Peugeot suspended sales from Iran in 2012 following nuclear sanctions expansion to the automobile sector. Now that the sanctions are lifted, Peugeot immediately strives to reinstate partnership to come back to the markets that cost it 10 percent of global deliveries when the sales are suspended. It costs Peugeot $446 million in form of compensation and services.
Legal & Regulatory
Monsanto up for an $80 million penalty over misstated accounts for herbicide Roundup
Monsanto, the agribusiness giant, faces an $80 million penalty to SEC on account of misstated earnings. The company had failed to incorporate the expenses related to a rebate program while entering the corresponding revenues. However, the SEC is not pressing further charges as the company, although neither admitted nor denied the allegations, has agreed to make the necessary settlements.
Australia Is Moving Forward to Legalize Medicinal Marijuana, Introducing Nationwide Bill
Some states in Australia already legalized medicinal marijuana regionally, but the new bill will allow marijuana to be cultivated and consumed for medical purposes across the country. The bill is highly likely to become a law because it has received huge supports from the authorities and citizens.
Company Lawsuit: Burberry Sued J.C. Penney for Selling Infringed Products Using Its Trademark Pattern
Burberry filed a lawsuit over the claim that U.S. retailer J.C. Penney sold infringed products. The retailer was accused of copying Burberry’s century-old pattern trademark and kept selling the product for up to two months after Burberry raised its objections.
Facebook India: Facebook’s Free Limited Internet Access Program Stays Banned, Following the TRAI Decision
India’s internet regulator, the TRAI, had officially banned Facebook’s Free Basics program. The program has been banned for a few months now, but TRAI has been willing to reevaluate the terms until it came up with the decision that the program would not be allowed in the country. The Free Basics program was banned due to concerns over internet neutrality.
Latest News
Foreign Franchise: IKEA Lost Its Trademark in Indonesia After a Dispute With Local Furniture Company
The case was brought to Central Jakarta District Court in 2014, and the decision was ruled by the court last year. The plaintiff made the case by presenting the Indonesian trademark law which stated that a trademark could be deleted if the company had not used the name for commercial purposes in three years after registration or after the last use.
Terming the daily fantasy sports as illegal gambling, the New York Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against DraftKings and FanDuel. While the lawsuit proceeds in its own pace, banking giant Citigroup has imposed a ban on transactions to the DFS sites by the New Yorkers. Some US states express reluctance while some declare the sites as legal.
The social media site, Twitter has disclosed for the first time removal of more than 125,000 accounts on allegation of aiding terrorism. ISIS has been using Twitter and other social media sites as platforms for spreading their ideologies and recruiting new members. Facebook is also adopting special measures in this regard due to growing concerns over poor policing by the sites against terrorism.
Tax identity theft to conduct further fraudulence in claiming fake tax returns. Many identity thefts related fraud claims have been detected in 2015. The fraud efforts have prompted IRS to reshape fraud prevention measures. Though the new measures are invisible to taxpayers, but they too feel the unprecedented cooperation from IRS.
Malysia has been witnessed to rock heavily centering 1MDB scandal. Both Malaysian currency and stock have been nose-dived over the past year and capital outflow taken place more frequently. The existing economic turmoil has led Moody’s to change Malaysia’s economic outlook from positive to stable citing 1MDB related economic turmoil as the reason.
The rise of oil prices had brought positive growth to most of the Asian markets, except for Japan. On the other hand, European market had seen a drop. The oil prices increased overnight due to speculations that U.S Federal Reserve would possibly decide not to increase interest rates throughout 2016.
VirnetX has been in the limelight for its achievement in realizing $223 million from Microsoft in out of court settlements. Now the patent litigation company has won a court verdict that instructs Apple to pay $625.6 million for patent infringement issues. VirnetX has claimed for $532 million initially, but Apple’s deliberate infringement over the patented products has reportedly increased the amount.
The case had been investigated since 2013, and the practices are believed to have been going on since 2011. U.S federal regulators claimed that African-American, as well as Asian/Pacific Islander borrowers, were charged more for auto loans. Toyota voluntarily agreed to pay the amount of compensation, but the company refuses to admit that the practice is a form of racial discrimination.
The US federal contracts are somehow still not won by the women-owned small companies in this day and age. Senator Jeanne Shaheen has openly expressed her disappointment regarding this sobering fact. But she is still optimistic that the changing laws would rectify the situation and empower women with the experience to bid for larger and more competitive federal contracts in the future.
