🎬 The tariff war has crossed over to the film industry – what now? The U.S. announced a decision that could reshape the global film industry: the administration proposed a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the United States. The details are not yet known, but the new tariff is prone to have major implications in the industry in our jurisdictions such as #Czechia, #Croatia, #Hungary, #Serbia, and #Slovakia — all popular destinations for U.S. production companies. 💡 Read the short article written by Petr Bratský, Managing Associate (Prague) and Firm-wide Co-Head of Interactive Entertainment & Gaming, and Anna Marciano, Associate (Prague), who shed a light on the most burning questions and possible implications of the decision: https://lnkd.in/dAc7WNi5 #ExceptionalTogether #InTheKnow #FilmIndustry #Tariffs #EntertainmentLaw #CEE #FilmTariff #LegalInsights

🎉 🇦🇹 We are pleased to announce new joiners in our Vienna team: Markus Taufner, Partner, and Petra Heindl, Counsel. ⚖️ Markus is a well-respected dispute resolution lawyer with over a decade of experience in complex corporate and commercial disputes. He specialises in corporate litigation with a focus on shareholder claims, liability of board members, dismissal of managing directors, D&O insurance disputes, and M&A litigation. He also has substantial experience representing clients in internal investigations, insolvency-related proceedings, and enforcement matters. His track record includes acting in contentious shareholder meetings, challenging shareholder resolutions in court, pursuing and defending damage claims against board members and shareholders, injunction proceedings, handling fraud and unfair competition cases, and advising on sensitive white-collar crime matters. 💼 Petra is a highly skilled lawyer with 10+ years of experience specialising in corporate law, equity capital markets law, and M&A transactions. She has particular expertise in corporate governance for listed and non-listed companies, complex cross-border corporate reorganisations, as well as M&A and capital markets transactions, including, but not limited to, IPOs. In addition to her legal practice, Petra served as the managing director of an Austrian consulting company that provides director and liquidator services, as well as corporate support services such as company secretarial services and domiciliation. ✨ Please join us in welcoming Markus and Petra to the team! #ExceptionalTogether #Vienna #NewTeam #DisputeResolution #CorporateLaw #MergersandAcquisitions #EquityCapitalMarkets #Welcome #StellarJourney

📢 🇺🇦 Special legal regime for the protection of intellectual property, established at the beginning of the war, cancelled in Ukraine. 📝 On 29 April 2025, the President of Ukraine signed Law No. 4362-IX “On the Repeal of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Protection of Intellectual Property Interests during Martial Law Imposed in Connection with the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine’.” 🗓️ According to the amendments, the temporary legal mechanisms, introduced in 2022 to support intellectual property rights holders in the context of the war, will expire on 31 May 2025. This means that the suspension of deadlines for intellectual property actions, like renewing certificates and patents or filing oppositions to applications, will be lifted. 💵 Annual fees and other payments that have not been paid since 2022 will be deemed paid on time if settled before 14 August 2025. This applies to legally mandated fees relating to the protection of rights to: 🔹 trademarks, 🔹 inventions, 🔹 utility models, 🔹 industrial designs, 🔹 semiconductor layouts, 🔹 geographical indications, and 🔹 plant varieties. 💡 Read in Ukrainian: https://lnkd.in/ds84VWAn 💬 Have questions or need more details? Contact Natalia Kirichenko, Partner, Ukraine. #ExceptionalTogether #InTheKnow #UkraineLaw #IntellectualProperty #IPLaw #LegalUpdate #MartialLaw #UkraineIP #RebuildingUkraine #UkraineReconstruction

📢 🌐 Just 15 days to go until the Span Cyber Security Arena kicks off on 20 May in Opatija, Croatia! 🇭🇷 We’re excited to be part of this must-attend event, which brings together industry leaders to explore the human factor in cybersecurity and its intersection with technology, awareness, and regulation—across #Croatia and the #EU. We will host two dynamic panels featuring top-tier experts tackling some of today’s most pressing cybersecurity challenges: 🔹 Panel 1: Cracking the Code – Data Breaches in the TMT Industry 🕙 10:00 - 11:00 📍 Outpost Arena A deep dive into emerging threats in the TMT sector, real-world breach cases, and strategies for strengthening defences. 🎤 Featuring Harald Strahberger (Partner, Vienna) and Lukas A. Mrazik (Managing Associate, Bratislava), joined by experts from IBM and Booking. 🔹 Panel 2: Digital Resilience & Cybersecurity – Responses to Digital Risk 🕦 11:45 - 12:45 📍 Outpost Arena An exploration of how financial institutions and critical infrastructure operators are adapting to new regulations such as DORA and NIS2. 🎤 With insights from Edin Karakas (Partner, Zagreb), along with speakers from the Croatian National Bank and HANFA. 📌 Don’t miss your chance to connect, learn, and shape the future of cybersecurity—register now: https://spanarena.eu/en #ExceptionalTogether #JoinUs #InTheKnow #CyberSecurity #DigitalResilience #CyberSecurityArena #TMT #Finance #Span

