By Thomas J. Engellenner , Reza Mollaaghababa | Pepper Hamilton  On April 24, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, held that inter partes review (IPR) proceedings conducted by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) do not violate Article III or implicate the Seventh Amendment. This decision in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, No. 16-712, validates administrative proceedings that were put into place by Congress in the Leahy-Smith American Invents Act (AIA) of 2011. The Court, however, made sure to emphasize...

By Gerlind Wisskirchen | CMS  CMS Employment Practice Area Group is pleased to share with you the new edition of the guide covering main aspects of the labour law in fourteen jurisdictions in the Central Eastern Europe (CEE).The CEE has progressed considerably in catching up with the market economies of Western Europe in the past decades. The European Union is still a driving force, despite the potential Brexit and the economic crisis which affected us all. Still, the political and economic...

On 11 May 2018, the State Secretary of Finance published a new transfer pricing decree in which he sets out his interpretation of the arm’s length principle as embedded in Dutch tax law (the Decree). The Decree explains the view of the Dutch tax authorities (DTA) on the 2017 OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (2017 Guidelines) and it documents certain positions of the DTA on topics where the 2017 Guidelines leave room for interpretation. The Decree enters into effect on 12 May...

By Dr. Thomas Griebe | Shareholder | Hamburg | Littler On February 7, 2018, Germany's two ruling parties, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), agreed on a joint government and a 177-page coalition agreement. The employment-specific provisions of the coalition agreement proved to be "deal breakers" and could only be agreed upon after numerous negotiations lasting late into the night. The latest coalition agreement will usher in numerous changes to employment legislation that are expected to be implemented over...

The Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization established on the basis of Law no 287 of 10 October 1990 (“the Competition Law”). The ICA operates in Italy enforcing rules against anticompetitive agreements among undertakings, abuses of dominant position as well as concentrations (e.g., mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures) which may create or strengthen dominant positions detrimental to competition. The ICA acts as both an investigative and decision-making body. In essence, the ICA controls M&A activities which...

By Florian Bruder M.Jur. (Oxon) | DLA PIPER The EU's proposed pre-insolvency restructuring procedure offers opportunities for creditors and investors. However, it is not without risk, as is demonstrated by a comparison of the proposed procedure with both British and Singapore schemes of arrangement, as well as the chapter 11 proceeding in the US. The EU draft directive of November 22, 2016 seeks to implement a so-called preventive restructuring framework for European member states. Negotiations are well along, and the directive is envisaged...

By Joseph Spraragen | jspraragengdlsk.com | Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP On May 8, 2018, the President announced that the United States is withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and he signed a Presidential Memorandum directing that all trade sanctions against Iran that were lifted or waived under the JCPOA shall be re-imposed as soon as possible. In conjuncture with the President’s announcement, OFAC has posted initial guidance that includes a timetable for enforcing the restored trade sanctions. While certain...

By Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati   The deadline for submission of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) five-year benchmark survey regarding foreign direct investment in the United States is rapidly approaching.1   The survey, known as the BE-12 survey, is required for U.S. businesses in which a foreign entity or person holds, directly or indirectly, 10 percent or more of the U.S. business' voting interests at any time during 2017 or an equivalent share in an unincorporated enterprise. The...