In April 2022, USCIS announced that all regional centers authorized under the previous EB-5 legislation would be required to re-apply for designation under the new law before they could receive investments...

Baar/Stafford - Sika from the canton of Zug has opened a manufacturing plant for concrete admixtures in Stafford in the U.S. state of Virginia. In combination with its other plant near Philadelphia, Sika will now have production capacity to meet the strong demand from continued growth in the construction sector in North America. Sika has opened a new manufacturing plant for concrete admixtures on stream in Stafford in the U.S. state of Virginia. Together with the existing plant in Fairless Hills...