19 Jan 2021

Act on Digital Assets – creating a new market

Digital assets. A somewhat contradictory notion, but for a short period of time, the digital assets managed to put to question the millennial legal perception of assets as something purely material. And that would not be so interesting if it were not for the digital assets’ ability to financially transform into money. Mining and cryptocurrencies have been filling newspaper columns for years now and the first thing that catches the eye is their monetary value. Behind these terms is a legally unregulated business creating a significant fortune for individuals who, as simple as it gets, just sit in front of […]

Details
04 Jan 2021

Amazon – One of “The Biggest Deals” for EU’s Antitrust Practice

Unbelievable numbers: 840,000 employees, USD 280 billion in revenue for 2019, USD 11.5 billion profit (for the same year) and first centi-billionaire owner ever.  Today, one of the biggest undertakings in global trade.  But, on the other side, one of “The Biggest Deals” for the EU, ever.  We bring you a story of to-ings and fro-ings between Amazon and the EU Commission. Short Recap Rewind to July 17, 2019.  On that day, the Commission opened an investigation into possible anti-competitive conduct by Amazon.  More precisely, an investigation was opened to assess whether Amazon’s use of sensitive data from independent retailers […]

Details
29 Dec 2020

Trading Water – a 21st century inevitability or a cause for concern?

If you think you have seen “everything” in 2020, well, think again!  This is the year that sees water traded on the stock exchange for the first time ever.  News from Wall Street that water is to be traded on the stock exchange spread quickly and overshadowed a raft of other, important financial stories. This December the world’s largest financial derivatives exchange, the CME Group, launched futures contracts tied to the spot price of water in California, a market of $ 1.1 billion.  The very concept of trading water inevitably gives us all pause for thought about the reasons for […]

Details
16 Dec 2020

PayPal expands its services to cryptocurrencies

After many years of speculations on its interest in cryptocurrencies, this year PayPal finally announced that it will enable its users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, as well as to safe keep them in crypto wallets on their accounts.  With the money from the sale of cryptocurrencies, users may freely buy goods and services. PayPal, the American company whose main business activity is the provision of payment services related to electronic money, has been long present in the payment services market.  PayPal is not a bank, because it does not use the funds of the users for its own needs, […]

Details
15 Dec 2020

Filming in Serbia – a League of Artists, Businessmen, State Aid, Belgrade Architecture and James Bond

One Belgrade University professor used to say that cinematography is an arranged marriage that marries investors and intellectual creators/artists. We respectfully disagree with that statement – the “marriage” is missing a legal professional. Media law is a broad area that could, in some segments, include almost every branch of law – intellectual property, state aid, competition, company & commercial law, criminal law, human rights law, etc.  With this bulletin focusing on filming in Serbia, we are going to cover two of the most relevant issues for the film industry.  The first one is creators’ copyrights and producers’ right to economic […]

Details
14 Dec 2020

We are hiring a BD Manager

Gecić Law is pursuing a competent and experienced Business Development Manager to join our young, talented, diverse, and dynamic team, the winner of the prestigious The Lawyer European Award 2020 for the Law firm of the year: Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Are you ready to join one of the foremost innovative law firms in Serbia, truly committed to building long-term relationships with clients, striving to achieve exceptional results by adopting creative models for the delivery of legal services? What we are looking for: • Bachelor’s degree (advanced degree or MBA is a plus) • Minimum 3 years of experience in a […]

Details
07 Dec 2020

Freelancers & taxes in Serbia: No Free Lunch?

As much as the rise of new technologies and novel business models has shown as inevitable in the past few decades, so has the payment of taxes. Most taxpayers operating in the Republic of Serbia are aware of their obligation to pay taxes and contributions. However, questions arise for those who work and earn abroad through new and increasingly complex business models (although physically residing mostly in Serbia), and may not be aware that they have to pay taxes and contributions, and should report to the Tax Office. The precipitous rise in the number of new types of creatives and […]

Details
28 Nov 2020

The Lawyer Awards 2020: Gecić Law Amongst Europe’s Competition & Antitrust Elite

Gecić Law’s innovation, drive and perseverance in pushing the envelope ever further, were once again recognized at the very highest level, by The Lawyer, a leading global legal magazine. This year, we entered Europe’s exclusive legal playoffs and were honored to be shortlisted for The Lawyer European Awards in two competitive categories, of which one is Europe-wide: European competition or antitrust team of the year – Top Five category, where we entered again the revered playoffs, neck and neck with the best competition and antitrust teams from the whole of Europe (without the UK). Law firm of the year: Eastern […]

Details
23 Nov 2020

Are Major High-Tech Companies “Skirting the Law” in Serbia Regarding Personal Data Protection?

Although it has been more than a year since the new Personal Data Protection Act (“Act”) entered into force in Serbia, some of its provisions are not yet fully applicable.  One clear-cut example is Article 44 of the Act, which requires foreign companies (therefore those who does not have a registered business seat in Serbia) to appoint a Personal Data Protection Representative for Serbia (“Representative”). Who is the Representative? This provision, (as well as the majority of the Act’s provisions), was adopted from Article 27 of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and refers to any personal data controller and […]

Details
06 Nov 2020

The digital euro in Serbia

Autumn on the European money market has sparked discussion on digital money. The rapid development and use of digital technology increased the volume of online/e-payments due to COVID-19, but also competition coming from digital currencies developed by other central banks, such as the Chinese central bank, from cryptocurrencies and digital currencies developed by tech giants, are some of the reasons that spurred the European Central Bank (ECB) i.e. Eurosystem to publish the Report on a digital euro. The Report analyses potential options and conditions under which the digital euro could operate, reflecting clear caution from its introduction as a means […]

Details