Zurich

A clear understanding of the security available is fundamental for lenders and borrowers. To assist, CMS has launched an interactive International Guide to Real Estate Finance. This provides a clear and...

Highest GDPR fine of 1.2 billion euros imposed by the Irish data protection authority in May 2023 for a breach of the rules on international data transfers. Further fines imposed by this authority in 2023 amounted to hundreds of millions of euros. The main violations are “Insufficient legal basis for data processing” and “Failure to comply with the general principles of data processing”. The next most common violation is “Insufficient technical and organizational measures to ensure information security”. Spain tops the list of countries with the most fines for the fifth year in a row, followed by Italy and Romania. Ireland, Luxembourg and France have the highest average fines and total amounts per country. Berlin – Today, international law firm CMS has published the fifth edition of its annual Enforcement Tracker Report. The English-language report shows the developments of all publicly known GDPR fines based on CMS's own online database, GDPR Enforcement Tracker. The current edition of the report covers the analysis period between March 2023 and March 2024. 510 fines were added for the past year as of the editorial deadline on 1 March 2024. This brings the total number of data protection fines since the GDPR came into effect in May 2018 to 2,225, or 2,086 if only fines with full details such as the amount of the fine, date and authority are counted. The total amount of fines since the start of the survey is around 4.5 billion euros. This means that fines of around 1.7 billion euros have been added compared to last year’s Enforcement Tracker Report. This shows that authorities are no longer shying away from imposing high fines. The average fine for the entire reporting period was around 2.1 million euros - with high fines against “big tech” companies in 2021/22 and the first fine in the billions in 2023 having a particularly heavy impact.“At the top of the list of GDPR fine triggers is, once again, insufficient legal basis and non-compliance with the general data processing principles as well as insufficient technical and organisational measures. Companies should pay particular attention to this,” says Christian Runte, lawyer and partner at the international commercial law firm CMS Germany. Dr Alexander Schmid from the Enforcement Tracker team at CMS Germany adds: “In addition to data protection authorities, the courts have also increasingly dealt with the interpretation of the GDPR. For example, the Court of Justice of the European Union has further clarified the scope of data subjects' right of access. “These rulings create more clarity, but at the same time tighten the requirements for companies, which is why, in addition to a viable compliance concept, current developments will also be decisive for them in practice in the future.”Read the full Enforcement Tracker Report here; a summary can be found here. Pressekon­takt presse@cms-hs. com

An article by Dr. Dirk Spacek and Julia Nitschke for WEKA

Advertising of pharmaceuticals and medical devices is a challenging area for the Life Sciences and Healthcare industry. The legal framework is constantly changing. Due to very few laws on this area, there...

Zurich, May 2024 | ISS Facility Services AG acquires gammaRenax AG. gammaRenax is an accomplished quality provider of integral facility services with 1,800 employees at 16 offices spread across all regions of Switzerland. Versatility, flexibility and customer focus are key characteristics of the owner-managed company's understanding of service. With a portfolio of over 1,600 properties, gammaRenax is one of the most important facility services providers in Switzerland. With this acquisition, ISS seeks to strengthen its position as leading provider of comprehensive facility management services in Switzerland. There are synergies in the customer base and new competencies in the areas of hotel services and hygiene management for pools and wellness areas. With the FM Academy, gammaRenax also has profound expertise in training and further education in areas such as hygiene management, property maintenance and building services. These specialisations will complement the services offered by ISS Switzerland and provide the customers of both companies with an extended range of high-quality services. The seller, Severin Gallo, will join the board of ISS Facility Services AG. ISS Switzerland is the leading provider for workplace experience and facility management. ISS offers intelligent and scalable solutions that contribute to better business performance and make life easier, more productive and more enjoyable - developed to high standards and implemented responsibly by dedicated people. ISS employs around 12,500 people in Switzerland and 350,000 worldwide in over 30 countries.A team of CMS led by Dr Daniel Jenny has advised ISS on all legal aspects of this transaction. The further consisted of Dr Ferdinand Blezinger, Florian Jung, Christian Gersbach, Miryam Meile, Dr Dirk Spacek, Julia Nitschke and Helena Loretan. CMS Switzer­land­Daniel Jenny, Partner, Corporate / M&ADr Ferdinand Blezinger, Senior Associate, Corporate / M&A         Florian Jung, Senior Associate, Corporate / M&A    Christian Gersbach, Partner, Employment Dr Miryam Meile, Senior Associate, EmploymentDr Dirk Spacek, Partner, IP/ITJulia Nitschke , Associate, IP/ITHelena Loretan, Associate, Real estate  

In recent years, IP rights have become an increasingly important asset not only for R&D and technology based companies but also for consumer product manufacturers and life sciences companies, for example...

We are pleased to welcome a new Counsel to our team as from 1 May 2024.

An article by Dr. Vaïk Müller for Agefi