Articles

Fund annual return form – deadline extended
A reminder that all private funds registered with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) must submit a fund annual return (FAR) form.

For all private funds with a financial year end up to 31 March 2021 the date for filing the FAR form has been extended to 31 October 2021. Thereafter it will be due annually within six months of the private fund’s financial year end. For more information about the private funds FAR form please see our earlier client alert and our regulatory blog.

BRAZIL | Legal Framework of Startups is Sanctioned and Enters into Force on September 1st, 2021

On June 1st, 2021, Supplementary Law No. 182 was sanctioned, which instituted the ‘Legal Framework for startups and innovative entrepreneurship’. The novelties brought by said law create better conditions for the development and consolidation of startups in the country, also stimulating initiatives for integration between the public and private sectors.

The new Legal Framework provides for some requirements for qualifying a company as a Startup, including: (i) having an annual gross revenue of up to R$16,000,000.00 (sixteen million reais); (ii) not exceed 10 (ten) years of registration in the National Register of Legal Entities (CNPJ); and (iii) that declare, in their articles of incorporation, the use of innovative models or that fall under the special regime Inova Simples – regulated by CGSIM Resolution No. 55, of March 23, 2020.

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Harneys recently partnered with Preqin on their first ever Preqin Markets in Focus: Alternative Assets in Asia Pacific report, which focuses on investment opportunities, trends, fundraising and deal statistics in a region, which has seen assets under management expand more than eight-fold, over the past decade, to US$1.6 trillion.

The report features an article by Maggie Kwok, Harneys' Asia Head of Funds and Regulatory, titled “Why The Future of Private Capital Lies in the East”.

Maggie’s article will outline:
• What are some of the key themes that have emerged?
• A closer look at the competing regulators/jurisdictions.
• How to create the right legal platform.

India | The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 (“Model Act”) was recently approved by the Cabinet and circulated to all the States and Union Territories for their adoption. The Model Act aims to establish a Rent Authority to regulate renting of premises and to protect the interests of landlords and tenants and to provide speedy adjudication mechanisms for resolution of disputes and connected matters. On the political front, the Model Act seeks to fulfil its objective of housing for all under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. This piece analyses the scheme of the Model Act.

The new Chinese Civil Code is an event not only from a legal point of view, but also in terms of social significance. The protection of civil rights and the rights of individuals is explicitly mentioned in Article 1.

In this article, Franzosi Dal Negro Setti lawyers Ombretta Dal Negro and Carolina Stefanetti highlight the most significant parts.

The new Chinese Civil Code is an event not only from a legal point of view, but also in terms of social significance. The protection of civil rights and the rights of individuals is explicitly mentioned in Article 1.

In this article, Franzosi Dal Negro Setti lawyers Ombretta Dal Negro and Carolina Stefanetti highlight the most significant parts.

World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on 26 April. Today we present a glimpse at the year gone by in terms of changes to the IPR and related provisions coupled with selected judgments. Also sharing thoughts on “IP & SMEs: Taking your ideas to market” - the theme by WIPO celebrating this World IP Day.

When we die someone needs to take responsibility for dealing with our affairs, including organising our funeral, settling our debts and passing on gifts of money, property or possessions in accordance with the terms of our willor the rules of intestacy when no will has been made.

In this article, Gail Hall, willsand probateexpert at Warners Solicitors in Kent explains how the first step in this process usually involves applying for a grant of probate once the value of the estate has been established.

ITALY - The value of energy efficiency is protected, in general, in our legal system by the Legislative Decree No. 102/2014, as amended by Legislative Decree 14 July 2020, No. 73, as implementation of the EU Directive No. 2012/27/EU as amended by the Directive No. 2018/2002/EU.

The Italian set of rules has two main purposes:

1. establish a framework of provisions for the promotion and improvement of energy efficiency in order to achieve the national energy saving target […] and for the implementation of the European principle that gives leading importance to the energy efficiency (art. 1 par. 1);

2. state provisions aimed at removing obstacles in the energy market and at overcoming the market deficiencies that restrain an efficient supply and use of energy (art. 1, par. 2).

With such purposes, the Decree 102/2014 provides rules related to the efficiency in energy supply, the efficiency in energy use, as well as some horizontal rules.

Whatsapp, Signal and Telegram face a catch-22 situation as India’s new social media rules threaten encryption

Encryption is a safety blanket for many. It is the night light to keep nightmares away. But, that may no longer be the case with India’s new social media regulations.

The Indian government thinks that it has found a loophole. It claims that it does not care about what messages are being passed around, but if an incident is found to have been instigated through social media, they want to know who started it all — they want to find the ‘first originator’.

“We don’t want the content, because the content is already out there in the form of tweets or messages. But, who began the mischief? This, they [social media platforms] will have to disclose,” said the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ravi Shankar Prasad, while announcing India’s new IT rules on February 26.