On November 15, 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) voted unanimously to adopt changes to Rules 144 and 145 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including a change to shorten the holding period requirements for restricted securities.

The architecture design opportunities in China seem endless. The increased building in preparation for the Beijing Olympics has called on international designers to support China’s efforts to put an international and yet Chinese face to the world for the 2008 Games.

The New York Court of Appeals firmly rejected the application of the "unfinished business" doctrine - an important principle of partnership law.

This summer, just when investors thought it was safe to go back in the water, the Chinese government leaked new internal guidelines affecting virtually all international financings of Chinese companies.

In Corrales v. Bradstreet,—Cal.Rptr.3d—(Cal. App. 3rd Dist. July 10, 2007), a California Court of Appeal ruled that the California Labor Commissioner had no authority to issue its 2005 precedential decision in Hartwig v. Orchard Commercial, Inc., in which it held that the extra pay for missed meal and rest periods under Labor Code Section 226.7 was a penalty and not a wage.

On March 16, 2007, China's 10th National People's Congress enacted a new PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law (EIT Law). When the EIT Law takes effect on January 1, 2008, it will dramatically alter the manner in which China taxes Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIEs). In essence, the new EIT Law will eliminate entirely the preferential tax regime for FIEs.

The California Supreme Court expanded free speech rights and handed organized labor a significant victory in its recent decision,”Fashion Valley Mall v. NLRB (Graphics Communications Int'l Union, Local 432-M)” (December 24, 2007, S144753).

On August 1, 2008, China's new Anti-Monopoly Law (the "AML") took effect. and two days later the Provisions on the Declaration of Concentration of Business Operators also became effective.

Small business reporting companies got their long-awaited Christmas gift from the SEC of simplification and scaling of their disclosure requirements and of expansion of the small business issuer category upon the SEC issuance of SEC Release No. 33-8876.

On January 27, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released, for public comment, its proposed rules calling for sweeping changes in the form and substance of the disclosure requirements for executive and director compensation, related party transactions, director independence and other corporate governance matters, and security ownership of officers and directors.

With existing and readily available technology, every industrial facility, factory, campus, hospital, hotel, commercial building, department store, apartment and house can generate enough electricity to satisfy its own needs under normal conditions and have back-up power when there is a blackout.

The number of foreign-related contractual disputes is growing in China, along with the rapidly developing economy. While many foreign investors are accustomed to identifying which nation's laws govern the contracts they execute, such choices may not be recognized by Chinese courts.

In an important ruling addressing the fiduciary duties of directors of Delaware corporations, the Delaware Supreme Court unambiguously rejected an attempt by a creditor to directly hold a corporation's directors personally liable for breach of fiduciary duty.

With the increasing number of patent application filings, it is not surprising to learn that the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is increasingly overburdened. Each year it takes longer for an applicant to receive an action on the merits (e.g., a substantive action addressing patentability issues), as well as obtain final disposition (e.g., final rejection, allowance, abandonment) of a case from the USPTO.

On August 2, 2006, the Federal Trade Commission issued a broad ruling strongly rebuking Rambus Inc., a developer and licensor of computer memory technologies, for its conduct while a member of the standards-setting organization known as the "JEDEC" (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council).

Foreign employers who wish to send personnel to the United States either for business meetings or to work for extended periods of time must obtain visas for their employees.

The antitrust laws of the United States are intended to protect competition—that is, their purpose is to insure a competitive economy and to prevent the exercise of excessive control of a market by any particular business entity.

On August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Act) was enacted. It has been almost 13 years since the enactment of major energy legislation. The primary concern driving the Act is the belief that the United States needs an assured domestic fuel and energy supply, particularly in the face of gasoline prices at historic highs.

Most employers will agree that California can be an expensive place to do business. Intricate provisions of the California Labor Code dictate requirements ranging from the length and time of meal breaks, to the details that must be provided on an employee’s paystub.

Companies seeking to do business in the United States should be aware that a broad range of U.S. consumer protection laws will apply to any products they manufacture, distribute or sell. The sources of these consumer protection laws include federal and state statutes as well as judicial decisions that interpret these statutes, and also establish judge-made "products liability" law.