Court Uncourt - Volume VII Issue 5

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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in companies, landlords, and tenants alike closely reviewing a clause in their lease that was long considered unimportant boilerplate - the “force majeure” provision. “Force majeure”, translated from French, is “superior strength”, and is used to refer to acts of God. In this issue of Court Uncourt, we endeavor to explicate on the implementation of force majeure in the UAE, and proactive measures businesses could resort to.
This week, we received news that landed like rain in a drought- remdesivir, an antiviral drug was given the green light after a major trial proved that it boosted recovery in serious COVID-19 patients. This prodrug, developed by Gilead Sciences, has seen serious patentability issues on account of interplay between the Gilead patent application and the one filed by the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Innovation is at the forefront today, and it begs to be addressed on matters of the application of IP protection. To this end, this issue bears a multi-jurisdictional article on the joint protection of intellectual property.
While global issues like the aforementioned ones are critical and deserve universal acknowledgement, we yearn for answers regarding more individualized issues that can befall us at any moment. What constitutes wrong termination in these times? Can I retain employment if I contract a terminal illness? What happens to the submission of VAT returns? These are but a fraction of the weighty questions addressed in this edition of Court Uncourt. Thank you, and we hope you have an insightful read!