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Tag: law

  • Snapdeal unveils ‘Brand Shield’ to help firms fight counterfeits

    Snapdeal unveils ‘Brand Shield’ to help firms fight counterfeits

    India’s e-commerce major Snapdeal Monday said it has launched ‘Brand Shield’, an anti-counterfeiting programme to help brands report counterfeit products being sold on its platform. The programme has been designed based on the inputs received from various brand owners, Snapdeal said in a statement.

    The programme is aimed at enabling a structured interaction between the platform and brands with regard to any intellectual property (IP) issues flagged by the brand, it added.

    Under Brand Shield, there will be an online, triple-check point process for brands to report any violation of their IP rights in terms of trademark, copyright, patent or concerns related to design.

    Brands can also list specific issues relating to unlawful copying of logos, brand images, design features and packaging by sellers listed on Snapdeal’s platform. Brands will be required to establish their ownership of the IP, identify the listing of concern through proof and state their claim of infringement.

    The statement said designated teams at Snapdeal will review every report of IP infringement submitted through Brand Shield. Upon verification of the accuracy and adequacy of the information provided by the brand, Snapdeal will take down the listing within one business day, it added.

    In continuation of current practice, Snapdeal will also continue to de-list products/ listings in compliance with any directions or orders passed by the courts and other relevant authorities, the statement said.

    “The issue of unscrupulous sellers misusing online marketplaces to sell fake goods is a global problem. Brand Shield is part of our ongoing initiatives to collaborate with brands owners to combat counterfeits and infringement offences,” a Snapdeal spokesperson said.

    Snapdeal, an online marketplace, acts as an intermediary connecting buyers and independent third party sellers. It also prohibits the sale of counterfeit products on its marketplace and any sellers found in violation are penalised as per the terms of agreements with the sellers, the statement said.

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  • China moves to regulate e-commerce

    China moves to regulate e-commerce

    Chinese top legislature is deliberating a draft law that will regulate and facilitate e-commerce in the country.

    The draft law was tabled for review by legislators at the bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, which runs from Monday to Sunday. It is the first reading of the draft by the top legislature.

    Explaining the draft to lawmakers on Monday morning, Lyu Zushan, deputy director with the NPC’s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, said booming e-commerce in recent years had served to reveal loopholes in China’s legal system and commercial rules.

    The draft law will facilitate e-commerce growth, help maintain market order and protect consumer rights.

    The draft law said the nation should put online and offline commercial activities on an equal footing, and protect the safety of e-commerce transactions.

    All e-commerce operators have an obligation to pay taxes and should acquire the necessary business certificates, under the draft.

    Operators must also ensure personal information security for consumers. Those that fail will face fines up to 500,000 yuan ($72,000) and could have their business certificates revoked.

    They must also work to protect intellectual property, the draft said.

    The draft requires third-party e-commerce platforms to offer technical support for “law enforcement activities by relevant authorities.”

    China is the world’s largest e-commerce market. According to Lyu, e-commerce trade amounted to over 20 trillion yuan ($2.87 trillion) in 2015, with online retail sales totaling 3.88 trillion yuan.

    Last month, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba saw 120.7 billion yuan in gross merchandise volume during its 24 hour Singles’ Day event, an annual online shopping spree on November 11.

  • Lawmaker wants increase milk production, consumption

    Lawmaker wants increase milk production, consumption

    Legislator of Commission X of the House of Representatives (DPR), Dwita Ria Gunadi wants to increase milk production and consumption because the per capita milk consumption in the country is still lower than other Asian countries.

    “The per capita milk consumption in 2015, based on data from the Agriculture Ministry was only 12.1 liters per annum,” Dwita Ria Gunadi said in a written statement here on Thursday.

    The per capita consumption is still is still lower than the per capita consumption of India, which reached 48.62 liters per annum, Singapores 44.5 liters and Malaysias 36.2 liters.

    Indonesias per capita milk consumption is even lower than that of Thailand, which reached 33.7 liters per annum, the Philippines 17.8 liters and Vietnams 14.3 liters.

    Dwita reminded that the milk imports of Indonesia should meet domestic need, which has exceeded 80 percent.

    “This condition is a cause for concern because our land has potential for developing and breeding milch cows,” Dwita, who is a member of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party, (Gerinda) said.

    She has also started a discourse to boost production though among others, the allocation by local governments of funds to breeders for stimulating milk production.

