1. How can the government’s attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? The attitude of the Belgian government can be described as positive and their approach is proactive. In 2003, the Belgian authorities announced the introduction of ‘egovernment’ ...
In the second of a two-part look at issues arising out of the tender process we consider what can happen when that process is poorly run. Part 1 of the series can be found at IT tendering: Leveraging the benefits. A typical tender process involves the customer analysing and documenting its requirements in a Request for Proposals (RFP) to which interested suppliers will prepare a response ...
In a recent article we looked at some of the employment risks for customers associated with cloud computing. Following on from Cloud computing: Employment law implications, we now consider how best to assess the other risks associated with cloud computing ...
THE FACTS OF THE CASEThe case has as its backdrop a family tragedy. On the morning of April 22, 2002, Martin Brossard went to the residence of his former spouse, Liliane de Montigny. Following a sequence of events, the order of which could not be determined from the evidence, he strangled his spouse and drowned their two children, Claudia and Béatrice, in the bathtub of the residence ...
Late on Friday, November 19, 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors, the FBI and the SEC are in the final stages of an unprecedented three-year investigation into insider trading by consultants, investment bankers, hedge fund and mutual fund traders, and analysts.1 The SEC has already subpoenaed more than thirty hedge funds and investors, and some civil or criminal charges may be brought before the end of the year ...
ON SEPTEMBER 23, 2010, THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA ISSUED AN UNANIMOUS JUDGMENT IN THE CASE OF PROGRESSIVE HOMES LTD. V. LOMBARD GENERAL INSURANCE CO. OF CANADA(1) , REVERSING TWO LOWER COURT JUDGMENTS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA WHICH HAD CONCLUDED THAT THE INSURER, LOMBARD, HAD NO DUTY TO DEFEND THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR PROGRESSIVE HOMES, AGAINST A CLAIM FOR DEFECTS AND DAMAGES CAUSED BY WATER INFILTRATION IN FOUR BUILDINGS BUILT BY IT ...
On August 25th, the Court of Appeal, for the reasons of Justice Nicholas Kasirer(1), rendered a significant decision(2) with regard to the duty of care required from ski instructors and the assessment of damages awarded to a victim who developed a serious neurological disorder resulting from a ski accident.In their capacity as tutors of their child (referred to as “X” in the judgment), as well as in their personal capacity, Plaintiffs claimed damages for approximately $3 ...
IT projects: It’s a team game 28 September 2010 IT projects have a knack of over-running for significant periods, requiring ‘out-of-scope’ changes half way through, and consequently going over budget. Although any project will develop and evolve over time, such problems can be minimised through sensible project management methods. It is not uncommon for IT projects to last several months, if not years, from conception to completion ...
Getting the Deal Through - e-Commerce 2011 Getting the Deal Through published a fully revised and updated seventh edition of e-Commerce, a volume in GTDT's series of annual reports published by Law Business Research. This publication provides international analysis in key areas of law and policy for corporate counsel, cross-border legal practitioners and business people ...
Damage Insurance - Lavery, de Billy, L.L.P. - Canada Hidden Defect, Reduction in the Purchase Price and Liability Insurance Coverage On June 2, 2010, the Quebec Court of Appeal confirmed the Superior Court’s decision (per Justice Gill es Hébert), which dismissed the insured’s action in warranty against his liability insurer under his home owner’s policy ...
Social networks: Hype and its legal consequences published in: WirtschaftsBlatt,Author: Dr. Axel Anderl, LL.m., Mag. Martina Schmid Social networking platforms like Facebook, MySpace or XING are an increasing popularity. It has never been so easy to operate social networking ...
The Quebec Court of Appeal confirmed the Superior Court’s decision, which dismissed the insured’s action in warranty against his liability insurer under his home owner’s policy. The insured alleged that the purchasers’ claim for reducing the purchase price due to a hidden defect was covered under the liability insurance policy. The Facts In April 2005, Plaintiffs, Bérubé and Marcil, purchased Johnston’s residence ...
The Ukrainian telecommunications market has enjoyed dynamic growth over the last five years, with an increasing number of telecommunications operators. According to the National Communications Regulation Commission (the NCRC), the Ukrainian telecommunications regulator, the number of licensed telecommunications operators reached almost 1,500 in Ukraine in 2009. The NCRC reports stable development of the industry despite the global economic crisis ...
