Mondaq Business Briefing articles from April 2007

Mondaq Business Briefing archives from April 2007

Offshore Advantages For Real Estate Investment Trusts ("REITs").(Channel Island Stock Exchange)(Jersey or Guernsey companies )
April 1, 2007... Executive Summary The Channel Island Stock Exchange ("CISX") is a recognised stock exchange for H.M. Revenue & Customs purposes and as such a REIT listed on CISX meets the requirement for stock exchange listing. Listing equity...

Environment @ Gowlings - March 2007.(House of Commons Passes Opposition Bill to Require Kyoto Compliance)(First Batch of "Challenge" Chemicals Identified)(Federal ecoEnergy Technology Initiative Announced)
April 1, 2007... Edited by Ian Richler Federal News House of Commons Passes Opposition Bill to Require Kyoto Compliance Federal ecoEnergy Technology Initiative Announced First Batch of "Challenge" Chemicals Identified Amendments Proposed...

Permanent Capital - Listed Investment Funds.(Jersey or Guernsey companies)(Jersey Financial Services Commission)
April 1, 2007... Listed Investment Funds - Why List? Following the surge of interest in 2006, the potential for listed investment funds, structured on the right model, remains strong. The stock exchange listing provides solutions to long-term commercial...

Going Round In Circles.(Missing Trader Intra- Community)(Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)(VAlue Added Tax)
April 1, 2007... First published in The Tax Journal, Issue 877, 19 March 2007 It has been some four years since the first article on Missing Trader Intra- Community (MTIC) VAT fraud appeared in The Tax Journal (Issue 690, 28 April 2003). The jurisprudence...

Changes To Australian Claim Acceptance Fees.(Patent Laws)
April 1, 2007... On 13 December 2006, the Intellectual Property Legislation (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2006 was signed by the Australian Governor-General. One of the most significant fee changes introduced in respect of Australian patent applications is...

New South Wales Supreme Court Confirms Implied Duties Of Good Faith And Mutual Trust And Confidence.
April 1, 2007... A decision handed down on Monday 19 February by Justice Rothman of the Supreme Court of New South Wales has confirmed that a duty of good faith and a duty of mutual trust and confidence will be implied into contracts of employment. Although...

Corporate Update - April 2007.(Corporations and Markets' Advisory Committee)(Corporations Act )
April 1, 2007... Contents Employee Share Plans In Australia Corporate Social Responsibility: CAMAC Recommends No Legislative Change Employee Share Plans In Australia The current corporate regulatory framework read more... and its impact on the...

Second Circuit Holds That Mere Auditor "Review" Of Quarterly Financials Will Not Give Rise To Liability Under The Federal Securities Laws.(generally accepted accounting principles)
April 2, 2007... Auditors for years have distinguished between the familiar traditional "audit," which is usually performed annually, and a quarterly "review." A "review" typically consists more of just discussion and observations rather than the performance of...

Canada's Federal Budget 2007.
April 2, 2007... This annual publication was produced jointly by the FMC Public Policy and Taxation practice groups. Canada's Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty delivered the Conservative Government's second federal budget on March 19, 2007. The Budget...

The Duties Of Departing Employees: Are They On The Move?(RBC Dominion Securities Ltd.)(Merrill Lynch and Company Inc.)
April 2, 2007... Case Comment: Rbc Dominion Securities Inc. V. Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. Et Al., (2007) Bcca 22. Recently, the British Columbia Court of Appeal released its decision in RBC Dominion Securities Inc. v. Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. et al. This...

Cyprus General Info.(Country overview)
April 2, 2007... CYPRUS IN BRIEF Geography and Population The island's strategic location has been a major factor in shaping its history throughout the centuries and, in recent years, its development into a centre for international business. Cyprus...

Revenue Provide Guidance As To Treatment Of JPUTs In REIT Context.(Real Investment Trusts)(Jersey Property Unit Trusts)(Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs)
April 2, 2007... HMRC has now issued guidance on the treatment that will be applied to Real Investment Trusts holding real estate through offshore unit trusts. To view the article in full, please see below: Full Article It has been common practice...

