JD Supra European Union › Morrison & Foerster LLP

• JD Supra European Union

On December 30, 2020, the European Commission announced an in principle agreement with China on the terms of an EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investments (“CAI”). It contemplates what the Commission’s press release described as an “ambitious opening by China to European investments” that includes market access commitments across a wide range of sectors – including cloud services and other...

• JD Supra European Union

With the Annual Tax Act 2020 passed by the Bundestag yesterday, the legislature took a big step towards non-profit organizations (hereinafter referred to as "NPOs"). Finally, new regulations have been created in non-profit law that should make the life and work of donation-collecting associations, gGmbHs and foundations much easier. Some of the changes will already apply retrospectively

• JD Supra European Union

After more than seven years, the EU Parliament formally endorsed the much-anticipated new directive on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers (the “Directive”). This was the final hurdle for the Directive to enter in force, and the two-year countdown for Member States to implement the Directive into national law will soon begin...

• JD Supra European Union

On December 2, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by unanimous vote, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“HFCAA” or “Act”). Following enactment, foreign issuers, especially Chinese issuers, and their accounting firms will face greater pressure to make audit papers available for inspection within the next three years...

• JD Supra European Union

As recently confirmed, the EU regulation on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector, or SFDR, will go into effect on March 10, 2021, regardless of the market rumors of an official delay of its application or a non-action letter. The SFDR imposes requirements on institutions such as banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and investment firms. However, its...

• JD Supra European Union

On June 7, 2019, the highly controversial EU Copyright Directive (“Directive”) came into force, requiring EU Member States to transpose its provisions into national law by June 7, 2021. To recap, the most relevant provisions of the Directive require the implementation of the following rules into national law:...

• JD Supra European Union

The EU may soon introduce and adopt a collective redress directive that will make it possible for consumers across the EU to bring forward class action cases on various legal matters. The European collective redress system, which has been under debate for more than 30 years, made a step forward on June 22, 2020, when negotiators of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union...

• JD Supra European Union

Investing in unicorns is a high-stakes game. These companies are often run by strong, charismatic founder teams, with no shortage of willing investors eager to accept their terms. However, it is important to know your bottom line as an investor when it comes to what protections you need in terms of governance, control, exit and enforcement rights when managing downside risk...

• JD Supra European Union

The COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Latin America during the midst of broad-ranging political and economic crises involving mounting debt burdens, social unrest, falling oil and commodity prices and currency devaluations. On February 26, 2020, Brazil was the first country in the region to report the presence of the disease within its population...

• JD Supra European Union

In 2019, the number of large PE transactions in Latin America increased significantly. According to the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, Latam had a record PE influx of $4.4 billion in the first half of 2019. By the end of 2019, Latam had received a total of 151 PE investments, of which 64 had an aggregate publicly reported ticket size of $10.8 billion...

• JD Supra European Union

In 2019, the number of large PE transactions in Latin America increased significantly. According to the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, Latam had a record PE influx of $4.4 billion in the first half of 2019. By the end of 2019, Latam had received a total of 151 PE investments, of which 64 had an aggregate publicly reported ticket size of $10.8 billion...

• JD Supra European Union

With brexited UK announcing that it will not join Europe’s long-awaited Unified Patent Court (UPC), the establishment of an efficient pan-European patent litigation system faces ever-mounting challenges. Last Friday, the German Federal Constitutional Court declared that the German Act of Approval of the UPC Agreement void due to violations of the principle of due process and the rule of law (Engli

• JD Supra European Union

In recent years the European direct lending market has grown dramatically. That expansion can be attributed to a number of factors, including (i) a sizeable jump in the number of private equity firms with direct lending operations, and (ii) institutional investors allocating more of their debt portfolios to higher-yielding (but more illiquid) private debt strategies.

• JD Supra European Union

In recent years the European direct lending market has grown dramatically. Such expansion can be attributed to a number of factors, including (i) a sizeable jump in the number of private equity firms with direct lending operations, and (ii) institutional investors allocating more of their fixed income portfolios to higher-yielding (but more illiquid) private debt strategies.

• JD Supra European Union

The current perception is that blockchain is not compatible with GDPR. Lokke Moerel and Marijn Storm argue that this is not the case and explain why none of the issues identified by legal scholars and stakeholders are likely to pose issues for blockchain applications. In fact, they conclude that blockchain is well able to be regulated under the GDPR. Please see full Publication below for more...

