Page 29 - Law Developments News Today

On 29 January 2020 the Berlin-Brandenburg Regional Labour Court ruled on the effectiveness of a cut-off date clause in a works agreement (4 Sa 1456/19). The court held that a special payment to an employee intended to reward both loyalty and performance can be dependent on the existence of the employment relationship on a certain cut-off date. Background The plaintiff had worked for the defendant as an employee from 2012 until 2018. On 30 November 2018 the employment relationship ended as a res...

Introduction A third guidance note on the use of remote hearings for civil proceedings took effect on 2 January 2021. The guidance note (representing Phase 3) provides for wider use of videoconferencing facilities and telephone hearings with respect to all levels of civil courts in Hong Kong (including the Competition, Labour and Small Claims Tribunals). In particular, Phase 3 is more comprehensive and provides more options for connecting with the courts videoconferencing facilities – for exa...

Introduction In the Netherlands the general discovery trial is an unknown phenomenon. However, certain documents may be obtained pursuant to Article 843a of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (DCCP). This article outlines how this procedure works.(1) Pursuant to Article 843a of the DCCP, a party with a legitimate interest may request from another party a copy, extract or inspection of certain documents regarding a legal relationship to which it or its predecessor is a party. A party may submit t...

Decisions The Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO) rejected the application, referring to the European Court of Justices (ECJs) Biomild judgment (C-265/00), which held that the combination of several elements which are not distinctive does not result in a distinctive sign. However, a non-distinctive sign can acquire distinctiveness. In this respect, the HIPO referred to the ECJs Chiemsee judgments (C-108/97 and C109/97), which define the conditions for acquiring distinctiveness, and ...

Introduction The United Kingdom and the European Union have published their Trade and Cooperation Agreement, alongside a summary issued by the UK government and an explanatory brochure from the EU Commission. This article assesses the implications that the deal might have for employment law. As predicted, in return for a tariff and quota-free trade deal, the United Kingdom has agreed that it will not reduce employment law rights below the standards that existed on 31 December 2020 – but only ...

Facts The Al-Salam Boccaccio 98 was a ro-ro passenger ferry that sank in February 2006 in the Red Sea while en route from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, resulting in the death of 1,031 people and the total loss of the vessel (for further details please see "Immunity of jurisdiction defence rejected in compensation claim"). At the time of the accident, the vessel was registered under the flag of Panama and classed by the Italian company Rina, which had also issued the relevant statutory certificates on ...

Jersey is witnessing a spike in the inflow of private equity fund managers establishing a physical presence on the island. A number of household name fund managers across all asset classes now call Jersey home, with others in advanced stages of planning to follow them into Jersey. What are the principal drivers of this trend?

The Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam recently provided updated regulations on the signed authorisation required to register IP rights in Vietnam, which affect both foreign and local rights owners and applicants. The requirements constitute a more stringent approach towards the authorisation of representatives and the documentation associated with the IP rights registration process. However, for Vietnam's IP regime as a whole, this new approach represents a step in the right direction.