On 13 September 2017, Senior Associate at Maxima Legal and specialist in intellectual property and information technology, Maxim Ali took part in the conference 'IT-outsourcing: Problems and Prospects' in Moscow.

Maxim Ali, Senior Associate and specialist of the IP/IT Practice at Maxima Legal, has given a presentation at the international conference for young entrepreneurs and start-ups LAUNCHPAD 2017, organised by the St Petersburg Higher School of Economics together with GIBRelations.

As part of the session on ‘Ideas for small and medium-sized businesses and foreign investment’, Maxim spoke about what is intellectual property and how and why to protect it.  At another session ‘Import and developing franchises’, Maxim provided a detailed examination of the legal side of purchasing a franchise and commented on what points in a franchising agreement demand particular attention.

The speakers at the conference also revealed secrets to business success in an intercultural environment, talked about underdeveloped niches in the Russian economy, the prospects for developing franchises, the nuances of conducting foreign business and the tools to attract a foreign investor.

Vladimir Kilinkarov has joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Project Group on General Framework of Legal Conditions for PPPs. 

The UNECE was established in 1947 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).  The founding objective of the UNECE is to facilitate European economic integration.  The Commission includes 56 member states in Europe, North America and Asia, and involves more than 70 international professional and non-governmental organisations.

The UNECE promotes economic integration and collaboration between member states and supports sustainable development and economic prosperity and contributes to enhancing the effectiveness of the UN through the implementation of global conferences and summits at a regional level.  UNECE also establish norms, standards and conventions for international cooperation in the region and beyond.

One of the main focuses for the activities of the UNECE for a number of years has been the development of standards and principles for the implementation of public-private partnership projects in the sphere of infrastructure.  The work of the UNECE in this field has invariably attracted the attention of the international community, and its standards have been used in legislation and projects around the world.

The main objective of UNECE in this area is to bring together expertise of national governments in the discussion, management and implementation of successful PPP projects. To achieve this goal, significant emphasis is placed on sharing knowledge and experience between member states with the participation of experts from the public and private sectors.

The International Fiscal Association (IFA) is the only non-governmental and non-sectoral international organisation dealing with fiscal matters. Its objectives are the study and advancement of international and comparative law in respect of public finance, specifically international and comparative fiscal law and the financial and economic aspects of taxation.

Its membership consists of high-level representatives from both the private and the public sectors, including the Courts, universities and international governmental and non-governmental organisations. IFA provides a forum for experts belonging to different sectors of society, where opinions on topics of international taxation can be exchanged with respect for each other's background and responsibilities.

IFA has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and maintains close contact with the fiscal activities of the EU, the CIAT, the EATLP, the ECLA, the ICC, the OECD and various other organisations, including its Sister Organisation, the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation.

Membership of IFA now stands at more than 12,500 from 116 countries. As of June 2017 there are 88 members in the IFA Russian branch, with only two members – including Elena Kilinkarova – being from St Petersburg.