All Legal & Institutional articles – Page 6
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News briefs
U.K. to introduce VAT-free shopping for foreigners
During the presentation of new budgetary measures, Kwasi Kwarteng, the U.K.’s newly appointed finance minister, officially referred to as the chancellor of the exchequer, said that the government has decided to introduce VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors. “We will replace the old paper-based system with a modern, digital one. And ...
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ArticleGörtz and Surf4Shoes file for bankruptcy amid uncertainty, soaring inflation
Görtz and Surf4Shoes are among the latest companies caught in a wave of bankruptcies that appears to be gathering pace in Germany. Heightened consumer uncertainty, sky-rocketing inflation and rising energy prices are seen as the main destabilizing factors, as the war in Ukraine rages and the European Union’s sanctions against ...
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News briefs
World faces a winter of discontent - UN
The secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, warned that the world will face a difficult winter due to the effects of the multiple ongoing crises including the war in Ukraine, increasing poverty and inequality, and the impact of global warming. “These crises threaten the very future of humanity ...
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News briefs
EU court hold ups decision to fine Google
The European Union’s General Court has upheld a decision made by the European Commission to fine the U.S. research engine Google and its parent company Alphabet for abuse of dominant position but cut the compensation to €4.125 billion from €4.340 billion. Alphabet is jointly and severally liable in the amount ...
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News briefs
EU plans to ban products made with forced labour
The European Commission has proposed to prohibit products made with forced labour on the European Union market. The proposal covers all products, including those made in the EU for domestic consumption and exports, and imported goods, without targeting specific companies or industries. “This comprehensive approach is important because an estimated ...
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News briefs
Diego Della Valle files document to delist Tod’s
Tod’s said that its main shareholder, Diego Della Valle, has filed documents with the Italian market regulator Consob for a public offer to delist the Italian fashion house from the Milan stock exchange. As announced earlier in August, DeVa Finance, which is controlled by DI.VI. Finanziaria di Diego Della Valle ...
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ArticleHow the exodus out of Russia is creating opportunities for locals
Western footwear retailers that pulled out from the Russian market over the past few months in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sold products worth 51.2 billion rubles (€911m) in the country in 2021, estimated Chestny Znak, a Russian regulator supervising the labelling of fashion products on the domestic ...
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News briefs
Manolo Blahnik wins Chinese trademark battle
Manolo Blahnik has won a 22-year dispute to use its name in China. China is a “first to file” jurisdiction, meaning that the businessman Fang Yuzhou had obtained the rights to the brand’s name in 2000 following an application made in 1999. But in December 2020, the Supreme People’s Court ...
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News briefs
EU starts membership talks with Albania, North Macedonia
On July 19, 2022, the European Union started membership negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia. “What a historic moment. Today, Albania and North Macedonia are opening the accession negotiations to the European Union,” said Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. “You and your citizens, you and ...
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News briefs
Crocs wins a counterfeit case
Crocs has announced a judgment against USA Dawgs and Double Diamond Distribution stemming from the sale of counterfeit Crocs shoes by the two companies. In the case, Crocs also obtained damages of $6 million and $55,000, respectively, against the companies. The case is the culmination of years of litigation between ...
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News briefs
EU, New Zealand conclude talks for trade agreement
After four years of talks, the EU and New Zealand concluded negotiations for a trade agreement. The deal includes sustainability commitments, including respect of the Paris Climate Agreement and core labour rights, which are enforceable through trade sanctions. The agreement is the first one to integrate the EU’s new approach ...
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News briefs
Wolverine sells Champion footwear license to HanesBrands
Wolverine Worldwide has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Keds, LLC has sold the Champion trademarks for footwear in the U.S. and Canada to HanesBrands Inc for $90 million in cash. As part of the agreement, Wolverine retains a perpetual license to continue using the Champion trademark on certain footwear styles, ...
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News briefs
China shortens Covid quarantine to 10 days for incoming visitors
China has decided to cut the mandatory quarantine period for incoming visitors to 10 days from up to three weeks previously, according to new Covid-19 guidelines from the national health commission. People entering the country must now spend seven days in a government-controlled facility before monitoring their health a further ...
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News briefs
Germany faces ‘very difficult’ choices due to gas shortage
Germany faces gas shortages and will have to make “very difficult” choices for households and companies if Russian supplies continue to decline, warned the Economy Minister Robert Habeck. “We will have to close certain industrial activities…For some sectors it will be catastrophic. We aren’ talking about two days or two ...
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ArticleEU to use trade agreements to promote sustainability
The European Commission said that it took ”a major step in making EU trade greener, fairer and more sustainable” thanks to a new plan to enhance the contribution of trade agreements in protecting the climate, environment and labor rights worldwide. In a communication on “The power of trade partnerships: together ...
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News briefs
New Balance sues Steve Madden for alleged copyright infringement
New Balance Athletics has filed a design patent, trademark infringement, and unfair competition case, claiming that Steve Madden deliberately copied its 327 sneaker model with the launch of the “Chasen” shoe model. The complaint was filed in a Massachusetts District Court on June 7. New Balance introduced the 327 design ...
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News briefs
Adidas sues Nike over alleged technology infringements
After Nike last sued Adidas in December 2021 over its Flyknit knitted upper technology, claiming that a total of 49 Adidas shoe models infringed its technology, the German sporting goods company is now accusing the American company in federal court in Texas of “knowingly and intentionally” infringing nine patents related ...
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News briefs
StockX defends itself against Nike
While online resale platform StockX continues to claim that Nike has a fundamental misunderstanding of NFT, as it originally argued, the company defended its anti-counterfeiting measures in response to Nike’s amended complaint. In a June 6 filing, StockX said the platform has one of the strongest authentication processes in the ...
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News briefs
Amazon not seen liable for sale of counterfeit Louboutin shoes
The advocate general of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Maciej Szpunar, estimates that Amazon is not liable for the sale of counterfeit Christian Louboutin shoes on its platform. In 2019, Louboutin sought an injunction against the U.S. online retailer in courts in Luxembourg and Belgium on ...
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News briefs
Chinese economic situation worse than in 2020
The Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang said that the country is facing a “critical moment” with difficulties that are worse, to a certain extent, than in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic emerged. China is tackling a resurgence of the pandemic and has applied a zero-Covid policy resulting in restrictions, including ...
