France Moves Forward With Proposed Blockchain For Certain Securities Exchange

October 5th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Blockchain | France | Legislation | Trusted Services and eSignature - (0 Comments)

Further to the adoption of Act no.2016-1691, dated 9 December 2016, on Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Modernization of Economic Life (“Sapin II” – see our compliance coverage here) and the public consultation whose results were made public on 30 August 2017 (see our coverage here), the French Ministry of Finance published a draft document aiming at adapting the French legal framework to the use of blockchain technology.

The proposed draft (which may be accessed here in French) address the possibility, for company, to register in a “shared electronic registry”:

  • Negotiable debt securities;
  • Units or shares of undertakings for collective investment;
  • Capital securities issued by corporations and debt securities other than negotiable debt securities, provided that they are not traded on a trading platform

The conditions under which such registration would possible expressly exclude any item admitted to the operations of a central depository or delivered in a system for the payment and delivery of financial instruments. In addition, the bylaws of the issuer must expressly provide for the possibility to use such shared electronic registries.

In any case, the French regulatory framework would subject to French law whenever the issuer is headquartered in France or the issuance itself is already governed by French law.

Additional technical measures will subsequently be devised by a supplementing Decree, in order to provide the required safeguards.

While assessing the relevancy of a blockchain framework for corporate titles remains difficult in the absence of such technical details, all players are welcome to provide the Ministry with observations on the proposed framework until 9 October 2017.

First published on the K&L Gates Fintech Law Blog with Emilie Oberlis.

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France: Securities Over the Blockchain Expected to Get Legal Framework this Fall

September 8th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Blockchain | France | IT | Legislation - (0 Comments)

The French Act no.2016-1691 dated 9 December 2016 on Transparency, Anti-Corruption and Modernization of Economic Life (Or “Sapin II” – see our compliance coverage here) empowered the Government to amend the regulatory framework to facilitate the transmission of certain financial securities through blockchain technology

1)Article 120 of Sapin II “The Government may by way of executive orders within the 12 months following this Act take the measures necessary to (…) … Continue reading

In order to prepare such executive order, the Ministry of Finance initiated last Spring a public consultation, whose results were made public on 30 August 2017.

The 43 contributions included the points of view of local associations, banks, management companies, fintech pure players, academics, law firms and consultants, and provided operational and technical aspects to be taken into consideration in order for the new regulatory framework not to hinder the adoption of blockchain technology, while balancing security and foreseeability for all the players involved.

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References

References
↑1 Article 120 of Sapin II “The Government may by way of executive orders within the 12 months following this Act take the measures necessary to (…) amend the regulatory framework applicable to securities in order to allow the representation and the transmission (via a shared electronic recording device) of securities that are not admitted to the operations of a central depositary or a system of payment and delivery of financial instruments.”

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Momentum.africa – Opening Of Top-Level Domain Name To Create Opportunities For IP Right Owners

April 11th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in eCommerce | IT | Trademarks - (0 Comments)

The new generic top-level domain (gTLD) .africa, a regional domain for users located in and out of the continent, has been officially validated by ICANN.

More than a decade after its other regional counterparts, such as .eu or .asia, the .africa gTLD has been the subject matter of a legal conundrum for years.
The new generic top-level domain (gTLD) .africa, a regional domain for users located in and out of the continent, has been officially validated by ICANN.

More than a decade after its other regional counterparts, such as .eu or .asia, the .africa gTLD has been the subject matter of a legal conundrum for years.
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Impact of the Digital Republic Act on Online Intermediation Platforms

March 17th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Competition | eCommerce | France | IT | Legislation - (0 Comments)

The French Act No. 2016-1321 of 7 Oct. 2016 for a Digital Republic (the “Digital Republic Act”) amends the existing framework for online intermediation platform created under Article L.111-5-1 of the French Consumer code by the Act No. 2015-990 of 6 August 2015.

The Digital Republic Act creates a general, autonomous and impersonal status of online platform operator (“OPO”) and completes the existing legal framework relating to consumer protection through the consumers’ prior information.
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The ECJ Rules on the Compatibility with EU Law of Domestic Data Retention Requirements Imposed on Providers of Electronic Communications Services.

March 17th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Case Law | Europe | IT | Privacy - (0 Comments)

After its invalidation of the data retention requirements imposed by Directive 2006/24/EC in its Digital Rights Ireland decision dated 8 April 2014, the ECJ was requested to assess the compatibility with the Directive 2002/58/EC (the “ePrivacy Directive”) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the “CFREU”) of a domestic legislation mandating a general and indiscriminate obligation to retain traffic and location data, without prior judicial review, for purposes including the fight against crime.). The ECJ joined the two cases which had been submitted for review and issued its decision on 21 December 2016 (the “Decision”).
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Globalization of Connected and Autonomous Cars – A Long and Winding Road?

March 11th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Connected Cars | Europe | France | Legislation - (0 Comments)

The advent of autonomous cars represents a unique opportunity to rethink urbanism globally. Indeed, such a technological evolution will undoubtedly foster the development of a range of new offerings, such as car sharing and value-added opportunities, while at the same time ensure added safety on the roads at a time when traffic injuries remain the primary cause of death among people aged 15 to 29.

One direction in which this new paradigm could be expressed may be the decline of exclusive car ownership and the shift toward CaaS, or “Car-as-a-Service”. Autonomous cars could be shared among a community of subscribers and used on an as-needed basis, after which they could then park themselves outside of the urban landscape for battery-reloading purposes or when not in use.
Nevertheless, such an idealistic picture can only be achieved once all regulatory barriers have been lifted.
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Driverless transport needs a global unified code

March 7th, 2017 | Posted by Claude-Etienne Armingaud in Communication | Connected Cars - (0 Comments)

ArabianIndustry.com article by Fatima De La Cerna

“Autonomous transportation systems may no longer be the stuff of science fiction, but there’s still a large amount of work, regulation-wise, that needs to be done before they can replace conventional vehicles on the road.


“A start has been made towards laying the foundation of a regulatory framework in many countries around the world, but there are still considerable challenges that must be overcome by lawmakers and regulators alike in developing a comprehensive and unified approach to govern what we anticipate will be a strong sector in the near future,” said Claude-Étienne Armingaud, a Paris-based partner at K&L Gates, who spoke via video link during a press conference held on 7 March, in Dubai.”

Read the full article here.

ArabianIndustry.com article by Fatima De La Cerna

“Autonomous transportation systems may no longer be the stuff of science fiction, but there’s still a large amount of work, regulation-wise, that needs to be done before they can replace conventional vehicles on the road.


“A start has been made towards laying the foundation of a regulatory framework in many countries around the world, but there are still considerable challenges that must be overcome by lawmakers and regulators alike in developing a comprehensive and unified approach to govern what we anticipate will be a strong sector in the near future,” said Claude-Étienne Armingaud, a Paris-based partner at K&L Gates, who spoke via video link during a press conference held on 7 March, in Dubai.”

Read the full article here.

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