• JD Supra European Union

The whistleblowing rules in Europe are about to change dramatically. The new Directive on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, also referred to as the “Whistleblowing Directive,” will require Member States to create rules that mandate organizations with more than 50 workers to set up whistleblowing hotlines and accept reports about violations of the EU law.

• JD Supra European Union

Case: Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) [2018] EWHC 1980 (Ch), Hildyard J (27 July 2018) - The High Court sanctioned a complex scheme of arrangement (“Scheme") under the Companies Act 2006 (“CA 2006”) in relation to Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (“LBIE”). The Scheme had as its purpose the compromise of unresolved litigation so as to enable...

• JD Supra European Union

The MoFo European Private Funds Group knows you are busy, so we don’t waste your time. Below are the tracks we are listening to right now – and why they matter...

• JD Supra European Union

In two long-awaited decisions handed down yesterday and last week, respectively, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) had the opportunity to decide the fate of online or “over-the-top” (OTT) communications services under European telecommunications law – but it left several key questions unresolved. In last week’s decision, the ECJ found Microsoft’s Skype to be a regulated electronic...

• JD Supra European Union

The EU Member States' Approval - The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (“Directive”) was finally approved by all EU legislative bodies on April 15, 2019. Introducing “modernizing EU copyright rules for European culture to flourish and circulate” was a key initiative of the European Commission’s Digital Single Market (DSM), which, according to the Commission’s...

• JD Supra European Union

The EU has recently laid the ground to take a more active role in the screening of foreign direct investment (FDI). On April 10, 2019, the EU formally established a framework for foreign investment screening including a coordination mechanism between the EU and its Member States. The new rules will become applicable on October 11, 2020, but the effects of the new rules may be felt sooner, as...

• JD Supra European Union

From 14 September 2019, certain electronic and remote payments must be subjected to two-factor, or “strong customer authentication” (SCA), under regulatory standards covering the European Economic Area (EEA) relating to the second EU Payment Services Directive, which took effect in January 2018 (PSD2). Retailers are uncertain whether these new European anti-fraud measures will cause consumers to...

• JD Supra European Union

What is at Stake? - “Common ownership” – an investor holding economic interests in different competing businesses at the same time – has been a recurring topic in antitrust debates. More recently, there have been calls in the EU for closer antitrust scrutiny of simultaneous board representations, where executives from one company serve on the board of a competitor. This alert reflects on the...

• JD Supra European Union

In this alert, we provide an update on EU regulatory issues that are relevant to all managers of alternative investment funds, both for European and non-European funds. This includes the effect of a possible no-deal Brexit, details on the review by the European Commission of the operation of the AIFM Directive and information on upcoming new EU legislation on the cross-border distribution of...

• JD Supra European Union

On July 16, 2015, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered its seminal decision in Huawei v. ZTE. In its decision, the ECJ provided fundamental guidance for the licensing and enforcement of standard essential patents (SEPs) that are subject to a FRAND licensing commitment (i.e., a commitment by the patent owner to license those patents on fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms). While

• JD Supra European Union

Summary - Almost two and a half years after the EU Commission proposed a Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market, the legislative procedure finally hits the homestretch – with the last plenary sessions of the EU Parliament (March 25 - April 18, 2019) marking its likely end (the approval of the EU Council is considered a formality). If the current proposal passes this last...

• JD Supra European Union

Three weeks ago, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (the “E3”) created INSTEX SAS (Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges, INSTEX), an entity designed to enhance business between the EU and Iran and to serve as a core element of a broader barter and clearing scheme. A joint statement by the E3 foreign ministers announced INSTEX on January 31, 2019, and noted that additional steps would be

• JD Supra European Union

In principle, patents confer protection for a maximum of 20 years. In Europe, however, the patent terms for pharmaceutical products that meet the conditions necessary for supplementary protection certificates (“SPC”) can be extended for up to five years.

• JD Supra European Union

The Brexit date of 29 March 2019 is fast approaching, and there is now a distinct possibility of the UK leaving the EU without agreed terms. Our MoFo Brexit Task Force is coordinating Brexit-related legal analysis across all of our offices, and working with clients on key concerns and issues, now and in the coming weeks and months. We are also continuing to provide MoFo Brexit Briefings on a...

• JD Supra European Union

The EU General Court (“Court”) reduced the fines imposed on Servier SAS and its subsidiaries (“Servier”) from a total of €428 million to €315 million (see press release no. 194/18), thereby partially annulling a European Commission (“Commission”) decision.