The Pension Impact Of Budget 2007 - How Will It Affect Your Plan?
April 2, 2007... The 2007 Federal Budget tabled on March 19, 2007 ("Budget 2007") contains two pension measures which will be of particular interest to pension plan sponsors and administrators. Sponsors and administrators may wish to review their plans and...

Ontario Budget 2007 Highlights.
April 2, 2007... On March 22, 2007, the McGuinty Government presented their fourth and final budget prior to the general election in October. The theme of this year's budget is "Investing in People & Expanding Opportunity." The Budget is referred to as the next...

Marine Bill White Paper: Consequences For The Offshore Energy Industry.
April 2, 2007... Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has recently published and opened consultation on a Marine Bill White Paper entitled 'A Sea Change'. The aim of the Bill is to encourage 'holistic management of the seas' by drawing...

New Dividend Taxation Rules.(Canadian-controlled private corporations)
April 2, 2007... The new rules for dividend taxation announced in 2006 by the federal government received royal assent on February 21, 2007. This legislation aims to decrease the tax rate on "eligible dividends". The legislation results in a reduction of 5.03%...

Application Of The Aerotel/Macrossan Test By The High Court.
April 2, 2007... Summary In the first application of the 4-step test to determine patentability following Aerotel/Macrossan, the High Court upheld the decisions of the Patent Office by rejecting two applications. The High Court reached its decision on the...

Businesses Using Large Amounts Of Energy - The New Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act 2006 May Affect You!
April 2, 2007... Did you and your related corporate entities collectively use more than 0.5 petajoules of energy during the 2005-06 financial year? There are approximately 250 corporations estimated to fall into this category. If you are one of them, you must...

Technological Protection Measures: New Protection Against 'Pirates Of The Copyright'?
April 2, 2007... The Australian Government introduced the Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 into parliament on 19 October 2006. The Bill proposes to introduce a new scheme for technological protection measures (TPM) to assist copyright owners to protect their works...

FTC Order In The Rambus, Inc. SDRAM Matter Sheds Light On The Commission's Ability To Fashion Broad Remedies For Competitive Harm.
April 3, 2007... In February 2007, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a final opinion and order that requires Rambus, Inc. to license its SDRAM and DDR SDRAM technology. In addition to the licensing requirement, the FTC order prohibits Rambus from making...

Auction Exhaustion?
April 3, 2007... Article by Andr? Perey, [c] 2007, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Business Law, January 2007 The Canadian merger and acquisition market has seen a significant increase in the use of "controlled...

SEC Publishes Updates To The Manual Of Publicly Available Telephone Interpretations - Additional Proxy Statement And Form 10-K Compliance And Disclosure Interpretations Are Effective Immediately.
April 3, 2007... SEC Staff Gives New Advice and Interpretations and Reconfirms Prior Advice Concerning Proxy Statement and Other Disclosures Under Regulation S-K: Item 201 - Common Equity Information and Shareholder Matters Item 403 - Security...

Clean Renewable Energy Bonds - Application Filing Deadline.
April 3, 2007... By Kenneth W. Bond, Jackson B. Browning Jr, Ernie K. Demanelis, Paul A. O'Hop, Harriet M. Welch The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2007-26 (Notice) soliciting applications from qualified issuers (including political...

Close ... But No Cigar!
April 3, 2007... Article by Paul Walsh and Ville Patja This was a case involving the parallel importation of Cuban cigars bearing famous cigar brands such as H Upmann and Punch into the United Kingdom. The case gives further guidance on the sort of...

The NYSE - NASD Merger And Rule Harmonization.(National Association of Securities Dealers)(New York Stock Exchange)
April 3, 2007... By W. Hardy Callcott and Corin R. Swift The NYSE and NASD have recently taken significant steps towards completing the merger of their member-regulation functions. On March 16, 2007, the NYSE and NASD announced appointments to senior staff...

Long Live The Reasonable Examiner.
April 3, 2007... Addressing the slippery issue of inequitable conduct, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit upheld the district court's ruling that two patents for cooking oil were unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. The patent applicant failed...

State Court Decision Of Patent Ownership Is Not Subject To District Court Review.
April 3, 2007... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that title to a patent obtained through a state court foreclosure action on a promissory note secured by the pending application could not be challenged as fraudulent under the guise of a...

