Dr. Laura Voda, Author at Fichte & Co

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February 2, 2021

The kerfuffle of apps terms of use: can they change anytime?

Online Apps (such as WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc.) generally follow a similar two-tiered contracting pattern: a clickwrap agreement (which ends with “I Agree…”) and / or a browse wrap agreement, whereby a user agrees to and continues to be bound even if the App reserves the right to unilaterally change its terms of use….

December 22, 2020

Importance of Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) for Startups

In the current times, most startups aim at implementing innovative business ideas, new technologies, and, most probably, unicity. Whereas registering, financing, and making a startup work usually imply a plethora of things to complete, one must not oversee the legalities of it. Innovation and the uniqueness of an idea represent, from a legal standpoint, a...

November 24, 2020

UAE Overhauls Corporate Rules and Allows 100% Foreign Ownership in Mainland Companies

On November 23 2020, the UAE President, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, issued a Decree amending 51 articles and introducing certain new provisions in Federal Law no. 2 of 2015 (Commercial Companies Law). This update aims at analyzing the primary impact of the Decree in the jurisdiction and its relevance for the corporate restructuring...

Direct Executory Force of Notarized Debts

In the UAE, a debt is directly executable before the UAE Courts where it has been notarized and stamped with a stamp of execution by a notary public. This may be an attractive route for settling debts, for debtors and creditors alike, due to the time and cost-efficient nature of the process. In particular, it...

September 27, 2020

The New Bankruptcy Law – Stepping up to Challenges in a Post-pandemic Economy

Throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a collective frustration existed with insolvencies due to the time-consuming nature and significantly low recovery rates, which stemmed from outmoded insolvency laws under Book 5, Article 645-900 of Federal Law No.18/1993 (the ‘’Commercial Code’’). Under these ambiguous provisions, it was a criminal offense for directors to fail to petition...

September 20, 2020

How to Safely Close Down a Business in Mainland, UAE?

Introduction The two most prevalent routes that have been undertaken for liquidating a company are either ‘voluntary winding up’ specified under the Federal Law No. 2 of 2015 -The Commercial Company law (the “Companies Law”) and the Department of Economic Development setting out formal requirements for operating entities; or via ‘bankruptcy’ regulated by the Federal...

August 12, 2020

Everything You Need to Know about End of Service Gratuity in the UAE

The End of Service Gratuity (‘EOS’) is a benefit granted by the UAE Federal Law no. 8 of 1980, as amended (‘Employment Law’) to the expatriate workforce in the private sector. Consequently, the benefit applies to expatriate employees in UAE mainland companies and in UAE free zone companies, that operate under the remit of the...

Website Cloning – A Business Reality with Intricate Legal Consequences

The newest and most effective marketing tool for business exists nowadays in the digital world. Whereas a good and attractive website has all the prerequisites to have a strong impact on the market share and positioning of a firm, it has the drawback of exposing important and not always protected content to infringements. Website cloning...

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Data Protection Law 2020

A revisited legal regime and a building block for the high standards of the financial center From July 1, 2020, the date of entry into force of the new DIFC Data Protection Law, the financial center will enhance their already existing standalone data protection regime. This is expected to align the DIFC to the existing...

Change of Options for Changing Times

At the start of this year, there were some significant changes impacting the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) legal framework. Dr Laura Voda and Ifrah George explain how the increased flexibility they provide may aid companies facing a post COVID-19 economy. WHAT’S HAPPENED AND WHY? “In recent years, growth in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre...