Serbia’s 2020 Trademark Law introduced a novel provision to local law: the trademark holders have been explicitly empowered to claim profit surrender in cases where the infringement was not intentional or grossly negligent.
Two Gun-Jumping Investigations Launched by the Serbian Competition Commission
On 14 June 2024, the Serbian Competition Commission (the “Commission”) initiated two proceedings against companies belonging to the Agromarket Group for allegedly implementing notifiable concentrations without obtaining prior approval from the Commission. The acquisitions occurred in 2020 and 2024 and both concern targets located outside of Serbia.
Is an Amendment to the Competition Act in the Works?
You may have noticed that there has been a discussion about an amendment to the Act on Protection of Competition in recent weeks. If it passes the legislative procedure, what would it mean in practice?
ECJ Decides on Hungarian VAT Refund Claim
In its latest decision of May 16, 2024 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) reflected on the Hungarian foreign VAT refund regime. ECJ established once again that non-compliance with formal requirements should not prevent reimbursement of VAT provided that substantive requirements can and have been satisfied.
Whistleblower Law
On June 24, 2024, the Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers (the "Whistleblowers Act") was published in the Journal of Laws, which means that most of its provisions will come into force on September 25, 2024.
Poland – Privacy Implications of New Whistleblowing Rules
Poland has finally implemented the EU Whistleblowing Directive. The new law will enter into force on 25 September 2024, leaving little time to adapt to the new regulations. We highlight the key privacy implications of implementing the whistleblowing procedures in Poland and outline the actions organisations need to take in the upcoming weeks.
The State of Web Scraping in the EU
High-quality, diverse, and extensive datasets are fundamental for improving machine learning model performance, and web scraping helps gather the necessary data to develop more robust and generalizable models. Web scraping pose different legal challenges, such as data protection, copyright and contractual law related issues. Intellectual property concerns arise as website content, like text, images, and data, is often copyrighted, and scraping without the copyright owner’s permission may lead to infringement claims. Further to this, many websites prohibit scraping in their terms of service, and violating these terms can also result in legal action against the operators of web scrapers.
Guest Editorial: Consolidation in the CEE Legal Market: A Necessary Trend or Mere Fashion?
In the dynamic Central and Eastern European legal sector, the trend of law firms merging and consolidating has become increasingly prominent. This trend is driven by a quest for synergies, expanding the client base, achieving cost savings, and gaining a competitive edge in the war for talent.
Croatia: Sustainability Linked Bonds on the Capital Market
Almost two years ago, I discussed in an article published in CEE Legal Matters the presence of “green” bonds and financings in Croatia. The thesis put forward in that article was focused on the necessity of companies and financial service providers to be more “green” in terms of the products they offer on the Croatian (capital) markets and goals on sustainability which should be accomplished.
Bulgaria: OTC Derivatives, Repurchases, and Securities Lending Transactions – Expected EBRD-Driven Reforms
Derivatives, repurchases, and securities lending transactions are often used by sophisticated financial institutions and large corporate entities in Bulgaria to manage their portfolios of investments, hedge against financial risks, or get short-term credit. Such products are predominantly offered on an OTC basis by foreign banks, with mainly the largest local banks having the know-how and resources to do the same.
Slovenia: Navigating Property Bonds
In recent years, we have been seeing that real estate developers are starting to turn to debt capital markets to raise capital for their real estate development projects in Slovenia. When issuing bonds for real estate development projects, investors usually expect to have security on the real estate property that is being developed. Similar to other finance transactions, collateral can take various forms. This article examines the possibilities of establishing collateral on real estate property for bonds in Slovenia.
Kosovo: Initial Phase in Capital Market Development – Balancing Challenges and Benefits
On January 25, 2024, the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo published a list of concept notes anticipated for drafting and adoption by the Kosovo Government in the present year. The concept note, a regulatory prerequisite to the enactment of legislation within a specified domain, specifies the objectives of prospective governmental policy and the optimal modalities for their implementation.
Albania: Passporting of EU Investment Funds Now Possible... But Not Really There Yet
Albania, driven by its commitment to align with European Union standards, has embarked on a comprehensive journey to harmonize its financial legislation with EU directives, particularly in the realm of capital markets. At the forefront of this effort stands Law 56/2020 “On Collective Investment Undertakings” (Albanian CIU Law), a pivotal piece of legislation that encompasses the passporting of foreign investment funds into Albania. This landmark law, coupled with the recent enactment of Regulation no. 37 (Passporting Regulation) and Regulation no. 38 (Distribution Regulation) by the Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA), lays down the groundwork for the processes of passporting and distribution within the Albanian financial landscape.
Turkiye: Recent Developments in Sustainability Reporting under Turkish Law
Due to the importance of disclosure of compliance with sustainability principles in evaluating the performance of companies, to ensure transparency, comparability, and reliability of the disclosures made within the scope of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations, regulations have been introduced in the Turkish legal system.
Czech Republic: Changes in Alternative Fund Regulation
Investment funds in the Czech Republic are regulated by the Czech Investment Companies and Investment Funds Act (ZISIF) and by local implementing regulations (governmental decrees and decrees of the Czech National Bank – CNB).
Lithuania: Capital Market of the Baltic States and the Trends – A Q1 Outlook
The Baltic region, comprising Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, boasts an emerging public capital market facilitated by the unified securities trading platform – the Nasdaq Baltic Stock Exchange.
Serbia: Navigating Capital Markets – Overcoming Challenges while Striving Toward Rebirth
The economic sector of the Republic of Serbia, including the capital market, offers a telling reflection of the global market’s challenges and some regional specifics. Despite periods of uncertainty and stagnation, Serbia’s capital market maintains signs of vitality and potential for growth.
Collection of Claims Through Settlement
Creditors can collect their claims not only through court, but also through judicial or out-of-court settlement.