201210.16
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Trademarks, why protect them?

“It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation.” Herman Melville Let us start off by defining what is understood by the word trademark and then move on to explaining the benefits attached to trademark protection. A trademark is a word or sign which identifies the products or services of a certain…

201209.02
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THE SPECIAL REVITALISATION PROCESS (PER)

On 20 June last, the amendments to the Insolvency and Business Recovery Code introduced by Law 16/2012, of 20 April, came into force, which, among other things, set up a special debtor revitalisation process (PER for short) to comply with the goal established in the Memorandum between Portugal and the Troika with a view to…

201209.02
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LIVING WILL

Law 25/2012 was published on 16 July 2012 and governs advance directives on healthcare matters, particularly regarding the format of the living will. The Law provides that an advance healthcare directive is a unilateral document where a person of sound mind and legal age indicates in advance his or her conscious, free and informed intention…

201207.18
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European Community Case Law

In its ruling of 21-06-2012, the European Court of Justice states that “the point at which [the] temporary incapacity arose is irrelevant. Consequently, the worker is entitled to take paid annual leave which coincides with a period of sick leave at a later point in time, irrespective of the point at which the incapacity for…

201207.18
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1949

June 15 last saw the announcement of the guidelines for judicial reform, which have as their basis the principle of access to justice of the citizens. However, apart from this fundamental constitutional principle, a principle which is as or even more important has been overlooked: that of the decision being handed down in a timely…

201205.18
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Procedural Costs Regulation

Law 7/2012, of 13 February, came into force on 29 March 2012, bringing with it the sixth amendment of the Procedural Costs Regulation (RCP) enacted by Decree-Law 34/2008, of 26 February. The Procedural Costs Regulation applies to proceedings in the judicial courts, the administrative and tax courts, and the national electronic service for requesting orders…

201205.18
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The Portuguese personality

Every people, every nation, every homeland has its own mindset and clearly defined DNA, that is to say, the inhabitants of each country in general have a set of traits which defines them throughout the most varied of times. These are special traits which, although they often change, never cease to be mentioned by everyone…

201204.17
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Recovering VAT (IVA) on irrecoverable debts

Owing to the fragile economic, financial and asset status of the various economic operators and the almost daily news of their debtors’ declarations of insolvency, creditors who have lost all hope of recovering the amount due to them (at least in its entirety and in the short-term), may recoup the unpaid VAT. In these cases,…