When Amazon remotely removed George Orwell's "1984" from Kindle devices, copyright law and big brother clashed in the world of eBooks. But the copyright versus big brother debate is missing an important point. Amazon's control over how eBooks are sold on Kindle is a business strategy first and foremost. Enforcing Copyright or Big Brother? Amazon...
What do clients want from their lawyers? According to a new survey by Clemente Communications Group, middle-market companies want their professional services firms (including lawyers) to help them increase revenue growth and diversify strategically. These companies are looking for advisors who understand the key trends in their industries and their company's strategic priorities. In short,...
Google AdWords faces another legal challenge over AdWords. Emboldened by a recent Second Circuit opinion, Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc., Rosetta Stone filed a suit last Friday against Google for trademark infringement. Rosetta Stone accuses Google of allowing other companies to "free ride" on its brand name and of misleading and confusing consumers into clicking...
Cupertino, your iPhone has a trademark problem in China. While Apple is talking to China Unicom about selling the iPhone in China beginning in 2010, MacWorld reports that Hanwang Technology owns the trademark “i-phone” for mobile phones in China. As a result, Apple will run into problems selling the iPhone in China without reaching an...
On March 18, 2009, the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce (“AMB”) rejected Coca-Cola’s bid to acquire Huiyuan Juice Group, China’s largest beverage company. This was the AMB’s first rejection of a pre-merger filing under the Anti-Monopoly Law (”AML”) enacted in August 2008. The AMB was apparently concerned that Coke would be able...
Why do many business people express frustration with attorneys? Because as Mark McCormack has famously written, most attorneys don't understand business. That includes business lawyers. Attorneys Are From Mars, Executives Are From Venus Many business lawyers, including in-house counsel, will privately admit they don't understand the intricacies of business, especially strategy and management. This is...