Recent Articles

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  25/04/2024

  Europe

  New EU rules to strengthen GI protection for wine, spirit drinks and agri-food products come into force on 13 May 2024

  Yesterday, 23 April 2024, a new EU regulation aimed at enhancing the protection of geographical indications (GIs) for wine, spirit drinks and agricultural products, and other quality schemes for agricultural products was published in the Official Journal. The new rules, that enter into force on 13 May 2024, provide for a streamlined registration procedure, a strengthened role of producer groups, and improved provisions on GI protection (both online and offline) and sustainability.Background on Geographical Indications (GIs) for wine, spirit drinks and agri-food productsGIs are intellectual property...

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  25/04/2024

  Germany

  UPC: Court of Appeal clarifies questions of public access to certain procedural documents

  In its decision dated 10 April 2024  (UPC_CoA_404/2023, ORD_19369/2024), the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) ruled on the requirements for public access to written pleadings and evidence.Based on the Rules of Procedure (RoP) of the UPC, decisions and orders of the UPC must always be published – subject to any necessary redactions, for example regarding personal data, see Rule 262.1(a) RoP (see also our blog post). The UPC has set up a separate page on its website for the publication of decisions and orders. The question of when the public not involved in the respective...

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  25/04/2024

  China

  Chinese Tax Regulation Update - March & April 2024

  The latest development in China Tax Regulation mainly includes:Fa Shi [2024] No. 4 released jointly by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's ProcuratoratePlease click here to read the full article.

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  24/04/2024

  Spain

  Parliamentary proceedings begin to create the Independent Administrative Authority for the Defence of Financial Customers

  On April 5, the draft law for the creation of the Financial Customer Defence Authority was published in the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament.1. INTRODUCTIONThe current text being processed includes modifications introduced in the previous legislature´s parliamentary procedure and which were supported by the majority of MPs. These modifications include the financing of the new Authority by financial institutions and the possibility of appealing binding decisions before the civil courts, thus guaranteeing the protection of financial clients.The Authority aims to resolve complaints...

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  24/04/2024

  United Kingdom

  CMS Banking Disputes Report 2024

  Working with litigation analytics company, Solomonic, CMS has published its Banking Disputes Report 2024, a data-driven review of the Banking and Finance sector’s dispute-related activity to identify key trends, how banking disputes are being determined in 2024 and what might lie ahead.Key findings of the 2024 report:The Banking and Finance sector had the highest volume of new High Court claims filed in 2023. This trend has continued into Q1 2024. Our report looks at the types of claims being filed.2023 demonstrated the “long tail” of market events with claims still being filed...

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  24/04/2024

  Bulgaria

  Bulgaria considers introducing Contracts for Difference

  Currently, Bulgaria is among a small number of EU member states that lacks the concept of contracts for difference (CfD). So far, the country had a feed in tariff as a mechanism to subsidise renewable energy producers who meet legislative requirements. Given that feed in tariffs are an outdated tool, contracts for guarantees were introduced.  Having in mind, the current realities of the renewable energy market, including anticipated offshore renewable energy projects, Bulgarian lawmakers came to the conclusion that the country needs CfDs to:Secure the viability of a project;Monitor the...

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