Beer, Reform, and Policy: A Pint of Chinese Trade-mark Law

If you want to order a Heineken in China, just ask the bartender for a “喜力啤酒” (pronounced “see lee pee jow”). The second word-pair, “啤酒”(“pee jow”), simply means “beer” and can be ubiquitously used to order beer in China. But the first word-pair, “喜力” (“see lee”), is the trade name chosen by Heineken to represent […]

Amsterdam Court of Appeals: No Copyright for an Inarticulate Criminal

Can the content of conversations between a famous criminal and police agents taking place in the backseat of a car be protected by copyright? This question, addressed to the Dutch courts in 2006, resurfaced in recent weeks after the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals in the case Endstra Tapes.