Occupational Pension Schemes - Member-Nominated Trustes And Directors.
April 3, 2007... The requirements for occupational pension schemes to have member-nominated trustees ("MNTs") or, for sole trustee companies, to have member-nominated directors ("MNDs") have been amended by the Pensions Act 2004 (the "Act") and the associated...

Companies Act 2006 - An Update.
April 3, 2007... The next tranche of the Companies Act 2006 ("the Act") comes into force at the end of this week. As of 6th April 2007, the following changes apply:- The prohibition on public companies (or private company subsidiaries of public companies)...

SAFE Port Act And C-TPAT: Added Accountability And Benefits Defined.
April 3, 2007... On Oct. 13, 2006, the President signed the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 ("SAFE Port Act"), which codifies and improves the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism ("C-TPAT"). The new legislation continues the basic...

OFAC Revises Sanctions Against Sudan And North Korea.
April 3, 2007... The United States continues to refine its sanctions against Sudan and North Korea in light of changing political realities on the ground. Specifically, on Oct. 17, 2006, President Bush signed Executive Order 13412 (the "Executive Order") which...

DOD Tightens Domestic Specialty Metals Requirements.(Department of Defense )
April 3, 2007... Since the early 1940s, the Berry Amendment has imposed restrictions on the purchase of certain non-U.S. articles, supplies and materials, both to protect U.S. national security interests and to ensure the existence of certain essential domestic...

Family Friendly Rights From April 2007.
April 3, 2007... The family friendly provisions of the Work and Families Act 2006 will have a significant practical impact from April. Employees who are expecting or adopting babies on or after 1 April 2007 are entitled to the new maternity rights which...

Labatt Decision Creates Some Tactical Flexibility for Merging Parties.
April 3, 2007... On March 29, 2007 the Competition Tribunal denied the Commissioner of Competition's application under section 100 of the Competition Act to prevent closing of the proposed acquisition of Lakeport Brewing Income Fund by Labatt Brewing Company...

Civil False Claims Act: Supreme Court In Rockwell Holds That "Original Source" Means Qui Tam Relator Must Have Actual Knowledge Of FCA Claims To Satisfy Jurisdictional Requirement.(Rockwell International Corp. v. United States ex rel. James S. Stone)
April 3, 2007... In the watershed 1986 amendments to the False Claims Act (FCA), Congress added a provision, 31 U.S.C. s. 3730(e)(4), which sought to avoid "parasitic suits" by prohibiting qui tam suits in which relators rely on public information, commonly...

Court Of Appeal Finds No copying In Da Vinci Code.(Baigent & Anor v The Random House Group Ltd)
April 3, 2007... The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the High Court in the "Da Vinci Code" trial, finding that the judge rightly held that the Claimant had not established that a substantial part of their work "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail" had...

Fenwick & West Obtains Patent Litigation Verdict For Informatica.
April 3, 2007... April 2, 2007 (Mountain View and San Francisco, CA) - A jury in San Francisco federal court awarded Fenwick & West client Informatica Corp. (NSDQ: INFA) a $25 million verdict against Business Objects (NSDQ: BOBJ). The award was based on the...

Going, Going, Gone - Key Things Buyers And Sellers Should Know.
April 3, 2007... Article by Jillian Swartz and Frank Arnone, [c] 2007, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Business Law, January 2007 Sources estimate that in 2006, approximately 50% of the North American companies...

Taking Regulatory Risk Off The Table.
April 3, 2007... Article by Brian Facey, [c] 2007, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Business Law, January 2007 In the high stakes world of mergers and acquisitions, the consequences of getting things wrong on the...

Executive Officers' Liability: Development And Environment Offences.
April 3, 2007... The purpose of this presentation is to provide you with a brief overview of risks for directors associated in the context of environmental offences and development offences. Example- Landfix Landfix Pty ltd (Landfix) is a company now...

Keep The Cash: Defendants No Longer Need To Pay Into Court Under Part 36.(Civil Procedure Rules)
April 3, 2007... From 6 April 2007, defendants no longer need to pay a sum into court to support an offer to settle a money claim. The Civil Procedure Rules are to be amended so that either party can obtain the costs protection awarded by Part 36 by making a...