    It was earlier noted that the fresh milk production of milch cows in the Malang District of East Java, increased from 117,235 tons in 2014 to 132,052 tons in 2015 and during the first semester of 2016 it was pegged at 66,593 tons.

    “In order to increase production and consumption of milk, we provide milch cow assistance to breeders. This year, 92 heads of milch cows were provided, and next year this assistance will continue, but the number will not be as big as this year,” Sudjono, the head of Malangs Animal Husbandry Service, said on November 4.

    He added that over the past five years the number of milch cows provided for breeders accounted for 826 heads.

    The farmers, who got the assistance, were those from milch cow production centers, such as Wajak, Pujon, Ngantang, Poncokusumo and the Jabung sub-districts.

    According to the Cooperatives, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SME) Minister Puspayoga, milch cow farmers must increase and maintain the quality of their milk production. All milk produced domestically, including by members of cooperatives, should be absorbed by the milk-processing industry (IPS) in order to meet the domestic need and reduce imports.

    An executive from one of the countrys food and drinks company, PT Nestle Indonesia, argued that to increase productivity and improve the quality of milk, local milch cow farmers should adopt sustainable breeding practices.

    “The key to increasing production and improving quality is to adopt sustainable breeding practices and to optimize cowshed cleanliness,” R Wisman Djaja, PT Nestle Indonesias director for Sustainability agriculture Development and Procurement Affairs, had said in Malang, East Java last month.

    The government, according to Minister Puspayoga, is now trying to resolve the constraints being faced by milch cow farmers and milk processing industries.

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  • Indonesia amends controversial internet law

    Indonesia amends controversial internet law

    Indonesia’s House of Representatives has passed amendments to the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions Law to reduce penalties and set more clear definitions.

    The strict law lays out tough penalties including jail time for online defamation and “online intimidation,” and has provoked controversy on multiple occasions due to its use to stifle what is seen as legitimate speech.

    The new amendments set a definition of what constitutes defamation to prevent a loose interpretation of the law.

    Additionally the revisions reduce jail time for defamation to four from six years, and for online intimidation to four from 12.

    The amendments also introduce a “right to be forgotten” – giving courts the ability to request the deletion of certain online information.

    In terms of enforcement the revisions include new regulation governing how state authorities should investigate internet-related crimes, and synchronize procedures on confiscation, seizure, arrest and detention with Indonesia’s criminal law.

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  • Volkswagen decides not to sue South Korea over sales ban

    Volkswagen decides not to sue South Korea over sales ban

    Volkswagen decided against suing South Korea which last month suspended sales of most of its models and slapped a fine of 17.8 billion won ($15.93 million) on the German carmaker.

    Instead, Volkswagen will try to achieve certification for the affected models and resume sales quickly rather than taking on a lengthy legal process, a spokesman for Volkswagen’s South Korean unit said.

    Last month, the government revoked certification for 80 model variants of VW, Audi and Bentley vehicles on grounds that the German automaker fabricated certificates of vehicle emissions and noise-levels.

    At that time, Volkswagen described the ruling as “most severe” and said it would consider a legal challenge.

    Volkswagen’s sales slumped 40 percent to 12,888 vehicles from January to July in South Korea, after jumping 17 percent last year, in the wake of its emissions-test cheating scandal.

    Nissan Motor’s (7201.T) South Korean unit has filed a lawsuit over claims by the environment ministry that it had cheated on emissions with its Qashqai diesel sport utility vehicle.

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  • Government fine watch shop over Aishwarya Rai photo

    Government fine watch shop over Aishwarya Rai photo

    The photograph below is from a Longines advertising campaign, and features arguably India’s most famous Bollywood star, Aishwarya Rai.

    Some might consider it elegant, others “hi-so” in certain parts of Southeast Asia. But in Malaysia, religious zealots have fined a non-Muslim watch retailer for displaying a poster in-store featuring this same Aishwarya Rai photo.

    According to Malaysian mainstream media, someone from the Kota Baru Municipal Council considered the photograph too “sexy” – an “offence” the beleaguered retailer has supposedly committed more than 10 times since the 1990s.

    Aishwarya-Rai-Longines

    Swee Cheong Watch & Pen Co owner Lee Kum Chuan’s latest bureaucratic punishment came to light when he went to obtain a business licence from the council to open a new store in Aeon Mall, his third outlet in Kota Baru.