🎉 We are pleased to announce that, together with Milbank, we have advised Advent, a leading global private equity investor, on the acquisition of TBI Bank, a leading digital challenger bank in Southeast Europe. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. 📑 Our team advised on all local law aspects of the transaction (across Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey), including legal due diligence, regulatory and structuring matters, foreign direct investment (#FDI) screenings, and antitrust filings. 🤝 The transaction was coordinated by Zsuzsa Csiki (Partner, Co-Head of Corporate/M&A in Romania), with the help of Razvan Constantinescu and Andrei Băluş, and in Bulgaria, by Nina Tsifudina (Partner, Co-Head of Corporate/M&A in Bulgaria) and Svilen Issaev, with the support of Denitsa Kuzeva. 👉 Further team members included: 📍 In #Romania: Madalina Perte covering corporate and regulatory matters, Cristina Stamboli covering corporate matters, Alexandra Sofineti and Ioana Moldoveanu for financing matters, Alexandru Dan for IP/IT matters, Cosmin Vasilescu for regulatory aspects, and Cătălina Băluș for commercial issues. Denisa Constantin and Stefana Bucur advised on real estate matters, Andrada Popescu on employment law matters, and Andrei Salageanu addressed litigation concerns. Competition law and FDI aspects were managed by Cătălin Graure and Andreea Vladareanu. 📍 In #Bulgaria, Yasen Toshev and Simona Damyanova advised on corporate matters, Nikolay Gergov on banking & finance law, Milka Nikolova on regulatory & FDI, Anita Borisova, on employment law, Georgi Kanev on IP/T, and Debora Dineva on competition law. 📍 In #Turkey, the team included Emre Edmund Ozer, Helin Akbulut, and Osman Tuğberk Çakırca for the due diligence aspects, and Sinan Diniz, Simru Tayfun, and Beyza Arlı for all competition law matters. “Congratulations to our client and to all parties involved! We are proud to have worked closely with Milbank and Advent to support this important transaction. This deal was a tremendous cross-border effort that brought together deep sector expertise and unwavering teamwork. Kudos to our colleagues for pulling this through—we are incredibly proud of how our teams delivered seamless support in such a high-profile acquisition.” (Zsuzsa Csiki, Partner and Co-Head of Corporate/M&A, Romania) 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dwkGUhiw #ExceptionalTogether #DoneDeals #CrossBorderTransaction #MergersandAcquisitions #SEE #CorporateLaw #CompetitionLaw #Banking #Finance #EmploymentLaw #RealEstateLaw

📣 MEET US at the #GICA 2025 Spring Conference “Industrial Cooperation in Times of Global Uncertainty” on 🗓️ 5–7 May 2025, in 📍 Bucharest, #Romania. We are excited to join global industry leaders to discuss cooperation opportunities in the evolving industrial and geopolitical landscape during these pivotal times. 💬 Daniel Bilak, Partner (#Ukraine), will deliver a presentation titled "If You Want Peace, Prepare for War: Localization of War Production in the Ukrainian Defence Sector". He will uncover: 🔶 The explosive growth of opportunities for foreign companies in Ukraine’s defence industry 🔶 The evolving balance between local production and foreign supply of armaments deployed on the battlefield 🔶 The impact of real-time tech innovation on global defence collaboration 💡 🛡️As the Ukrainian battlefield becomes a hub for industrial and technological advances, this session will offer a unique perspective for companies seeking to engage with Europe’s most dynamic defence sector. We look forward to fostering insightful conversations and building partnerships that can shape the future of defence innovation. 📞 Connect with Daniel Bilak for your #Defence sector needs and invest in Ukraine! 🔗 Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/gVG6jYNW #ExceptionalTogether #InTheKnow #GICA2025 #IndustrialCooperation #DefenceIndustry #WarProduction #Localization #InnovationInDefence #GlobalInsights #MeetUs #DefenceTechnology #RebuildingUkraine #UkraineReconstruction

📌 Landmark decision on category management agreements in the pharma sector 💊 On 24 April 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority imposed fines totalling EUR 11.2M on Johnson & Johnson, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Haleon. The decision follows a settlement in a cartel case concerning anti-competitive practices tied to category management agreements for OTC medicines. The case revolved around a long-running Space Management Project through which the companies and distributors coordinated the placement of products in pharmacies, excluding competitors from planograms and monitoring compliance at the pharmacy level. Key insights: ⚖️ How OTC shelf placement strategies may breach EU competition law ⚖️ Foreclosure risks through category captain influence ⚖️ The role of market power in vertical agreements ⚖️ Why enforcement in this area may increase across the EU Read the full article by Luiza Bedros (Associated Partner, Bucharest) and Marc Barabas (Associate, Bucharest): https://lnkd.in/dbZz8FEX #ExceptionalTogether #CompetitionLaw #Antitrust #Pharma #BCA #OTC #EUlaw #CategoryManagement #intheknow

✨ We had the pleasure of hosting an exclusive business breakfast in our #Sofia office with some of our valued clients and partners, where we focused on the topic of Business Protection. 🔐 The discussion covered often-overlooked aspects of protecting business value — specifically in the field of intellectual property, data and privacy matters, and trade secrets. It was a great opportunity to explore these complex issues together in an open and practical manner. A special thanks to Nina Tsifudina (Partner) for setting the stage and to our expert speakers for leading the conversation: 🎙️ Anita Borisova, (Managing Associate, Employment) 🎙️ Georgi Kanev (Managing Associate, Technology/ IP&T) 🎙️ Milka Nikolova (Of Counsel, Technology/ Data & Cybersecurity) 🎙️ Debora Dineva (Associate, Technology/Competition) We truly appreciated the chance to connect, share perspectives, and hear what matters most to our clients. Thank you to everyone who joined us — we are grateful for your time and the insightful conversations. 🙏 ➡️ We look forward to future events and welcome your suggestions on topics you would like us to explore.   #ExceptionalTogether #InTheKnow #BusinessProtection #IP #DataProtection #TradeSecrets #Employment #ClientEvents #BusinessBreakfast #IntellectualProperty #DataPrivacy