Newsletter December 2006
EMPLOYMENT
UWV Policy Rules on the Culpability Test in the
Unemployment Act
As of October 1st, 2006, an employee no longer needs to protest
against the notice of dismissal received from his employer, in
order to be able to acquire unemployment benefit. The employee will
only become voluntarily unemployed if he could also have been
summarily dismissed, or if the dismissal took place at the
employee's initiative although the employment could have been
continued.
read more
Length of Service as Justification for Unequal
Pay
The European Court of Justice has ruled in the Cadman case that it
is in principle allowed to award employees unequal pay, provided
that the lower pay is based on a lower number of years of service.
A further justification is required if it is doubtful whether more
years of service have lead to a better performance in an individual
case. It is up to the employee to submit relevant information in
this respect.
read more
Clause Stipulating that Employer May not Provide
Information to UWV is Void
A clause is a termination agreement stipulating that the employer
will only provide neutral information to the UWV about the reason
for dismissal, is null and void, according to the Subdistrict Court
of Amsterdam. This ruling means that there is no longer a reason
for including such a clause in a termination agreement.
read more
Publications by the Employment Law Group
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INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
The Judicial Authorities Can See Who Is At The Computer
Since September of this year, internet providers
have to provide the judicial authorities with all kinds of data
concerning their customers on a daily basis. These data are put
into a large database that can be consulted by the judicial
authorities whenever they want.
read more
More Opportunities for Dutch Public Service
Broadcasters?
In the new section on "ancillary tasks"
of the Media Decree, the concept of ancillary tasks is broadly
defined, giving more leeway to the public service broadcasters to
offer electronic products, such as theme channels. These channels
can moreover be offered for payment.
read more
Big Brother is watching you!
A law amendment gives the police and judicial
authorities new powers to demand data or personal data. Any company
that is processing and storing data is a potential addressee or
"target" of such demands for data. For this reason it is
absolutely necessary to know whether companies are obliged to
cooperate and how far this cooperation goes.
read more
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
Update Full Compensation of Legal Costs in IP Cases
Since April 2006 it is possible to claim full
compensation of legal costs, including all attorneys' costs, in
intellectual property cases. Though the courts deal with this in
different ways, there is more and more consistency in the various
judgments.
read more
Supermarkets and Comparative Advertising: Interpretation
of the Directive
In a judgment on comparative advertising by a
Belgian supermarket, the European Court of Justice has given a
further interpretation of the Directive on advertising. Under
certain conditions it is permitted to compare product ranges. A
sticker indicating that a product is sold at the lowest price in
the country is also permitted.
read more
Supreme Court Rules on Burden of Proof in Cases of
Parallel Import
Who has to prove that a product was put on the
European market with the consent of the trademark holder? In a case
about perfumes, the supermarket chain Kruidvat tried to shift the
burden of proof to the trademark holder by relying on the judgment
Van Doren/Lifestyle. The Supreme Court did not go along
with this.
read more
Trademark Infringement and Surrender of Profits
In the event of infringement of a trademark, a
surrender of profits may be claimed, provided that there is bad
faith on the part of the infringer. If the infringer himself has
filed a trademark in bad faith, this does not yet mean that he has
also used that trademark in bad faith. The Supreme Court poses
questions to the Benelux Court of Justice about "bad
faith" in the context of the surrender of profits.
read more