China Beefs Up IP Enforcement in Six Month Parade

(Westlaw Business) Obwohl nur die weltweit zweitgrößte Volkswirtschaft, Chinas Berichten zufolge stieg der Vergangenheit U.S. im vergangenen Jahr in Markeneintragungen, Ranking erste weltweit mit 4.6 Millionen eingetragene Marken in 2010. Verschmäht von Bewusstsein für die Bedeutung des Schutzes geistigen Eigentums, den Sprung in Markeneintragungen spiegelt das wachsende Vertrauen in die gerichtliche Durchsetzung Chinas Gesetze zum geistigen Eigentum.

Set am Ende dieses Quartals abgeschlossen, Chinas 6 Monate Intellectual Property Rights Campaign hat sich auf Bildung sowie die Durchsetzung konzentriert. Hart gegen Raubkopien Computersoftware, Designer-Waren, pharmazeutische Produkte und andere Akte der Fälschung, die chinesische Regierung bereits angekündigt, es habe etwa aufgedeckt 700 IP Verstöße in Höhe von US $ 125.000.000 seit Beginn der Kampagne im letzten Jahr.

Motiviert durch die Aussicht auf die Ankurbelung der Wirtschaft, Unternehmen dazu anzuregen, Markenstrategien umgesetzt haben eine Glocke mit lokaler Ebene Regierungen Sprosse in bestimmten chinesischen Städten. Als Anreiz, Behörden in der Provinz Hebei angekündigt einen Bonus von RMB300, 000 (US $ 45.300) wäre für Unternehmen, die den Status eines bekannten Marke erreicht unter PRC Gesetz hatte erteilt werden. In 2010, bekannten Marken durch chinesische Unternehmen im Besitz waren dünn gesät, mit den bekanntesten Marken gehören ausländische bekannte Namen wie Sony, Apple und insgesamt.

Fügen Sie die IP-blitz, Chongqing und Städte in Chinas Provinz Shandong haben auch Trainingsprogramme und härtere Verfolgung von Marken in den letzten Monaten erlassen. Insbesondere, Internet-Piraterie und Technologie-Streitigkeiten haben, wie heißen Gebieten für die Durchsetzung Aktionen entstanden.

Durch die Art und Weise der Hintergrund, PRC Markeneintragung ist wesentlicher Bestandteil eines jeden Unternehmens IP-Strategie, durch ausländische Eintragungen sind in der Regel nicht unter VR China anerkannt. Als Ergebnis, in-und ausländische Unternehmen gleichermaßen häufig empfohlen, ihre Marken und geistiges Eigentum so früh wie möglich anzumelden, um das Risiko von IP Diebstahl zu mildern.

durch China Beefs Up IP Enforcement in Six Month Parade.

Mergers and Acquisitions in China: Aktuelle Trends und Herausforderungen im Reich der Mitte

2010 was a very strong year for mergers and acquisitions in the Middle Kingdom. Statistics provided by Thomson Reuters show that over 3000 M&A transactions involving Chinese enterprises with a combined US$131.1 billion were reported in 2010. Among these deals, cross border transactions amounted to US$80.7 billion, ein 21.2% increase compared with US$63.6 billion recorded in 2009. In terms of the number of M&A deals, the materials sector saw the most activity with M&A transactions, Bilanzierung 24% of the total, followed by the energy and power sector making up 20%. The financial sector came in third place with 17% of all the deals. These deals were driven by a number of factors including the reorganization of State-owned enterprises, acceleration of the pace of Chinese government’s “zou chu guo men or “going out policy”, and desire of foreign companies to enter into new markets by seeking acquisitions in China,

Allerdings, notwithstanding the increase in M&A activity and the growing Chinese economy, China remains a challenging environment for foreign investors. Cultural, regulatorischen, due diligence and legal obstacles make acquisitions in China risky and difficult. Foreign companies seeking acquisitions in China are usually aware of well-known risks such as questionable business practices, environmental exposure and the lack of intellectual property protection. Leider, they are often unprepared to handle a wide range of cultural, legal and organizational differences presented in China.

