By AEM Carnelutti Big luxury brands have ignored e-commerce sales strategies for many years, while other commercial industries have commonly resorted to e-commerce stores as sale channels. The luxury brands’ view of e-commerce has radically changed in the last two years. Some luxury companies launched their own online platforms to sell their products directly to customers. A recent EU Supreme Court decision may however stall the involvement of mass e-commerce giants, such as Amazon, in the European online luxury shopping. On December 6,...

By AEM Carnelutti  The Filmspeler case On 26 April 2017, the European Court of Justice (“CJEU”) rendered its decision in case C-527/15, Stichting Brein v Wullems t/a Filmspeler. CJEU was requested to establish whether it constitutes a communication to the public with the sale of a product (a multimedia player named ‘Filmspeler’) in which the seller installed certain add-ons hyperlinking to websites on which copyright-protected works were made directly available to the public without the prior authorization of the rights holder. The CJEU held...

By Royal DSM Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials, has repurchased 136,650 of its own shares in the period from 19 March 2018 up to and including 22 March 2018 at an average price of €80.59. This is in accordance with the repurchase, covering commitments under share based compensation plans and for stock dividends, announced on 19 March 2018. The consideration of this repurchase was €11.0 million. For more detailed information see the ‘Daily transaction details 1.6m Share Repurchase Program...

By Frances Rayer | frayercozen.com | Cozen O'Connor USCIS announced on March 20, 2018, that it will temporarily suspend premium processing for all FY2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. The suspension is expected to last until September 2, 2018. Any Form I-907 Request for Premium Processing filed with a cap-subject H-1B petition will be rejected. NOTE: This temporary suspension of premium processing only affects H-1B cap-subject petitions. USCIS will continue to...

By DLA PIPER Insights The IRS recently announced that it will end the 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (2014 OVDP) on September 28, 2018.  The 2014 OVDP is the most recent iteration of the IRS’s offshore voluntary disclosure programs that were first announced in 2009.  Taxpayers with unreported (closed or existing) bank accounts or foreign financial assets should contact tax counsel as soon as possible to discuss options for coming into compliance.  The IRS cites the significant decline in the number of taxpayers participating...

By Illya Sverdlov and Dmytro Rylovnikov | DLA PIPER On 7 March 2018 the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No.108 as of 31 January 2018 (Resolution) entered into force. The Resolution updates the List of countries which qualify for criteria envisaged by para 39.2.1.2 of the Tax Code (List), in particular by the exclusion of some countries. A country's presence on the List means that transactions with companies which are registered in or are tax residents in such countries: may be qualified...