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German patent law is set to become simpler and more modern. On October 28, 2020, Germany’s federal cabinet approved the second draft of the act designed to simplify and modernize German patent law. The federal government wants to further strengthen intellectual property rights in connection with the protection of industrial property. To this end, the federal cabinet has now approved the second dra...

As we move towards the end of 2020, positivity has returned to the residential property market, especially in the secondary prime residential market (homes already built and lived in as opposed to off-plan). Prices remain low, allowing those looking for property with outdoor space to afford to move. This has triggered a flurry of first-time buyers – locals and expatriates who see the long-term ben...

In the Middle East, the reality of the situation is that expats are unaware of the implications of local inheritance laws to their assets, children and business. Expats should be prepared today for all that may and can happen tomorrow. My husband and I jointly own a freehold apartment in Dubai. If one of us dies, will the living spouse or our children automatically inherit it? My cousin and I are ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Family Owned Businesses (“FOB”) have been a part of the Emirati economic landscape as well as the GCC for several decades and account for over 80% of the private sector and 80% of the non-oil GDP in the Gulf region. However, traditionally there have been significant issues when the founder and primary shareholder of the FOB dies and leaves behind significant assets to be divided ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Arbitration has become an increasingly popular method of dealing with disputes. For example, in 2019 there were over 2,700 new arbitration cases received by a number of key arbitral institutions (208 DIAC, 308 HKIAC, 869 ICC, 39 ICSID, 406 LCIA, 199 PCA, 479 SIAC, 175 SCC, 7 ECT and 62 WIPO). The question of whether or not to arbitrate typically arises when the parties are negot...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Dispute resolution clauses are often given less importance and are dealt with towards the end of contractual negotiations, or even dismissed as boilerplate clauses and given standard wording without due thought and consideration as to the implications on how any dispute is resolved and how the contractual rights and obligations of parties will be enforced. The purpose of this ar...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”)Data Protection Law 2020 (DIFC Law No. 5 of 2020) (the “Law”) and the DIFC Data Protection Regulations (the “Regulations”) came into force on 1st July 2020 in response to the rapid global technological changes. The DIFC announced that businesses had until 1st October 2020 to bring their operations into compliance with the new requ...

There are countless legends about the salaries of lawyers. In almost every country lawyers belong to the middle class, often to the upper-middle class, and sometimes even to the high class. High salaries translate themselves into a high standard of life. Even in poor Communist Poland, lawyers made a pretty good living. I once heard a discussion of experienced lawyers at a court corridor in Poznan,...