MAGAZINE
January 2016 Issue
Financier Worldwide Magazine
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COVER STORY
Infrastructure investment in the US
Infrastructure projects provide the literal and metaphorical building blocks on which countries and continents are able to construct their economies. Investing in and developing infrastructure helps countries to generate jobs, improve the quality of life...
FEATURES
Following the trials and tribulations of the financial crisis and the immediate post-crisis global economy, mergers & acquisitions activity, for a few years at least, was fairly moribund. Activity began to rebound significantly in 2014 and this...
Investing in the clean technology revolution
As one might expect in a sector dedicated to saving the natural environment and making the world a better place, investment in the clean technology (cleantech) arena has proved to be plentiful in recent years. The extent of interest in the cleantech universe – which...
The end of the biotech IPO boom?
Since early 2013, companies in the biotechnology space have filed for their public market debut in record numbers, raising billions of dollars in funding in the process. 2013 was a true renaissance for biotechnology IPOs. Across 50 biopharmaceutical IPOs, a record...
Riding out the slump: the outlook for commodities markets
The whys and wherefores of the current commodities markets slump is a tale of supply and demand trends and the resultant detrimental impact on cyclical commodities such as oil, crops and industrial metals. Commodity prices have actually been on a downward...
Analysing the TPP: big benefits or big trouble?
Hailed in many quarters as a major transformational trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement – the largest regional trade accord in history – has nevertheless sharply divided opinion since its signing by 12 Pacific Rim nations in October 2015...
ROUNDTABLE
THE PANELLISTS: Helen Bourne, Clyde & Co; Michael Bruemmer, Experian Data Breach Resolution; Emilian Papadopoulos, Good Harbor Security Risk Management, LLC; Udo Wirtz, Siemens AG; Tom Kellermann, Trend Micro; Frances Floriano Goins, Ulmer & Berne LLP; and Raj Kushwaha, Warburg Pincus LLC.
Cyber attacks are now the norm. Over the last 12 to 18 months, companies have become ever more vulnerable to assaults on their security, with the frequency and severity of incidents increasing without pause. The question is whether firms are ready to deal with both...
SPECIAL REPORT
Intellectual property (IP) – including inventions, literary and artistic works, designs and symbols, and names and images used in commerce – exists in one form or another in every avenue of business. IP is protected in law by patents, copyright and trademarks which...
FORUM: Protecting and enforcing trademarks
FW moderates a discussion on protecting and enforcing trademarks between David Wilkinson at Clyde & Co, Mark Sommers at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP, Cornelia Schmitt at Grünecker, and Myrtha Hurtado Rivas at Novartis Pharma AG.
What is a brand – and what does it mean for your business?
Lewis Silkin LLP 2015 saw a host of big name brands come under fire. Thomas Cook’s brand took a beating after a PR disaster over the deaths of two children on holiday in Corfu. Volkswagen saw its car sales suffer after September’s emissions scandal. FIFA is in freefall. Even Taylor Swift...
Using citation analysis to value patents
NERA Economic Consulting A useful, efficient and increasingly utilised indication of the value of a patent is the number of times that it is cited by a later patent (‘forward citations’). More valuable patents (that is, patents for which there is relatively high demand for the technology described in...
IP awareness programmes for employees
ENSafrica Why are IP awareness programmes important? In many cases, IP is the most valuable asset of the company. It is therefore imperative that the company’s employees should understand what IP is and how and why it should be protected and enforced. In some cases, that IP might...
Trademark protection on a global scale
Nucleus IP Limited Why should I register my trademark? This is a question that the majority of business owners, from the sole trader, to the start-up to the multinationals, ask when the discussion about trademark protection arises. One simple answer is prevention is better than a cure...
IP litigation – processes, procedures and preparation
J A Kemp Intellectual property litigation is changing. In common with the rest of the business world, litigation is becoming more digitised and this is enabling smaller teams to conduct litigation as effectively as large teams, but at lower cost. Litigation in the...
Relying on trust: Hidden Gem and the perils of unwritten IP licences
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP A recent decision of the UK Intellectual Property Enterprise Court provides a useful reminder of the inherent risks of using third parties to develop intellectual property. Where intellectual property provisions are not properly documented, there is a...
Jones Day The forthcoming creation of a new European Unified Patent Court (UPC) and a new European patent with unitary effect (Unitary Patent), in which almost all member states of the European Union will participate, is the most important change in the European patent...
UPC jurisdiction for EP patents: should I opt out or stay in?
