Bank guarantees are one of the forms in which economic operators tendering for a public contract may provide, the so-called tender bonds. The new Public Procurement Law, in force since 1 January 2021, has not significantly changed the rules concerning the provision of tender bonds (including bank guarantees) compared to those based on former legislation.

Have you ever wondered whether you can modify a registered community design ("RCD") that is challenged by an application for declaration of invalidity by removing certain prohibited design elements to maintain the registration?

On June 7, 2022, the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“Agency”) published the Draft Guidelines on Packaging Information and Legibility of Foods for Special Medical Purposes (“Legibility Guidelines”) and the Draft Guidelines on New Health Claim Applications (“Application Guidelines”). 

On 7 April 2022, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Serbia published on its website a statement that, at the 5th session of this court, held on the aforesaid date, among other matters, it has determined that the provision of Article 281, paragraph 3. of the Law on Misdemeanours (Off. Gazette of RS no. 65/2013, 13/2016, 98/2016 – the CC decision, 91/2019 and 91/2019 – other law) (“the Law”) is not in accordance with the Constitution and ratified international treaty.

A topic that has recently been the subject of discussion and reflection is the position of trademarks –protected brands used in trade to mark products and services in the Metaverse, with the question of whether such existing trademarks have protection in this new digital market.

Data Protection Officer (“DPO”) is a person overseeing a company’s data protection strategy and implementation in order to ensure compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) requirements. Any company that processes or stores personal data is recommended to appoint a DPO.

Good news for the consumers, but extra work for businesses. From the end of May, shops and webshops are no longer able to round up their discounts by inflating their prices for a short period before the sale. From now on, when announcing discounts, they always have to indicate the previous price of the products, which can only be the lowest price within at least 30 days before the price cut.

Wind power plants and photovoltaic (PV) plants might affect the landscape. To what extent is in the eye of the beholder.

Once upon a time, two eminent Hungarian scientists made a mathematical breakthrough. They developed the first convex, homogeneous, mono-monostatic object, which they named the "Gomboc" after the famous Hungarian folk character. The Gomboc always returns to its single stable equilibrium point no matter how you put it down, without using any weights. The Gomboc also has one unstable equilibrium. It is possible to balance the body in this position, but the slightest disturbance makes it fall.

What kind of coffee do you drink?

On 31 December 2021, Emergency Ordinance no. 143/2021 amending Electricity and Natural Gas Law no. 123/2012 and amending certain regulatory acts (“GEO 143/2021”) was published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 1259 and entered into force. GEO 143/2021 is intended to transpose into national law Directive (EU) 2019/944 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (“Directive 944/2019”).

At the beginning of the year, several legislative changes came into force that affect both our daily lives and general administration procedures. For example, when purchasing movables or digital goods, the implied warranty period has increased from 6 months to one year. Besides, the concept of residence and place of residence has also changed, and thanks to video-assisted procedures, we will soon no longer have to visit government offices in person. The temporary rules on remote work, though not as of January, will be laid down in legislation in an act upon the termination of the state of emergency.

Turkish Constitutional Court with its decision with application number 2019/12190, published in the Official Gazette on 20.04.2022, ruled that court decisions on dismissal of unquantified debt lawsuits on procedural grounds violates right to access to court.

The incessant growth of WIBOR has become a huge problem for PLN borrowers, who are increasingly questioning the methodology for determining the value of this index. However, there is help in sight as the government is planning to assist, although the initial proposals were contrary to EU law.

Trademark professionals have noted growing interest in protecting trademarks for "virtual goods". This leaves trademark specialists as well as IP offices grappling with how to correctly classify these goods. 

On May 27, 2022, the Law Proposal Amending the Press Law and Further Laws (“Draft”) has been published on Grand National Assembly of Turkey’s (TBMM) website, which includes significant amendments to various laws. The Draft is currently submitted before the relevant commissions (i.e. Justice Commission and Digital Platforms Commission) for discussions, and it is one of the agenda items of the Digital Platforms Commission’s meeting of June 1, 2022. The Draft is anticipated to be published within the second quarter of 2022. 

On 4 June 2022 the Hungarian government issued a decree introducing special taxes affecting several sectors, among others banking, insurance, energy, telecommunications and airlines.

Corporate restructuring and transformations, such as status changes, are part of the business cycle of companies and represent their natural way of growing, adapting to changes in the market and exploring new business opportunities.