Insights & News

Our Litigation department represented Pharma Cosmetics Laboratories Ltd. (formerly HL Cosmetics Laboratories) in an IP claim against a beautician and her partner. The Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court recently awarded compensation in favor of Pharma and rejected the defendants' claim that the Copyright Act does not apply to the images and texts they copied from Pharma’s website.

Dr. Zvi Gabbay, Partner and Adv. Sapir Malul from the Capital Markets & Securities Department at Barnea express their views in an article for The Marker that the damage involved in applying the regulatory regime for hedge funds is immeasurably greater than the benefits, and may even cause a collapse of the entire industry.

Dr. Zvi Gabbay, Partner and Head of the Capital Markets & Securities Department at Barnea was interviewed by several media, following the conviction of Nochi Dankner for securities fraud. Dankner formerly controlled the IDB group and was one of the most powerful men in the Israel economy. Zvi noted that the verdict and its media coverage greatly contribute to the creation of a deterrent power of the Israeli Securities Authority and the prosecutor's office.

An article by Adv. Zvi Gabbay and Andrey Yanai on the proposal to reconsider the activist regulatory model of the Israel Securities Authority applied to the public companies, allowing them to enjoy wider business and legal maneuvering room.

Investors, whether angels, VCs or corporates, typically demand a seat on the board of directors of their target company in return for their investment. For the full article by Ariella Dreyfuss, please click here

Adv. Harel Perlmutter, Head of the Tax department at Barnea, was interviewed by Globes following the announcement by the Israel Tax Authority regarding tax audits of short term landlords. Harel explained that these landlords are liable not only for the payment of income tax, but also for the payment of VAT.

We were interviewed by Calcalist on the effect of the Brexit referendum results on online gambling companies. We expect that Malta can become an option for gambling companies who require an online gambling license from an EU Member State.

Simon Jaffa, Founding Partner at Barnea, was interviewed by Calcalist on the opportunities for Israeli investors, created by falling real estate prices in the UK, in the wake of the Brexit referendum results

This interview by Ynet explores the possible economic implications of the Brexit vote on real estate prices. Our expert advises to wait and see how much prices drop before buying or selling property in the country.

A moment before casting the Brexit votes, Simon Jaffa Founding Partner at Barnea was interview for the Jerusalem Post on the possible implications of the vote on Israeli companies having presence in the U.K.

IBM, Barnea and Marketing Envy will host a Round Table for CEO’s of start-ups which have raised over 1 million USD. As part of the program, Micky Barnea will discuss the challenges to be faced during second round capital raising.

The event will take place at Barnea’s offices. 

Simon Jaffa, Founding Partner, was interviewed by i24, the Israeli online news channel, on possible implications for Israel of the impending “Brexit” vote in Britain. (Simon's interview commences at minute 16 of the link)

Dr. Zvi Gabbay, Head of the Capital Markets Department at Barnea - Legal Acrobatics "In Praise of the Probability Test" - Comments and Criticism was mentioned in the recent ruling of the Supreme Court relating to the question of what knowledge is required to establish a Reporting Duty for a Company.

Dr. Zvi Gabbay’s article critically examined the Africa Israel ruling, which was adopted by the Economic Department of the Tel Aviv District Court, stating that the relevant test for deciding whether the information fits into the definition of "inside information" is the "test of expectation".

The Court had to decide whether the information during negotiations for a transaction had matured into "inside information" (which prevents a person having such information from trading securities, for as long as such information has not been reported to the investing public).

The "test of expectation" used by the judges of the Economic Department provides that in order to determine whether a particular event in the life of the corporation is material, the probability of the event should be weighed against its expected impact on the corporation. In other words, the stronger the anticipated event is for the corporation and its business, the more information about it will be material, even if the probability of occurrence of the event is low, and vice versa.

In his article, Dr. Zvi Gabbay highlighted the problem of "excessive regulation" taking place in the market, and the need to equip the capital market with practical tools that will enable the supervised bodies to deal appropriately with the reporting duties imposed on them by the Securities Authority.

The solution to this issue, according to Dr. Zvi Gabbay, lies in the development of the "agreement in principle" test. According to this test, information on a transaction will be material and must be reported only when agreement has been reached between the parties with regard to the main details of the transaction. The "agreement in principle" test will provide the supervised bodies with an easier, simpler, and more convenient tool for assessing the information related to their ongoing activity, while increasing certainty in the market.

Microsoft announced a $26.2 billion deal on Monday to acquire professional social platform LinkedIn, for $196 per share. Following this transaction, our Head of the Internet department at Barnea, who represents and advises Internet companies involved in mergers and acquisitions, was interviewed by Galatz radio on ”Good morning Israel” and by Israel Hayom newspaper regarding the transaction. 

From day one most Israeli entrepreneurs are already looking for their exit. Unfortunately they are not always prepared and preparation is the key.

TheMarker business monthly magazine for June, dealt with wealth and disclosed ”the secrets of 500 richest people in Israel”.

As an expert in  the area of family wealth, Micky Barnea was interviewed on how to transfer your wealth to the 2^nd generation in the best way.

Purchasers of Apartments in Afula were surprised to receive a call from a mortgage advisory company,  despite not having given the contractor prior consent to transfer their data to such company. The Ministry of Construction and Housing commented on this issue that "if necessary, we will sharpen the guidelines’’

The Privacy Protection Act regulates the use of personal information databases and providing this information to third parties without the individual's consent is illegal. 

Adv. Yuval Lazi and Adv. Itay Gura attended at the Tel Aviv University to lecture to participants in the Tel Aviv University’s MBA Programs in Innovation and Entrepreneurship on some of the legal and commercial aspects of starting a business. The participants took part in a Hackathon on 30th May.

Barnea invites you to the TAU Innovation Conference 2016. The conference is the largest international innovation conference in the Middle East, with over 6,000 attendees from across the world. This includes entrepreneurs, industry leaders, diplomats, investors, and highly respected keynote speakers at educational and networking events. As Barnea is a participant in the event, our clients enjoy a 35% discount (Password:  TAUBarnea2016)

As part of the event, Micky Barnea will participate in the IPO and exits panel, Yuval Lazi will participate in the fundraising panel and Yuval Lazi and Ariella Dreyfuss will be judges at the Tel Aviv StartUp Challenge competition.

Barnea represents Hanan Mor Group, a public traded company, and other companies of the Hanan Mor Group, in a lawsuit filed against them by the contractor relating to a number of real-estate projects.  The contractor claimed damages and requested an order to prevent the forfeiture of bank guarantees. The court rejected the contractor 's request. The court also accepted in full the arguments raised by Barnea and criticized the conduct of the other party, pointing out that the version of the other side "raises questions". The court awarded Hanan Mor Group fees and costs in the amount of NIS 12,000.The Hanan Mor Group is represented by Adv. Zohar Lande, Adv. Itay Wigoda and Adv. Shachar Parnes from the Litigation Department at Barnea