Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IN a surprise judgement, the European Court of Justice has blocked European Union retailers from re-importing textile products from eastern European countries or other non-EU countries, without permission from trademark holders.

By doing so, the ECJ ignored one of its advocate generals, who had advised that manufacturers should not block such parallel imports; this was unusual, as judges normally back such preliminary judgements.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MEMBER countries of the World Trade Organisation have agreed to speed up the implementation of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, in a bid to mollify criticism from developing world governments that their exporters have not benefited from the ATC as widely as the had hoped.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE BRITISH company ElekSen, (formerly ElectroTextiles), is gearing up for a New Year launch of a product that will greatly widen the use of small electronic devices like mobile phones and personal digital assistants,(PDA’s), through the use of a portable standard plug-in keyboard.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKE AND KEITH NUTHALL
THE SCENE is familiar; armed robbers hold up a bank and a teller moves to dive beneath a desk to hit the panic button, but is told to freeze or be shot. Companies with exposed personnel such as these might consider buying a new wristband alarm developed by Japanese company Takenaka Engineering Co.,…

BY ALAN OSBORN
AN UPDATED list of sensitive “dual-use” products and technologies published by the European Commission will allow some exporters a little more marketing freedom than in the past, despite the recent heightened concern about terrorism.

The revised list of items that are considered to be dangerous in the wrong hands allows for higher thresholds in a number of areas and this will permit some exporters, notably of computers, to increase sales without having to seek prior permission from Brussels.…

Keith Nuthall
THE WORLD Trade Organisation has agreed to speed up its work towards creating a multilateral registration system for geographical indications of wines and spirits, a proposal that has been bogged down in technical discussions for years.

At its summit in Qatar, the WTO imposed a deadline on this task of the next ministerial meeting of the organisation, which must happen by the end of the year 2003.…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
ONTARIO-based, Sleeman Breweries has announced that it has reached an agreement with H.P. Bulmer Ltd. of Hereford, England, to handle sales and marketing for its Strongbow premium packaged and draught ciders in Canada.

Bulmer cider became available in liquor stores in Ontario, B.C…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
LABATT Breweries, of Canada, based in Toronto, has publicly blasted its main advertising agency, Ammirati Puris, telling it to shape up or another team will gain their business.

In an unusually open attack on a contracted business partner, vice-president of marketing for Labatt, Charles Oliver said that his company expected better value for their money from the ad company.…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Montreal
THE COCA-COLA Bottling Company has just(October 29) launched Diet Coke with Lemon in Canada, an event times to match the 20th anniversary of Diet Coke in the country; it is the first flavour extension for Diet Coke.…

BY MARK ROWE
MALAYSIA Mining Corp, (MMC), is to pay US$505 million, (Pounds 360 million/Malaysian ringit 1.9 billion), to purchase a majority stake in Malaysia’s newest port. The 50.1 per cent stake in the Tanjung Pelepas container port is a further sign that the power and engineering group is seeking to diversify its portfolio and reduce its reliance on the mining sector.…