Proposed National Instrument 31-103: Registered Dealers And Advisers - What's New?
April 4, 2007... Proposed National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements1 harmonizes and streamlines the firm categories of registration across all of the CSA jurisdictions. A few new categories of registration have been added, but overall the number of...

Future Vision of The BRSA under the New Banking Regulations.(Banking Regulatory and Supervision Agency)
April 4, 2007... In the IMF Letter of Intent dated 7 July 2006, the Turkish Government stated that "the Banking Regulatory and Supervision Agency ("BRSA") shall continue to bring its supervision closer to best international practice. To this end, it has...

Practical Applications of the Competition Law.
April 4, 2007... A. The Amendments to the Law The Law on the Protection of Competition ("Law") has recently been amended (the "Amendment") in June 2006 and a temporary article, stipulating that "in cases where the number of Board members exceeds seven, the...

Freedom Of Information? Uncle Sam, Get It Right!
April 4, 2007... The Freedom of Information Act enables the public to obtain information from the federal government to ascertain, as stated by the Supreme Court, "what the government is up to." After all, a government shrouded in secrecy is not a government by...

The New Law on Renewable Energy Resources.
April 4, 2007... The Law on Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources for the Purpose of Generating Electrical Energy1 ("Law") was adopted on 18 May 2005. This article provides as overview of the general provisions of the Law, as well as other supporting...

Federal Court Expands Participant Rights To Sue Insurer-Administrators Of Health Care Plans.
April 4, 2007... A recent federal court decision has concluded that a participant in a selfinsured ERISA health plan has standing to sue the plan's insurer-administrator for breach of fiduciary duty and for monetary relief on behalf of the plan, regardless of...

Recent Developments in Turkey-EU Customs Relations.
April 4, 2007... This article deals with important changes for all traders involved in importing and exporting, using the tariff preference regime. In this context, it is necessary to remember that the so-called Euro-Mediterranean Partnership ("Pan-Euro-Med")...

An Unwise But Deliberate Decision Is Not An "Error" For Purposes Of Reissue.
April 4, 2007... In deciding whether reissue is a viable medium for perfecting a claim to priority where an applicant made an initial poor choice, the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the conscious choice of patent counsel to sacrifice...

It Couldn't Happen To Me... Could It?(occpuational safety and health regulations)
April 4, 2007... Individuals can be personally liable for environmental, health and safety offences in most European jurisdictions. Is your business doing enough to manage the risks? Liability for environment, health and safety (EHS) offences can fall...

Financial Services Regulation - Draft Corporations Amendment Regulations Released.
April 4, 2007... Overview On 26 March 2007, Treasury released draft Corporations Amendment Regulations (draft regulations) containing another round of proposed refinements to financial services regulation under the Corporations Act 2001. The draft...

New Registration Requirement For Chemicals Imported Into Europe.(Registration, Evaluation, And Authorization Of Chemicals)
April 4, 2007... The production and use of chemicals in Europe has been regulated since the late 1960s, but for most of the life of the European Union ("EU"), there has been no central register recording the creation and/or importation of chemicals. In 1981,...

New Jersey Civil Union Act: Lending Compliance Challenges.
April 4, 2007... The New Jersey Civil Union Act The New Jersey Civil Union Act, P.L. 2006, c. 103 (the "Act") was signed into law Dec. 21, 2006, and took effect on Feb. 20, 2007. The Act arose in response to the New Jersey Supreme Court's October 2006...

Time Is Up For Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures?
April 4, 2007... It is unlikely that anyone dealing with disputes in the workplace could have failed to notice the introduction of the statutory disciplinary, dismissal and grievance procedures in October 2004 and the potential minefield these procedures...

Listing @ Its Best - The Listing Facility Of The CSX.(Cayman Islands Stock Exchange)
April 4, 2007... The Cayman Islands Stock Exchange is much more than a mere 'listing machine' and is an integral part of the Cayman Islands success story. Its hi-tech low cost professional approach has seen impressive year on year growth since its beginnings in...