Successful acquirors in China are those that commit the required resources and efforts, and use best-practice strategies to minimize the inherent risks. This article identifies the current trends in mergers and acquisitions in China, discusses the key challenges and the common mistakes that are made in connection with acquisitions in the Middle Kingdom.

durch Mergers and Acquisitions in China: Aktuelle Trends und Herausforderungen im Reich der Mitte.

US. Klagen gegen chinesische Unternehmen stehen mehrere Hürden

(Reuters Legal) As more Chinese companies trade on U.S. stock exchanges, investors are increasingly suing them for securities fraud in U.S. Gerichte — and slamming into a host of legal and bureaucratic barriers.

In theory, investors should be having an easier go of it. These Chinese entities, immerhin, agreed to abide by U.S. securities laws when they went public and gained access to U.S. financial markets. In practice, obwohl, the companies have been able to hide behind a thicket of Chinese laws to avoid significant liabilityin large part because evidence in these matters often resides in China, where basic litigation tasks such as gathering evidence are exceedingly difficult. Depositions by private parties are not even allowed in China, and it is nearly impossible to subpoena third-party witnesses there.

The vast majority of all civil securities-fraud suits end in settlement; but with all the impediments to pursuing claims against Chinese companies, plaintiffslawyers often don’t have much leverage, and as a result, cases either drag on or plaintiffs accept relatively small settlements.

To be sure, the hurdles in these cases aren’t exclusive to Chinathey frequently arise in civil litigation against companies based in non-Western countries with opaque legal systems. But China has emerged as a particularly tempting target. Twelve Chinese companies were sued in 2010, accounting for more than 40 percent of all shareholder suits filed against foreign companies listed on U.S. Austausch. Dies vergleicht sich mit 14 suits against Chinese companies in the prior three years combined, according to research by Stanford Law School and Cornerstone Research. The lawsuits allege that the companies misled shareholders by all sorts of underhanded means, from grossly inflating revenues reported in securities filings to reporting vastly different earnings to U.S. and Chinese regulatory authorities.

It’s too soon to say how the newest spate of litigation will play out, natürlich, but if the earlier crop of lawsuits are any indication, shareholders could end up disappointed.

durch US. Klagen gegen chinesische Unternehmen stehen mehrere Hürden.

Directors 'Duties Dominate Hong Kong Company Law Rewrite

(Westlaw Business) Lange erwartet und viel diskutiert, Hong Kongs Gesellschaftsrecht rewrite ist abgeschlossen und wird in Kraft treten dieses Jahr. Gazetted und in die Stadt Legislative Council im letzten Monat, das neue Companies Ordinance scheint eine härtere Durchsetzung Schlaglicht auf Directors 'Aufgaben, ein Bereich der Corporate Governance, die viel Aufmerksamkeit erregt hat aus Hong Kong Gesetzgeber ab Ende. Parallel zur Prüfung Führungskräfte, Das neue Gesetz zielt auf Gläubigerschutz sowie Erhöhung.

Abgesehen von den neuen Companies Ordinance, der Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing vor kurzem eine öffentliche Konsultation über die Corporate Governance Praktiken in der Special Administrative Region, vermutlich mit der Absicht zur Änderung der Hong Kong Gesetze an einem gewissen Punkt. Für weitere Informationen über die HKEx öffentliche Konsultation, siehe HKEx Sketches Corporate Governance Facelift.

In dem Bemühen, seinem Ruf als internationaler Finanzplatz stärken, Hong Kong ist die Bekämpfung Sitzungssaal Fehlverhalten in öffentlichen und privaten Unternehmen gleichermaßen. Vor kurzem hat die Securities and Futures Commission machte Schlagzeilen, als es der Vorsitzende eines in Hong Kong gelistete Unternehmen gezogen, China Forestry, vor Gericht. Verletzung der Treuepflicht und andere Akte der Verfehlungen gehören zu den Vorwürfen. Reuters News-Quellen haben berichtet, dass sich das Unternehmen auch die für Unregelmäßigkeiten bei der Rechnungslegung untersucht. Derzeit im SFC hat beantragt, den Vorsitzenden der Vermögenswerte von bis zu HK $ 398.000.000 einfrieren (US $ 51.000.000).

