In this week’s Roar: logistics managers feeling the pressure, European supply chains trending the wrong way, disagreement on the competitiveness of ocean markets, and the true cost of green shipping. Logistics managers everywhere should prepare themselves for a tough peak season—tougher than usual, that is. The issues of labor strife, congestion with N. American railroads, and lingering impact of China shutdowns will be an ongoing theme according to CNBC.com as the industry transitions into its most important time of...

This posting was initially published in Corporate Compliance Insights | Before operationalizing an ESG program, make sure your compliance function is in place. Companies are eager to establish their ESG programs, and it’s not hard to understand why. But as a trio of experts from FTI Consulting detail, there are many reasons why it’s wise to take some measured steps before diving into the deep end. Hardly a day goes by without headlines proclaiming the importance of ESG programs. The pervasive influence...

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...