E.G.Y.P. The Unified Patent Court (UPC) is planned to open for business at the start of 2017. 2016 is the year to choose whether or not to opt out of the UPC jurisdiction. Companies need to make a decision for each of their current EP patents, as well as for each of their EP...
The Italian IP Box: a box full of contents
DLA Piper Milan The Italian government has recently approved the Patent Box (also known as the IP Box), which is a tax incentive regime already in force in some European countries (lastly in the UK) and whose object is to make Italy a more attractive venue for companies investing in...
Q&A: Creating value through IP asset management and valuation
FW moderates a discussion on creating value through IP asset management and valuation between Michael J. Dansky at Berkeley Research Group, LLC, Dr James Dimech-DeBono at FTI Consulting, Alan Cox at NERA Economic Consulting, and Scott Weingust at Stout Risius Ross, Inc.
DEALfront
mergers & acquisitions
Pfizer buys Allergan for $160bn in record-breaking M&A deal
Biopharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. has announced that it is to acquire speciality pharmaceutical company Allergan plc in a transaction believed to be the largest in healthcare history, creating a new global leader in biopharma business and innovation...
Visa to buy European counterpart for $23bn
Visa Inc, the world’s largest credit card and debit card announced its agreement to acquire former subsidiary Visa Europe in a deal worth up to $23bn in cash and stock. According to a joint statement, Visa will pay $18.2bn up front and a potential...
private equity & venture capital
CPPIB and BC Partners to take Cablevision stake
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and funds advised by BC Partners, BC European Capital IX, along with a number of co-investors, are teaming up with Altice NV on its proposed $17.7bn acquisition of Cablevision Systems Corporation. The investment...
Pamplona Capital Management to buy MedAssets for $2.7bn
Leading healthcare performance improvement company MedAssets is to be acquired by specialist investment manager Pamplona Capital Management, LLP, in a transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $2.7bn, or $31.35 per share...
bankruptcy & corporate restructuring
Freedom Communications files for Chapter 11 protection
Beleaguered newspaper publisher Freedom Communications Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection following a struggle with debt and an inability to meet its financial obligations. Santa Ana-based Freedom, which owns the Orange County Register...
Fresh & Easy files for Chapter 11 protection
In November, grocery chain Fresh & Easy LLC filed for Chapter 11 protection for the second time in two years. According to paperwork filed at the US bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware, Fresh & Easy listed assets of between $10m and $50m and debts in the...
PROFESSIONALinsight
Risk Management
Shoosmiths The UK’s transparency in supply chains provisions came into force on 29 October 2015. Will the provisions become the international gold standard? The objective of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is to prevent modern slavery entering the supply chain, as...
Cyber security in the automotive world
Bowman and Brooke LLP In July 2015, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, two ‘digital security researchers’, showed the world how a 2014 Jeep Cherokee’s computer system could be remotely and wirelessly hacked while the Jeep was cruising at highway speeds. This event was just the...
The effect of the safe harbour ruling in Switzerland
Prager Dreifuss Ltd. On 6 October 2015, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its much-anticipated judgment in Schrems v Data Protection Commissioner, Case C-362/14 (Safe Harbour Ruling). The case was brought after it had been revealed by Edward Snowden that personal data, which...
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Supreme Court to review barriers for wilful infringement
Sughrue Mion, PLLC On 19 October 2015, in a somewhat surprising move, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in two cases to review the standard for enhanced damages for wilful infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 284. The two cases...
Remedies available for breaches of foreign investment contracts and treaties
LawFed Studio Legale E Tributario Brsa The remedies available to an investor for breaches of a foreign investment contract are damages, rescission of the contract or specific performance. Depending on the terms of that contract, they may be heard by state courts or by an arbitral tribunal...
CONTRIBUTORS
Berkeley Research Group, LLC
Bowman and Brooke LLP
Clyde & Co.
DLA Piper Milan
E.G.Y.P.
ENSafrica
Experian Data Breach Resolution
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP
FTI Consulting
Good Harbor Security Risk Management, LLC
Grünecker
J A Kemp
Jones Day
LawFed Studio Legale E Tributario Brsa
Lewis Silkin LLP
NERA Economic Consulting
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Novartis Pharma AG
Nucleus IP Limited
Prager Dreifuss Ltd.
Shoosmiths
Siemens AG
Stout Risius Ross, Inc.
Sughrue Mion, PLLC
Trend Micro
Ulmer & Berne LLP
Warburg Pincus LLC