DLA Piper

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Blogs: LATAM LAW, Re:marks on Trademark and Copyright, Technology's Legal Edge, The Labor Dish, The Venture Alley

Latest Articles

By: Melinda Upton, Nicholas Boyle, Jessie Buchan, Lucy Meadley and Valiant Warzecha Businesses are constantly looking for an extra dimension that will allow their brand to cut through the saturation of the modern world. Increasingly, corporate re-brands or brand refreshes are including bespoke musical themes known as ‘sound identities’ or ‘audio brands’ to create a further aural association with the product or service offering. As a medium that is inherently evocative, these…
By: Ignacio E. Sanchez and Melanie Garcia The United States government has issued new sanctions in response to the growing unrest in Venezuela. On January 23, the United States recognized Juan Guaido as the new interim President of Venezuela. Nonetheless, Nicolas Maduro has refused to step down. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the latest US sanctions related to Venezuela’s state producer of oil are meant to “preserve the core pillar of Venezuela’s…
Compliments of our colleague Sanjay M. Shirodkar. The SEC is open for business – first come, first served. The Division of Corporation Finance is returning to normal operations. The SEC staff has indicated that, absent compelling circumstances, it expects to address matters in the order in which they were received. Staff members are available to answer questions relating to filings and other federal securities law matters, but their response take some time. The SEC…
By: John Wilks, Claire Sng and Sophie Anim Background The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has announced, following its investigation (see our earlier article available here), that it has secured commitments from 16 social media influencers about how they post online (see link to CMA press release here). The influencers, including singer Rita Ora and model Alexa Chung, have agreed to clearly state if they are in a commercial relationship, or are…
By: Ben Sanderson and Silvia Farre On 1 January 2019, new updates to the Note to the Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on the Conduct of the Arbitration under the ICC Rules of Arbitration (the Note) became effective. According to the ICC Court President, Alexis Mourre, the updates, “reflect the Court’s continuous efforts … to provide more transparency in its practices, increase the efficiency of our arbitrations and offer an ever wide range of services to…
By: John M. Nading, Ashley H. Joyce, and Devika Persaud  In a sign of a potentially liberalizing trend for standing at the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the Board recently ruled that a consumer had standing to oppose a company’s application for the trademark RAPUNZEL for dolls and toy figures.  Curtin v. United Trademark Holdings, Inc., Opposition No. 91241083 (TTAB Dec. 28, 2018). Applicant United Trademark Holdings, Inc. had argued that…
By: Felipe Bahamondez and Carolina Bawlitza Chile’s Tribunal for the Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) rejected the plea of Celeo Redes Chile Limitada, which had requested that the government modify “the legal precepts necessary to introduce a greater degree of competition in the generation, distribution and electric transmission markets.” In particular, the requested regulatory amendment sought to: • Eliminate the prohibition against companies that own or operate national transmission systems from participating in electricity generation…
By: Mariana Muniz and Juan Carlos Feliciano   For tax year 2018, employers in Puerto Rico will be required to report certain severance payments, as discussed further below, as “exempt wages” on Withholding Statement Form 499R-2/W-2PR (the Puerto Rico equivalent of the US W-2 Form – PR Form W-2),1 as opposed to Form 480.6D. Under Section 4.3 of Act 4-2017, known as the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act, which amends Section 1 of Act No. 80…
By: Alison Fagan, Maria Pereira, Silvia Farre Public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Latin America are on the rise. There is a great need for infrastructure investment across the region, but often, Latin American governments cannot commit public finances to fund the huge investment costs such projects entail. PPPs offer a solution – harnessing the power of private finance to provide multiple public services. However, in the course of such projects disputes may sometimes…