Ähnlich, Hong Kong Man Singt Agricultural Holdings hat rechtliche Leiden, die aus angeblichen Direktor Fehlverhalten seit Jahren gekämpft, mit keine Lösung in Sicht. Zuvor Man Shing bekannt, dass Chief Executive Officer hatte das Unternehmen nach "nicht ... der Erfüllung seiner Aufgaben als Leiter" durch die Weigerung, Anrufe zu empfangen und zu vernachlässigen Man Shing-Operationen links. Der Streit, was zusätzliche Vorwürfe der Corporate Governance Fehlverhalten und Schadensersatzansprüche, wurde in einem Gerichtsverfahren verwickelt, da 2007, eine kostspielige und langwierige Gerangel. Ein weiteres SEC-Filer derzeit Prozessführung eigenem Personal ist Biopack Environmental Solutions. Die Firma Hong Kong-Tochter begann eine Klage gegen den Direktor der Hong Kong Unternehmen für Fehlverhalten im Zusammenhang Verletzung der Directors 'Aufgaben.

durch Directors 'Duties Dominate Hong Kong Company Law Rewrite.

Surviving e-Discovery With the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division – Ben Kerschberg – Gesetz & Technology – Forbes

The Department of Justice ("DOJ") has aggressively requested the electronic production of corporate data over the past decade. The Antitrust Division is a perfect example, having experienced exponential growth in the amount of discovery and information that it receives in response to Second Requests. In turn, the Division’s spending on electronic storage capacity has increased in order to accommodate a six-fold increase in necessary memory between 2003 und 2010 alone.

The Antitrust Division is also a part of an internal DOJ working group that addresses e-discovery issues in civil matters. Every civil section and its respective litigation support staff participates in the group in order to uncover and implement best practices. The working group is designed not just to provide internal guidance to DOJ staff attorneys responsible for negotiating Second Requests and Civil Investigative Demands (“CIDs”), but also, according to DOJ “to provide detailed guidance to law firms and their electronic production vendors about the optimal way to produce electronic data and documents to the Division . . . to ensure that parties can avoid producing data multiple times and that the production is in a format that [can] be reviewed promptly.”

DOJ understands that e-discovery guidelines must to a great extent be industry specific given that companies in similar industries tend to use and store electronic data in similar ways.  As DOJ gains expertise related to such industry usage and establishes a pattern of addressing issues common to different investigations in the same manner over time, the lives of outside counsel inevitably will become easier. The Antitrust Division now sends an Electronic Production Letter to counsel to address a variety of electronic production issues. This Letter should serve as a baseline of issues for counsel to address early in negotiations with the Division staff. Although the Letter is a reliable benchmark, the Division will in some cases deviate from it depending on necessities raised by specific issues in any given investigation.

durch Surviving e-Discovery With the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division – Ben Kerschberg – Gesetz & Technology – Forbes.

Viber Tops Skype mit HD VoIP

Letztes Jahr, Viber machte eine faire Auswirkung als mobile Anwendung Alternative zu Skype VoIP. Mit einer neuen Technologie-Partner an Bord, könnte es nun zu gehen stellaren?

Raised Voices Over IP

IP-Telefon-Service Skype hat auf dem Gebiet ziemlich viel, um sich in persönlichen und SMB VoIP hatte Anrufe, mit mobilen Spielen ein wachsender Teil des Marktes. Während die großen Telekommunikationsunternehmen haben ihre eigenen VoIP-Marken für Unternehmen, den Namen und das Bewusstsein für Skype habe es dominieren in den kleineren Räumen.

Jetzt aber, hier kommt Viber und seinem neuen Partner, SPIRIT DSP, ein Anbieter von Sprach-und Video-over-IP-Engine-Technologie - in der Tat, es treibt einen Großteil der großen Namen Enterprise Services. Das Paar hat heute bekannt gegeben, dass TeamSpirit die Voice-Engine Mobile die treibende Kraft hinter einem neuen Viber iPhone-App, die frei HD Voice Anrufe bietet, ist.

durch Viber Tops Skype mit HD VoIP.

What’s There to Hold On To? An Enlightened Approach to Data Preservation in the Era of the Legal Hold | Law.com

Data drives everything in today’s business world, and it would be hard to name a more important concern for today’s corporate arena than data preservation.