The Cayman Islands And The CSX: 'Business @ Its Best'.(Cayman Islands Stock Exchange)
April 4, 2007... The genesis for the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange ('CSX') was the Cayman Islands' strength in the mutual fund and structured finance sectors. In fact, with over 8,000 mutual funds and 155 mutual funds administrators, the Cayman Islands dominate...

Release Of Assets From Seizure In Hungary.(Code of Civil Procedure)
April 4, 2007... In this article, we address the issue as to how an owner, such as a foreign company, may claim back his assets located in Hungary following the seizure of such assets within the frame of an enforcement proceeding commenced against an entity...

OTS Proposes Expanding Permissible Activities Of Savings And Loan Holding Companies.(Office of Thrift Supervision )
April 4, 2007... Developments of Note OTS Proposes Expanding Permissible Activities of Savings and Loan Holding Companies Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Vacates SEC Rule that Expands Advisers Act Exception for Broker-Dealers Banking...

IP Freedom To Operate Put Simply, With The 6T's: Phase 1 - Preparing For And Conducting The Search.(Intellectual property rights)
April 4, 2007... Take home How confident are you that your next product launch or commercial innovation does not infringe anyone else's intellectual property rights? The fact that you're reading this article suggests that you are well aware that this is...

IRS Discussion Draft Of Good Governance Guidelines.(Internal Revenue Service)
April 4, 2007... The Internal Revenue Service has floated a discussion draft of good governance practices for Section 501(c)(3) organizations. Although still preliminary, and not approved at an official level, the guidelines are worthy of review nonetheless....

Kirkland Star Goes Back To His Middle Market Roots.(Jonathan Friedland interviewed)(Interview)
April 4, 2007... The lawyer who led Kirkland & Ellis' representation of debtors like Musicland Holding Corp. and HomeLife Corp. left the firm. As of March 1, Jonathan Friedland is, once again, an attorney with Schiff Hardin LLP. Recently, Friedland spoke with...

Confiscation Of Smuggled Goods Totals BRL 871.1 million, Revenue Department Says.(Brief article)
April 4, 2007... Brazil's Federal Revenue Department has released the results of confiscation of smuggled goods into Brazil for 2006. The Revenue Department also released the amount of assessed taxes and criminal measures related to smuggling. Merchandise...

WIPO Warns Trademark Owners Of Increased Risk From Cybersquatters.(World Intellectual Property Organization)
April 4, 2007... In a report issued on March 12, 2007, The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) warned trademark owners that they face increased risks from cybersquatters. WIPO Conclusions New Practices That Increase Risk to Trademark Owners...

Communications Law Bulletin -- March, 2007.
April 4, 2007... The Month in Brief Among other developments in the month of March, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held rescheduled oversight hearings of the Federal Communications Commission (the "FCC" or the "Commission"). This was...

Even "Harmless Error" Can Hurt.(Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Inc. v. Universal Security Instruments Inc.)
April 4, 2007... Addressing the issue of whether a district court erred in granting a voluntary dismissal (in order to cure a standing issue) without first disposing of the pending counterclaims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that...

Contaminated Pet Food: What's The Damage?
April 4, 2007... Reports of contaminated pet food have been filling the news in recent weeks. The question on everyone's mind is "What are the damages?" In Michigan, the answer is "Not much." While pet owners may unconditionally love their cats and dogs,...

Improper Service Costs Patent Infringement Defendant Award Of Attorney Fees.(RFR Industries Inc. v. Century Steps Inc.)
April 4, 2007... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court's award of attorney fees to a defendant who filed and faxed its answer to a complaint for patent infringement. RFR Industries, Inc. v. Century Steps, Inc., Case Nos....

Government Contractor Immunity Under 28 U.S.C. s. 1498.
April 4, 2007... In a decision addressing government contractor immunity, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a patent infringement case against a government contractor in the district court was barred by 28 U.S.C. s. 1498. Sevenson...

Casual Conversion Under The Temporary Clerks Award NSW.
April 4, 2007... In this article, Daniel Sleeman of Swaab Attorneys, deals with some important employment law issues affecting recruitment firms in New South Wales. In particular, the article seeks to assist recruitment firms who provide on-hired labour to...

