Spain
The key role of good faith in the reduction and adaptation of working hours due to legal guardianship
The improvements introduced in recent years in rights of work-life balance consisting of reducing or adapting the working day have created interpretative doubts about their application and possible scope. Conflicts have arisen when, for example, the company considers that the case on which the person is relying is not accredited, or when there is no balance between the right of the person requesting the measure and the organizational needs of the company. In these cases, the courts and tribunals are giving a key role to the good faith that must exist between both parties.Soft branding contracts in the hotel industry: a complex and innovative contractual arrangement
Three unstoppable processes have influenced the hotel industry in recent decades: globalization, digitalization, and innovation. The combination of these three factors has prompted the appearance of new forms of affiliation between market actors seeking to adapt to the demands and preferences of customers, to optimize their resources and to take advantage of opportunities for international development and expansion. Added to this, the hospitality industry has for years played a leading role in intense growth and is driving new affiliation mechanisms among its various actors, soft branding being one of them.The CJEU confirms the multi-jurisdictional competence of EU courts in patent litigation
In a recent ruling on the case of BSH v. Electrolux (C-339/22), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has held that patent holders may bring claims for infringement of multiple national designations of a European patent in a single jurisdiction, thereby paving the way for cross-border litigation.For the deduction of the financial burden in leveraged buy-outs, the economic substance of the transactions as a whole must be considered
According to the Directorate General of Taxes (DGT), for the calculation of the ratio applicable to leveraged buyouts, the possible splitting of the debt must be disregarded, i.e., any debt assumed by the entities of the acquired group that is used directly or indirectly to satisfy the acquisition price must be considered.The urban legend of the ‘digital nomad’
Legend has it that in Spain there are ‘digital nomads’ who can work from here for foreign companies from outside the European Union. But this legend does not explain what employment legislation is applicable and what social security system covers them. We will see below that there is no regulatory answer to these doubts because Spain has only regulated a visa and a residence permit.The CJEU establishes the limits that a Member State cannot cross by restricting those damaged by an antitrust infringement from giving up their right to be compensated
In a recent judgment, the CJEU establishes that a national rule that prevents those damaged by an antitrust infringement from assigning their right to compensation would be contrary to Articles 101 of the TFEU and 47 of the Charter of Rights of the European Union when: (i) the law of that State does not provide for other possibilities of grouping the individual claims of those damaged by an infringement of competition; and (ii) the exercise of individual actions for damages by the damaged parties is impossible or excessively difficult.When a lack of technical legal rigor turns out expensive: patent invalidation and legal costs due to recklessness in the FREENOW case
Besides invalidation of the patent, the lack of a legal basis in patent infringement and invalidity claims can also result in an order to pay costs due to recklessness. The judgments in the FREENOW case reaffirm the need for an exhaustive and well-reasoned analysis in intellectual property lawsuits and serve as a reminder that abuse of the system can carry major consequences.