UIA – 11th Annual Business Law Forum “Geography and the Digital World”
Digital commerce and the Internet are creating an increasingly complex challenge to traditional legal concepts concerning jurisdiction, regulation, taxation, digital privacy, competition and freedom of speech. What may be normal and permissible in one country may be prohibited in another. Yet these issues impact our everyday life like never before, and the Internet knows no border and transnationalism has become the new normal.
This seminar will focus on the issues created by a world of commerce without borders and why traditional legal systems may not have yet adapted to these changing times. We will highlight several major industries which are in full digital transition from a multi-jurisdictional angle. Questions to be addressed include, for example, whether a seller of pharmaceutical products in India must obtain marketing authorization in Europe and the United States simply because someone there could purchase it digitally. Can regulatory obstacles to the offering of financial services be removed or avoided by doing business digitally without being physically present in the jurisdiction? What are the tax and anti-trust consequences of being digitally present in a country or region? Similarly, can speech permissible in the country where it originates be regulated in a country where it is read?
Within this context, we will ask whether today’s laws can adapt to rapidly changing times, or if there needs to be a supernational regime to regulate the Internet and digital commerce.
Save the date and make sure to register! We are looking forward to welcoming you to Amsterdam!
Location:
AKD BENELUX LAWYERS, Gustav Mahlerlaan 2970, 1081 LA Amsterdam
Program Thursday, January 30
08:30 – 09:00 Registration of participants at AKD Benelux Lawyer
Address: Gustav Mahlerlaan 2970, 1081 LA Amsterdam
09:00 – 09:15 WELCOME AND OPENING OF THE FORUM
- Jerome ROTH, UIA President, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, San Francisco, CA, USA – or his Representative
- Sebastiaan MOOLENAAR, UIA Director of Congresses, AKD Benelux Lawyers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
09:15 – 10:15 Panel 1 – Transnationalism and The Internet: Legal Concepts Under Stress
The ubiquitous nature of the Internet in the daily life of billions engaged in cross-border contacts, commerce and trade, even when the user does not know it, exposes need to reconcile territorial regulation, mores and taboos with a facility that operates without regard to where the actor is located. Laws and regulations adapted to the customs and practices of a particular territory need to evolve to the transcendent nature of the Internet if the Internet, itself, is going to survive. At the same time, the regulation of the Internet cannot be a “race to the bottom” where cross-border intercourse operates without restraint. This session will explore the impact of expression or transactions, legal in one jurisdiction, crossing into regions where they are not, whether the Internet needs a super-national regulatory body to harmonize laws and regulations where communications and transactions cross frontiers, and how to address many of the challenges posed by the lack of maturation of local laws and enforcement systems in an increasingly borderless world.
Moderator: James D. ROSENER, President of the UIA Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions, Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP, New York, NY, USA
Speakers:
- Gilles CUNIBERTI, Professor of Private International Law and Comparative Law, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
- Alain ALBERINI, Sigma Legal, Geneva/Lausanne, Switzerland
- Viktória SZILÁGYI, Nagy Es Trocsanyi Ügyvedi Iroda, Budapest, Hungary
10:15 – 10:45 Coffee break
10:45 – 12:00 Panel 2 – Online Sales of Retail Goods and Services – Digital Consumers, Businesses and the Law
The single digital market has been a key target of the European Union since the Directive on information society services and e-commerce almost two decades go. However, the single digital market is still a project under construction which necessitated additional legal texts such as the Geo-Blocking Regulation and amendments to Directives concerning consumer protection in the sphere of online sales of goods and services. Intellectual Property laws are also constantly evolving in an effort to keep up with developments in technology and consequent changes to market practices. This panel will analyse the legal challenges for retailers seeking to commercialise their products and services in a global digital market mostly governed by national rules (with few exceptions such as the existing harmonised legal framework in the European Union).
Speakers:
- Gavin LLEWELLYN, Immediate Past President of the UIA Intellectual Property Commission, Stone King LLP, London, UK
- Francisco Javier GARCÍA PÉREZ, President of the UIA Fashion Law Commission, Uría Menéndez Abogados, S.L.P., Barcelona, Spain
12:00 – 13:00 Panel 3 – Financial and other Services on the Internet – Scope of Applicable Regulations and State Intervention
Internet and smart devices are completely modifying the way banking and financial services sector works. Technology helps consumers to have access to financial services wherever they are and it also enables financial institutions to offer services worldwide without having a physical presence. The limits to such international offering of services are the applicable financial regulations. This panel will discuss the general principles governing the application of national regulations to the offering of financial services on Internet and on a cross-border basis, the practical solutions implemented by the industry to comply with such regulations and the need to harmonize them.