On June 2, 2010, the Quebec Court of Appeal confirmed the Superior Court’s decision (per Justice Gill es Hébert), which dismissed the insured’s action in warranty against his liability insurer under his home owner’s policy. The insured all eged that the purchasers’ cl aim for reducing the purchase price due to a hidden defect was covered under the liability insurance policy.(1)THE FACTSIn April 2005, Plaintiffs, Bérubé and Marcil, purchased Johnston’s residence ...
On June 28, 2010, the United States Supreme Court announced its decision on Bilski v. Kappos regarding what inventions are eligible for patent protection. The decision affirms that business methods are patentable, although the specific business methods at the center of the case are not. While stating that no single test governs the issue, the Court approved of the use of the “machine-or-transformation test” that the Federal Circuit had distilled from earlier Supreme Court cases ...
IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2010, THE SUPERIOR COURT RENDERED TWO INTERESTING DECISIONS IN CASES INVOLVING FIRES. WE WILL REVIEW THESE DECISIONS , WHICH HAVE A NUMBER OF FEATURES IN COMMON, INCLUDING THE CONSIDERABLE SUMS OF MONEY AT STAKE, THE LENGTHY TIME PERIOD BETWEEN THE LOSS AND THE TRIAL, AND THE NUMBER OF PERSONS INVOLVED IN THE CONDUCT OF EACH CASE.THE GOODFELLOW CASE: “THE DORMANT FIRE ”On August 22, 1998, a major fire broke out in Goodfellow Inc ...
“Therein the patient must minister to himself” (Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 3) With only seven days to go before the expiry on 1 April 2010 of the previous insurance block exemption, the European Commission adopted a new exemption, albeit in very much reduced form ...
Just one day after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit indicated that it would consider the current state of the inequitable conduct doctrine en banc in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton Dickinson and Co., a split panel of the Federal Circuit issued a decision in the case of Avid Identification Systems, Inc. v. Crystal Import Corp. affirming a lower court’s finding of inequitable conduct ...
2009 Prediction: Further penetration of Software as a Service (SaaS) Australia will see a proliferation of businesses adopting SaaS in 2009. With no hardware, maintenance or upfront capital costs, SaaS will be seen as ideal for companies looking to control their costs in an uncertain economic environment. Some analysts predict that the global SaaS industry may be worth as much as A$10.7 billion during 2009 ...
FACTS Mr. Gibbens, the insured, became a paraplegic following an inflammation of his spinal cord. This inflammation was caused by the herpes HSV-2 virus, contracted during unprotected sexual intercourse with three different women in January and February 2003. A diagnosis of viral infection was confirmed on February 17, 2003. Mr. Gibbens’s condition deteriorated rapidly and, on February 23, 2003, he became paraplegic ...
At the end of January, the 468-page judgement of BSkyB v EDS was published, nearly eighteen months after the court hearing closed. Many, varied and worrying predictions as to the potential impact of this judgement had been made, but ultimately the judgement is unlikely to lead to radical changes in the relationship between IT and other suppliers and their customers ...
The government has released a discussion paper outlining proposals for the reform of Australia's insolvent trading laws designed to ensure that the insolvency laws complement and assist the conduct of workouts. The paper seeks submissions on issues that arise for directors from operation of the insolvent trading laws, particularly in the context of attempts at business rescue outside formal insolvency administrations ...
With regard to the professional obligations of a lawyer, is it possible outside the physical confines of the tribunal to let a judge know exactly what he thinks of him? Should the response be negative, does it not unduly restrain his right to freedom of expression otherwise guaranteed to all by virtue of the charters of rights and freedoms? This is the question to which the Court of Appeal had to respond recently by rendering judgment in the case of Doré v ...
The verdict has finally arrived in the long-running IT dispute between EDS and BSkyB, for which the trial ended over a year ago. With legal fees of around £70m and an anticipated damages award of £200m (against a contract reportedly worth only £48m), the case will change the landscape of supplying IT products and services forever. EDS supplied a customer relationship management system to BSkyB ...
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is modifying the computer program it uses to calculate Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) in light of the recent decision in Wyeth v. Kappos, No. 2009-1120 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 7, 2010). In Wyeth, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that the USPTO has been improperly calculating patent term adjustment under 35 U.S.C. § 154(b). The Federal Circuit’s decision will result in additional patent term for many U.S ...
