Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
The European Patent Office ("EPO") has committed to specific timelines for its new practice of accelerating opposition proceedings....more
The UPC, a single patent court for European Union Member States, has published the first statistics on its case load since its establishment in 2023. Between June 1, 2023, and January 31, 2024, a total of 196 cases were filed...more
The redistribution of competences to the Munich, Paris, and Milan central chambers takes shape and brings complexity for chemistry patents....more
The Situation: Over the last year, the Italian Competition Bill (Law 287/1990) has undergone a significant number of amendments aimed at strengthening the enforcement powers of the Italian Competition Authority ("ICA"). At...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
12/22/2023
/ Article III ,
Australia ,
Class Action ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
International Litigation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Settlement ,
Standing ,
UK
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
Class actions have been a feature of the litigation landscape in the USA for decades. Claimant-friendly procedures combined with an aggressive and well-funded plaintiffs’ bar have created fertile ground for these large,...more
10/5/2023
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Data Breach ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Litigation Funding ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
For the first time consumers' "collective interests," as opposed to "subjective rights," are explicitly recognized and protected by an ad hoc tool, the Representative Action, which has made significant changes in the domestic...more
The French National Assembly has passed a bill intended to promote the use of class actions in line with the new EU Representative Actions Directive....more
Nearly every board of a publicly traded company in the European Union, United Kingdom, or United States will have considered and, for most, reported on ESG matters. And it is not just public companies. In what has been little...more
In Short -
The Situation: With the introduction of the Unified Patent Court ("UPC") system in Europe, the co-ownership of patents will have material effect on patents with unitary effect ("Unitary Patent")....more
In Short -
The Situation: While the national case laws of most Unified Patent Court ("UPC") Member States generally accept infringement actions by licensees, the scope and requirements of such actions differ greatly. The...more
Judges were recruited from across Europe and appointed in accordance with the decisions of the UPC Administrative Committee. The UPC will be led by German Federal Court of Justice Judge Klaus Grabinski as president of the...more
In March 2022, the European Commission published "REPowerEU," a blueprint of its planned changes to the regulation of European Union energy markets in direct response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. At...more
The creation of a new European Unified Patent Court (“UPC”) and a new patent with unitary effect (“Unitary Patent”), in which almost all member states of the European Union participate, is the most important change in the...more
On February 8, 2022, the Chamber of Deputies approved a proposed law ("Constitutional Reform" or "Reform") to include environmental, health and animal protection among the fundamental principles of the Italian Constitution,...more
2/25/2022
/ Business Plans ,
Capital Investments ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Amendment ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Italy ,
Sustainability
Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism -
The Enabling Act provides for the reorganization (via a consolidated act) and the promotion of out-of-court means to resolve disputes, i.e., mediation and the so-called...more
In the fourth installment in our series of programs on the private enforcement of competition law in European jurisdictions, Jones Day partners Mario Todino and Lamberto Schiona discuss how private enforcement has evolved in...more
The Situation: Negotiators for the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (the "Council") have reached an agreement on new European rules on collective consumer action. The Council has thus published a...more
Italian COVID-19 legislation, with the aim of keeping companies alive by providing them with a short-term alternative to dissolution, provides for the suspension of (i) certain directors' obligations triggered by substantial...more
The Situation: Litigation in Italy has been unavoidably affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Indeed, the Court of Milan alone holds up to 7,000 people daily, which is incompatible with the emergency rules on...more
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is spreading around Europe and governments take steps towards slowing down the propagation of the virus, courts are reducing activities. In every jurisdiction, where efforts are...more
As the activity of administrative authorities and courts is directly impacted by measures to slow down the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many questions arise as to the impact on proceedings and deadlines for private...more
Italy recently enacted a new insolvency code (the "New Insolvency Code"), which takes effect August 14, 2020. The New Insolvency Code sets up, inter alia, (i) a new preemptive restructuring framework; (ii) new rules...more