(July 20, 2020) On July 13, 2020, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) adopted a temporary amendment that affects the consumer rights of air travelers whose flights were cancelled or changed during the period of March 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. (Aviation Services (Compensation and Assistance for Cancellation or Changing […]
Topic: Aviation and airports, Commerce, Consumer protection, Emergency management, Epidemics, Infectious and parasitic diseases, Public health, Transportation and public works
(June 17, 2020) On June 12, 2020, the governments of Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore signed the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) in an online ceremony, with e-signature tools utilized. Negotiations for the agreement were launched in May 2019 when the trade ministers of the three countries met and “discussed ways to maximize the contributions that […]
Topic: Commerce, Consumer protection, Foreign trade and international finance, Free trade, Internet, Science and technology, Technical innovation, Trade agreements and negotiations
(May 8, 2020) On May 4, 2020, the Administrative Court of Uppsala ruled that sales of Zandcell AB’s COVID-19 test kits were prohibited in Sweden because the producer had not proven that the product met the legal requirements for medical devices under Swedish and European Union law. (Uppsala Administrative Court, Decision No. 240-20 (May 4, […]
Topic: Administrative courts, Consumer protection, Emergency management, Epidemics, Infectious and parasitic diseases, Medical devices, Public health
(Apr. 28, 2020) On April 11, 2020, the president of the Justice Tribunal of Rio de Janeiro, Justice Claudio de Mello Tavares, validated Rio de Janeiro State Law No. 8,769 of March 23, 2020 (Lei Estadual No. 8.769, de 23 de Março de 2020), which implements a series of measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
Topic: Consumer protection, Disaster relief, Emergency management, Epidemics, Infectious and parasitic diseases, Public health
(Mar. 12, 2020) On February 24, 2020, the New Zealand government introduced the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill into the Parliament. The government minister responsible for the Bill, Associate Minister of Health Jenny Salesa, stated that it “aims to strike the right balance between making sure vaping is available for smokers who want […]
Topic: Child health, Consumer protection, Health, Marketing and advertising, Tobacco and smoking
(Feb. 28, 2020) On February 7, 2020, a French consumer protection agency fined Apple for 25 million euros (approximately US$27.4 million) for failing to inform consumers that updating the iPhone’s operating system may cause some older models to slow down. The Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes […]
Topic: Cell phones, Consumer protection, Product development and innovation
(Feb. 10, 2020) On January 7, 2020, Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 Amending European Union (EU) Consumer Protection Rules for Better Enforcement and Modernization (Directive) entered into force. The Directive updates the current EU consumer protection rules to incorporate technological developments and improve enforcement. An […]
Topic: Commerce, Consumer protection, Internet, Marketing and advertising, Treaties and International Agreements/European Union
(Dec. 23, 2019) On November 27, 2019, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH), Germany’s supreme court for civil and criminal cases, held that the services provided by the company Lexfox, which is registered as a legal services provider for collection services, did not violate the German Legal Services Act. The decision was highly […]
Topic: Appellate courts, Consumer protection, Contracts, Corporations and associations, District courts, Internet, Judicial review and appeals, Lawyers and legal services, Product development and innovation, Supreme court, Technical innovation
(Oct. 31, 2019) On October 8, 2019, the Higher Regional Court of Cologne held that the services provided by a legal contract generator platform violated the German Legal Services Act. It instructed the owner of the contract platform to cease its operations and stop advertising it. Applicable Law The Legal Services Act defines a legal […]
Topic: Consumer protection, Contracts, Corporations and associations, Lawyers and legal services, Product development and innovation, Technical innovation
(Oct. 30, 2019) On October 3, 2019, the Parliament of Liechtenstein unanimously adopted the Token and TT-Service Provider Act (TVTG) (“Blockchain Act”), a “comprehensive regulation of the token economy.” The Act has been substantially revised since the conclusion of the consultation process that ran from August to November 2018. The Blockchain Act is subject to […]
Topic: Banks and financial institutions, Civil code, Commodities markets, Consumer protection, Cryptocurrency, Financial services, Internet, Product development and innovation, Securities, Technical innovation