The growing urgency of this matter, until last year a novelty to most attorneys, touched off a flurry of rulings in the area of legal holds in 2010, with several major court decisions redrawing the map in what had been virtual terra incognita.

Beginning with the landmark Pension Committee decision by U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin in January 2010, the judiciary became hyper-focused on this area with opinion after opinion coming down for the rest of year. (Rimkus v. Cammarata, Crown Castle v. Nudd Corp, Merck Eprova v. Gnosis, Jones v. Bremen High School, and Victor Stanley II.)

Clearly corporate counsel can no longer function without developing the judgment to distinguish what must be preserved, the knowledge to negotiate and lucidly communicate the scope, and the skills and tools to select and instruct on reasonable and effective methods of preservation.

Implementing a reasonable, defensible legal hold need not be a complex or overwhelming task. The standard is not perfection, but reasonableness and good faith coupled with competency.

All too often, we see half-hearted attempts at data preservation undertaken with little understanding of an organization’s information resources. A generic hold directive dispatched en masse to custodians carries high risks. Many will ignore it as incomprehensible or dismiss it as impractical. Worse, it may trigger absurd Herculean preservation efforts crippling productivity and budgets.

durch What’s There to Hold On To? An Enlightened Approach to Data Preservation in the Era of the Legal Hold.

Scientists calculate total data stored to date: 295+ exabytes – PC-WELT

PC-WELT – Humankind has stored more than 295 billion gigabytes (oder 295 exabytes) of data since 1986, according to a new report based on research by scientists at the University of Southern California.

The scientists also concluded that 2002 should be considered the beginning of the digital age because it was the first year digital storage capacity overtook total analog capacity worldwide.

The study, published this week in the Science Express journal, stated thatif a single star is a bit of information, there’s a galaxy of information for every person in the world. But it’s still less than 1% of the information stored in all the DNA molecules of a human being.

The study tracked some 60 analog and digital technologies from 1986 auf 2007, calculating the amount of data stored, communicated and computed. In 2007, 2.9 X 10^20 optimally compressed bytes were stored, almost X 10^21 bytes were communicated and 6.4 x 10^18 instructions per second were run on general purpose computers.

durch Scientists calculate total data stored to date: 295+ exabytes – PC-WELT.

RIM bietet Vier BlackBerry Playbook Models, Vielleicht Android-Anwendungen|Tablets Planet

In a fresh press release just published RIM has announced how many and different models they will launch their BlackBerry PlayBook 7-inch tablet with. RIM will offer the playbook in a Wi-Fi only model,  a Wi-Fi + WiMAX model (for Sprint most likely), a Wi-Fi + LTE (for Verizon most likely) and a Wi-Fi + HSPA+ (for T-Mobile & AT&T most likely).

The BlackBerry PlayBook will not only feature 4G support but also boost Bluetooth tethering, Mobile hotspots (MiFi) and BlackBerry Bridge support natively on all models.

As for some launch dates RIM states that the Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + WiMAX models will both be coming first during this present half of 2011 and the LTE and HSPA+ capable models will be launched in the second half of 2011. No firm official release dates have been vocalized by RIM yet.

durch RIM bietet Vier BlackBerry Playbook Models, Vielleicht Android-Anwendungen|Tablets Planet.

iPhone nanocould swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals | ZDNet

As Android remains at the top spot for the world’s most used mobile operating system, Apple are reportedly designing cheaper, smaller iPhone-like devices to compete with Google’s mobile software.

iPhones are expensive, but arguably proportionate in price for what they can do. Wohl, both the iPhone and the BlackBerry devices are ruling the marketshare at present for their ability to do practically anything.

As Apple Insider reports:

“The new smaller iPhone is expected to priced cheap enough to be offered by carriers for free with a smaller subsidy, or in the ballpark of $300 unlocked. Rather than being a dumbed down ‘feature phone,’ the smaller iPhone is said to simply be “significantly lighter,” with a smaller edge-to-edge touch screen.”

The ‘cheaper iPhone’ could be sold to carriers at half the existing price of the regular iPhone, meaning greater subsidies to the end consumer. It could in effect also be an emerging handset for those in less economically developed areas of the world.

durch iPhone nanocould swamp the mobile market; kill off rivals | ZDNet.