Why Your Pledges Of Limited Partnership Units May Be Ticking Time Bombs Under The Securities Transfer Act, 2006.
April 4, 2007... May Day! May Day! May 1, 2007 is an important date for any lender whose loans are secured by pledges of securities, especially partnership interests, because April 30, 2007 marks the end of the four-month transitional period provided under...

H-1B Cap Reached On Opening Day.(Brief article)
April 4, 2007... The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the cap for H-1B petitions for FY 2008, which begins on October 1, 2007, has been met! As of April 2, 2007, all 58,200 available H-1B visa numbers for FY...

Bank And Credit Card Charges Under The Spotlight.
April 4, 2007... The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced that it is to undertake an in-depth study of retail bank pricing. This comes in response to concerns over current account charges and follows an initial review by the OFT of this area. This will...

CMS Withdraws Heightened Restrictions For Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities.(Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services )
April 4, 2007... By way of follow-up to our February 13, 2007 Client Alert, on February 21, 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") abruptly withdrew Transmittal 187, CR 5449, "Implementation of New Compliance Standards for Independent...

Healthcare Businesses And The Appointment Of A Patient Care Ombudsman In Bankruptcy.(Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005)
April 4, 2007... Under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 ("BAPCPA"), a number of special provisions were enacted for "healthcare businesses". One provision in particular requires the appointment of a patient care ombudsman in a...

Deferred Prosecution Agreements Increase Exposure To Civil Liability.(Shalam v. KPMG LLP)
April 5, 2007... Businesses facing the threat of indictment have become increasingly willing to enter deferred prosecution agreements with the government. In a deferred prosecution agreement, a business entity agrees to admit its wrongdoing and enact reform...

Recent Court Ruling Strikes a Cautionary Note for Delinquent SEC Filers.(The Bank of New York (New York, New York) v BearingPoint Inc.)
April 5, 2007... A recent decision by New York County's Commercial Division threatens to be a new tool for helping shareholders make big returns in a short period of time. In Bank of New York v. BearingPoint, Inc., No.600169/06, 2006 N.Y. Misc .LEXIS 2448 (N.Y....

Maintaining Legal Professional Privilege.
April 5, 2007... "The rationale of legal professional privilege, according to the traditional doctrine, is that it promotes the public interest because it assists and enhances the administration of justice by facilitating the representation of clients by legal...

Non-Profit Health Care System Captives: Is Your Captive An "Insurance Company" And Do You Want It To Be?
April 5, 2007... By Kevin G. Fitzgerald 1 A captive insurance company is, for larger organizations, one of many "alternative risk transfer" vehicles.2 It can provide a variety of benefits if structured and operated properly. The basic premise for a single...

D&O Insurance: The Stand-Alone "Side A" Dilemma What Is It (And Do We Need It)?(directors' and officers' liability insurance)
April 5, 2007... Background The typical directors and officers (D&O) insurance program for a publicly traded company contains three types of coverage, or "insuring agreements," in one policy. These coverages are often referred to as Side A, Side B and Side...

Supreme Court Rejects Administration's Position On Regulation Of Greenhouse Gases And Global Climate Change.
April 5, 2007... Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (No. 05-1120), rejecting the EPA's decision not to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the federal Clean Air...

New York Court Finds Absolute Immunity Applies To Broker-Dealer U-5 Termination Statements.(Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.)
April 5, 2007... On March 29, the New York Court of Appeals held in Rosenberg v. MetLife, Inc. that statements made by a brokerage firm in a U-5 Termination Notice are subject to an absolute privilege in a suit for defamation. This ruling is a major victory for...

Update On Promoter Penalty Legislation.(Australian Taxation Office)
April 5, 2007... On 15 March 2007, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) released two draft practice statements on the administration of the promoter penalty laws. The draft practice statements deal with both limbs of the promoter penalty laws, being: conduct...

Communications Update March 2007 - Industry Developments.(Australian Communications and Media Authority)
April 5, 2007... ACMA Uses Its New Enforcement Powers To Accept Enforceable Undertakings On 13 February 2007, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) accepted several enforceable undertakings from parties who are recapitalising media...

Recent Significant Patent Law Decisions.
April 5, 2007... By David Elkins Intellectual property practitioners and owners are awaiting what could be a revolutionary decision from the United States Supreme Court in KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., a challenge to the Federal Circuit Court of...