Moderator: • Olivier NICOD, President of the UIA Banking & Financial Services Law, Walder Wyss SA, Lausanne, Switzerland
Speakers:
- Travis L. GERING, Wuersch & Gering LLP, New York, NY, USA
- Silvestre TANDEAU DE MARSAC, FTMS Avocats, Paris, France
- Thomas GOOSSENS, Bianchischwald, Geneva, Switzerland
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch
14:30 – 15:45 Panel 4 – Taxation of Digital Commerce: The Digital World Goes Tax
Digitalization changes the world and the tax world. In the digital world, it is easy for multinationals to reduce their tax burdens beyond an acceptable rate. Attempts to go for special companies or special business situations seem to fail. It seems difficult or impossible to introduce special rules for internet companies because the differentiation between the “old” world and the “new” world disappears as the whole economy goes digital. Therefore, new rules for worldwide international taxation might be necessary.
The seminar will explain the existing basic concept of international taxation of businesses, the currently discussed ideas and their political and economic background. It will also address matters such us why the current tax system does not work for digital businesses, the introduction of digital services taxes and other unilateral measures, the EU proposals and the OECD approach (the so-called Pillar 1 and Pillar 2: beyond the digital permanent establishment, beyond the arm’s length principle). Moderator: • Marti ADROER, President of the UIA Tax Law Commission, Cuatrecasas, Barcelona, Spain
Speakers:
- Mayra O. LUCAS, Advisor at OECD, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Paris, France
- Margriet LUKKIEN, Loyens & Loeff, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Sławomir ŁUCZAK, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak, Warsaw, Poland
- Riccardo CAJOLA, Cajola & Associati, Milan, Italy
15:45 – 16:05 Coffee break
16:05 – 17:30 Panel 5 – Recent Competition Issues – Arising from New Technology
The panel will address hot topics in the regulatory line of fire throughout the globe, with a particular focus on growing technology. Issues will include price fixing and policing of distributers through algorithms, the application of competition principles to the growing use of block chain technology, and advertising conduct that is alleged to exclude competitors.
Moderator: Gerhard FUSSENEGGER, bpv Hügel Rechtsanwälte, Vienna, Austria
Speakers:
- Aleksandra DZIURKOWSKA, WKB Wierciński, Kwieciński, Baehr, Warsaw, Poland
- Jeremy HEEP, Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Robert HARDY, Counsel, Simmons & Simmons LLP, Amsterdam/Brussels, The Netherlands/Belgium
- Beatrice STANGE, Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek, Dusseldorf, Germany
17:30 – 19:15 Welcome Cocktail Reception Kindly offered by AKD Benelux Lawyers
19:30 Optional Dinner
Vascobelo V-bar NoMa House, Parnassusweg 400, 1081 LC Amsterdam
Program Friday, January 31
09:00 – 09:15 Registration of participants
AKD Benelux Lawyers, Gustav Mahlerlaan 2970, 1081 LA Amsterdam
09:15 – 10:15 Panel 6 – Liability of Companies &
Managers: Online Communications, Telecom Restrictions, Information Requests and Lawful Intercepts
With the present day’s ubiquity of telecommunication devices and the ease of access to encryption tools, remote storage space and so forth, the legal landscape needs to adapt. Many jurisdictions look at the current situation from a security stand-point, thereby looking to bolster their lawfulintercept and telecommunications surveillance rights. This panel will focus on telecommunications surveillance, the definition of what actually constitutes a telecommunications service and, more broadly, what hurdles telecommunications companies face when entering a new jurisdiction, either physically or virtually.
Moderator & speaker:
- Hugh REEVES, Senior Associate, Walder Wyss SA, Lausanne, Switzerland
Speakers:
- Charlotte LE ROUX, Hogan Lovells, Paris, France
- Anthony ROSEN, Bird & Bird, Legal Director, London, UK
- Raoul GRIFONI WATERMAN, Bird & Bird, Associate, The Hague, The Netherlands
10:15 – 11:30 Panel 7 – Compliance for multinational companies: Cybercrime, Unfair Competition, Privacy and Data Security Across Borders
Moderator: To be confirmed
Speakers:
- Dominik SUONIEMI, Geodis, Regional Legal Counsel North, East and Central Europe, Frankfurt, Germany
- Fernando DE LA MATA, Cortés, Abogados, Barcelona, Spain
11:30 – 11:45 Coffee break
11:45 – 12:30 Panel 8 – M&A Issues in Cross-Border Transactions Involving Digital Platforms
M&A professionals are increasingly involved in cross-border transactions as even the smallest deals seem to have a transnational component. Given the pervasiveness of digital content used by virtually every potential target company, practitioners need to be aware of the impact of regulations such as GDPR, California’s privacy laws, increased scrutiny of regulators of transactions viewed as anticompetitive and super-national compacts on the business sought to be acquired. In addition, more and more “non-digital” businesses are highly affected by the digital world (online commerce, national authorizations, cybersecurity, etc.) so many of the topics discussed by the earlier panels need to be incorporated in transaction agreements and diligence checklists to ensure the proper evaluation of the risks associated with such transactions.
Moderator & speaker: • Francisco Luis SOLER CABALLERO, J&A Garrigues S.L.P, Valencia, Spain
Speakers:
- Laura DE JONG, AKD Benelux Lawyers, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Federico TORZO, Ughi e Nunziante, Milan, Italy
12:30 – 13:00 Closing Remarks
James D. ROSENER, President of the UIA Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions, Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP, New York, NY, USA