■ Trademarks
Apple sues Apple
Apple Corps Ltd, the Beatles' record company and guardian of the band's musical heritage and business interests, is suing Apple Computer Inc, claiming the company violated a 1991 agreement by entering the music business with its iTunes online music store. At issue is a 1991 agreement that ended a long-running trademark fight between the two Apples in which each agreed not to tread on the other's toes by entering into a "field of use" agreement over the trademark. Apple Corps -- founded in 1968 and owned by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the widow of John Lennon and the estate of George Harrison -- is seeking both an injunction to enforce the 1991 agreement and monetary damages for the alleged contract breach. The two were due to face off in court yesterday.
■ Retail
Wal-Mart steps up checks
Wal-Mart Stores Inc is increasing surprise inspections at thousands of foreign factories where it buys clothes, toys, shoes and other products as it expands efforts to make sure its suppliers uphold labor and environmental standards. Wal-Mart expects unannounced inspections to make up 30 percent of all inspections this year, up from 20 percent last year and 8 percent in 2004, said Beth Keck, director of international corporate affairs for the world's largest retailer. In 2004, the last year for which it has published results, Wal-Mart said 36 percent of inspections turned up what it calls "high-risk" violations, 42 percent were medium-risk and 21 percent were low-risk. One percent, or 108 factories, failed altogether and Wal-Mart stopped doing business with them.
■ Steel
Japanese forge alliance
Three major Japanese steelmakers, led by Nippon Steel Corp, said yesterday they will plot a joint defense strategy to counter hostile takeover attempts in the wake of Mittal Steel Co's unsolicited bid for Luxembourg's Arcelor SA. Nippon Steel, Kobe Steel Ltd and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd have agreed to study "countermeasures in the event that an unsolicited offer is made to one of the three companies," the steelmakers said in a combined statement. The announcement comes on the heels of Netherlands-based Mittal's 19 billion euro (US$23 billion) offer for Arcelor, an overture that has been rejected by Arcelor and triggered an ongoing takeover battle in Europe. The Japanese companies said on Tuesday they plan to strengthen their ties by cooperating in recycling, the supply of mold pig iron and the cutting of costs.
■ Gambling
Singapore casino bids close
The four groups in the running to build Singapore's first casino resort yesterday submitted formal bids, with Malaysia's Genting International making the first submission. The four groups are bidding to build a casino resort at Marina Bay near Singapore's financial center. The deadline for bids was yesterday. Other bidders included a tie-up between Harrah's Entertainment Inc and Singapore's Keppel Land Ltd; Las Vegas Sands Corp; and a team combining MGM Mirage and Southeast Asia's largest developer, CapitaLand Ltd. The tender for the Sentosa casino will be launched on April 28, and applications will close Oct. 10. The government will likely decide on the winning bid for the Sentosa casino before the end of the year.
Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao (李佳豪) on Sunday won a silver medal at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, a career best. Lee, 25, took silver in the final of the men’s singles against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi (石宇奇) of China, who won 21-17, 21-19 in a tough match that lasted 51 minutes. After the match, the Taiwanese player, who ranks No. 22 in the world, said it felt unreal to be challenging an opponent of Shi’s caliber. “I had to be in peak form, and constantly switch my rhythm and tactics in order to score points effectively,” he said. Lee got
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it has lodged a protest with Pretoria after the name of the Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa was changed to the “Taipei Commercial Office” on the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s (DIRCO) Web site. In October last year, the South African government asked Taiwan to relocate the Taipei Liaison Office, the nation’s de facto embassy, out of Pretoria. It later agreed to continue negotiating through official channels, but in January asked that the office be relocated by the end of this month. As of the middle of last month, DIRCO’s Web
RSS