Distribution and Franchising

Recent Articles

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  15/01/2025

  China

  2025 – Topics that may Concern You

  Companies doing business in China constantly have to deal with changes in regulations and new laws. This will also continue in 2025.Topics such as the new PRC Company Law, new PRC Tariff Law, PRC Regulations on Export Control of Dual-Use Items, network data security management, data transfer, opening up capital markets to foreign investment, and raise of statutory retirement age of employees etc. will continue to be a concern for many companies in China in 2025.Complying with regulatory requirements is one of the key challenges for foreign companies and investors in China, not only in terms of...

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  04/12/2024

  Italy

  EU Directive 2024/2853: the new product liability regime for defective products

  Last Nov. 18, 2024, Directive No. 2024/2853 on liability for defective products (“PLD” - Product Liability Directive) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, which EU member states must transpose by Dec. 09, 2026, and will apply to products placed on the market or put into service after that date.This directive responds to developments related to new technologies (primarily artificial intelligence), new circular economy business models, and issues related to the globalization of supply chains.Some of the main changes introduced by the PLD are:the broadening of the...

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  07/10/2024

  Belgium

  The Repairability and Durability Index: a New Challenge for Industry Players

  Inspired by similar initiatives in France and at European level, Belgium is introducing the obligation to display a repairability and durability index for certain products on the market. The Act on the promotion of the repairability and durability of goods was adopted on 17 March 2024 and the first Royal Decrees needed to implement the Act were published last month in the Official State Gazette.The first Royal Decree determines the goods covered by the reparability index, the technical standards for establishing the scores for each of the criteria and the method for calculating the reparability...

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  07/05/2024

  Germany

  Obligation to include a "No Russia clause" in supply agreements

  For some export transactions, re-exportation to Russia must be contractually prohibited. Model clauses present conflicts with German law on general terms and conditions.Companies must keep abreast of the sanctions against Russia, especially when it comes to export transactions, and as far as possible prevent any attempts by their customers to circumvent these sanctions. Companies have been aware of this for a long time. What is new, however, is that since 20 March 2024, companies are legally required to explicitly prohibit re-exportation to Russia or re-exportation for use in Russia in...

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  07/03/2024

  Belgium

  Belgian Competition Authority publishes study on consumer goods price trends in Belgium and neighbouring countries

  FR

  Since 2013, the Belgian Competition Authority (the "BCA") has been mandated with additional jurisdiction over competition and price trends.Book V of the Code of Economic Law provides for a system in which:the Price Observatory analyses prices and margins, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Minister, and identifies any structural problems in the market; andin the event of structural market problems, problems with prices or margins, or abnormal price trends, the Collège de la Concurrence (Competition Board) may, at the request of the Price Observatory, issue decisions on...

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  11/07/2023

  Europe

  EU reaches agreement on Data Act – Comprehensive EU data law is on the way

  On 27 June 2023, the European Parliament and Council resolved the remaining open points and reached a political agreement on the EU Data Act, paving the way for a new law that will introduce comprehensive new data legislation for Europe with far-reaching rules on access to and use of non-personal data in the EU. The EU Data Act aims to boost the EU's data economy by unlocking industrial data, optimising its accessibility and use, and fostering a competitive and reliable European cloud market. To achieve these aims, the EU Data Act contains a set of rules defining how the various forms of data...

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