There is no doubt that the COVID-19 outbreak has affected and upended nearly every aspect of life as we know it. This includes practice before the USPTO and other IP offices around the world with respect to the timing or extension of deadlines.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
The annual general meeting (AGM) season is upon us. English company law requires public limited companies (English private companies do not have to hold AGMs, and most dispensed with them once the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) came into force) to hold their AGMs to be held within six months of the financial year end. With most public companies closing their books on 31 December, that means that the bulk of the AGMs need to be concluded before 30 June with notices calling the meetings being sent out by early June.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Samuel Pearse, please visit the Duane Morris London Blog.
On April 21, 2020, the Department made available the institutional portion of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) under Section 18004(a)(1) and 18004(c) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
To read the full text of this blog post by Duane Morris partner Katherine Brodie, please visit the Duane Morris UpdatED Blog.
A package of targeted relief measures was announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on 31 March 2020, which it has rolled out together with the Association of Banks in Singapore, the Life Insurance Association, the General Insurance Association and the Finance Houses Association of Singapore to provide temporary relief for individuals and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing liquidity problems during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of a collapsing world economy, these measures could prove to be a lifeline to starve off bankruptcy and winding-up actions.
To read the full post, please visit the Duane Morris and Selvam COVID-19 Resource Blog.
Now that the Small Business Administration (SBA) has funded the first wave of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), borrowers need to be mindful of the PPP use-of-proceeds requirements for forgiveness and the penalties for the unauthorized use of proceeds.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
Maryland Governor Lawrence J. Hogan issued Order Number 20-04-03-01 on April 3, 2020, which amends and restates an order previously issued on March 16, 2020, that, among other things, temporarily prohibits evictions of tenants suffering substantial loss of income due to COVID-19. The new order expands the coverage of the original order to temporarily prohibit commercial and industrial evictions.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, federal, state and local governments, through both legislative and executive means, have enacted or ordered a broad array of financial measures to mitigate the adverse economic effects experienced by businesses and nonprofit entities.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, which will identify and explain the economic programs established by both the federal government and state of Texas to help ease the financial effects of COVID-19, please visit the firm website.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions and triggered an equally unprecedented flood of government relief for businesses—many of which have limited experience with compliance, regulators or law enforcement. When this disruption passes, we anticipate a surge in allegations of fraud and misuse of government funds, including those made by former employees with financial incentives to make them. It is critical that businesses retain and consult with counsel quickly in order to protect themselves when confronted with a federal investigation.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, which identifies critical points for consideration in three situations, please visit the firm website.
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and social-distancing mandates, the federal government enacted legislation to encourage the use of telehealth services. The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Preparedness Act), which includes the Telehealth Services During Certain Emergency Periods Act of 2020 (Telehealth Act), was signed into law on March 6, 2020. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law on March 27, 2020.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
As the coronavirus cases start peaking in at least some parts of the United States, the American courts are beginning to experience mounting cases relating to claims against businesses for coronavirus infections and against insurers for alleged business interruption coverage. A few weeks ago, some well-known restaurants in the United States commenced litigation against their insurers over claims for insurance coverage stemming from business interruption. These individual cases will raise a number of issues whether there is direct physical loss to covered property and whether the virus exclusions in the policies bar coverage. As a host of other types of businesses have followed by filing a number of individual suits in several states against their insurers. Last week, however, a new form of litigation has been filed with multiple class action insurance coverage lawsuits being brought by alleged representatives against single insures who are claimed to have written business interruption policies to a number of businesses in given areas or nationwide.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris attorneys Dominica C. Anderson, Philip R. Matthews and Daniel B. Heidtke, please visit the Duane Morris Insurance Law Blog.
