In this article, global competition and antitrust rules with respect to intellectual property license agreements and supply/distribution agreements are examined.
This paper continues to focus on Europe, which has long viewed the privacy of personal information and data as a fundamental right.
Two of the globally significant patent-related events during the past year occurred in Europe and the United States, respectively.
Practical tips about "Dawn Raids"
This is a checklist for EU dawn raids.
In the past few years, there have been headline-grabbing government investigations of foreign companies in the European Union (EU) and China. A number of these investigations relate to anti-trust, anti-bribery and corruption matters. It is critical for the legal departments of companies operating in the EU and China to be prepared for these sorts of investigations, ensuring that the business can react quickly and deal successfully with the government inquiry at a very tense and stressful time. The panel will look at the reasons for government investigations in the EU and China, what in-house counsel need to do to prepare their companies for the possibility of a government investigation (including the dreaded dawn raid) and provide practical tips for dealing with government investigations in the EU and China.
Briefing on investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms in international agreements
The straight line may result in the shortest distance, but it is not always the best path. Your company wants to sell its products in Nicaragua, but learns it is less expensive and burdensome to import its products through Guatemala. How about setting up an insurance underwriter in the European Union? Most people think London would be the best location, but setting up the underwriter in Malta, with less cost and regulation, can get your company started and running more quickly. A panel of experts will discuss different approaches on how to enter international markets by using international treaties and agreements.
Like it or not, different territories have different laws. There are 28 states in the European Union and across these states there are tranches of relatively harmonised laws in certain areas. The basic underlying laws of contract and case law or codes which aid their interpretation are, however, all different. Nearly every in-house counsel has faced the task of tackling an impending overseas deal when only local state law governed terms are at hand. Staring down the barrel at an unknown legal system, a familiar scene plays out: localise or push ahead with what we've got?