    “When I went to MPKB to apply for a business permit for the new shop, I was told to settle the fines for the offence committed in KB Mall,” he told The Star in Kuala Lumpur.

    “I was hit with a total RM2000 (S$668) in fines, but the amount was reduced to RM400. I had to pay the sum before I could get the new permit,” he said.

    In a nation where family members of the Prime Minister are allegedly siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars of state funds to spend on luxury goods, movie productions, condominiums and aircraft, prompting investigations in a dozen or so countries, law-enforcement officials consider it damaging to community standards for a fully dressed Bollywood actress to promote watches. At least that’s how it seems.

    Shop ‘raid’

    MPKB enforcement officers “raided” the new Swee Cheong Watch & Pen shop in Aeon Mall on Monday, ordering the “offensive” posters be removed from display.

    “The posters were supplied by our manufacturers,” Lee told The Star.

    The issue has sparked wider concerns about the application of a dual justice system in Malaysia in which hudud laws – and their applicable punishments – apply to Muslims, and more conventional laws apply to Chinese, Indian and other ethnicities. (In Malaysia, ethnic Malaysians are born Muslim and face physical punishment if they try to renounce their religion). Hudud is defined by Wikipedia as “an Islamic concept: punishments which under Islamic law (Shariah) are mandated and fixed by God”.

    Kelantan Malaysian Chinese Association secretary Datuk Lua Choon Hann says the harassment of the watch retailer follows the council taking action against hairdressers for attending clients of a different gender.

    “The government has proved yet again that its repeated claims that the hudud enactment will have no bearing on non-Muslims are nothing but mere fallacy,” he said in a statement this week.

    “Based on the summonses issued by local councils (in Kelantan), MCA wants to raise awareness of the motives to remove clauses in the Federal Constitution that protect the rights of non-Muslims and Muslims against punitive criminal actions based on religious precepts,” he said.

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  • Indonesia plans emergency law to let foreigners buy apartments

    Indonesia plans emergency law to let foreigners buy apartments

    Property sector needs reform to attract investments, says minister. Indonesia plans to issue an emergency law – known as a perppu – to break an impasse of more than a decade in efforts to streamline unfriendly laws as the country aims to allow foreigners to purchase apartments in Indonesia.

    The government had in the past repeatedly tried to move forward and set regulations to allow foreigners to own apartments in South-east Asia’s biggest economy.

    But they were never able to get these implemented because the basic stipulation under Indonesia’s 1960 Agrarian Law is that foreigners just cannot own homes in the country, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said.

    “But the era has changed now. The property sector needs a reform so we could attract foreign investment. Foreigners should be allowed to buy apartments – but not landed houses – even if they don’t hold Kitas (Indonesia’s residence permit),” Luhut told The Straits Times.

    “It is similar to that in Singapore,” he added.

    Indonesia’s Constitution gives the President the right to issue a rule in lieu of law (perppu) when he determines that an emergency in the country requires it.

    A perppu is immediately effective after the President signs it, and Parliament can either let it remain effective or end it within a year after the perppu is issued.

    Luhut said the perppu that covers a new rule allowing foreign investors to buy apartments is one of between four and five perppu that Indonesia plans to issue by August, to resolve other obstacles hindering the government reform programme.

    “This is a revolutionary step to address such problems,” he said.

    A so-called debottlenecking working committee has been set up to identify problematic and protracted clauses in all laws.

    “We will comb all legislations that overlap with each other,” Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who heads the working committee, told The Straits Times.

    The perppu will supersede only the problematic clauses in each law and serve to bypass them, Luhut said.

    He added that one perppu could address problems in five to more than 10 existing laws, and about 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the existing laws can be harmonised.

    Issuing perppu is a normal practice that some foreign governments, such as the United States, also use, Luhut said, adding that the term used in the US is “presidential Act”.

    In May, President Joko Widodo signed a perppu that allows courts to increase penalties for sex crimes, which include for the first time chemical castration and death sentence, after the media highlighted a growing number of attacks against children.

    Previously, the maximum sentence for a child sex offence was 15 years’ jail. Indonesians have mostly welcomed the move.

    Amending existing laws through the normal process, by proposing Bills to Indonesian Parliament, can drag on for several years, and in some cases, proposed Bills were thrown out.

    Numerous government reform programs in Indonesia in the past decades have hit a snag due to conflicting laws that need amendment.

  • Indonesia Revises E-Commerce Regulation

    Indonesia Revises E-Commerce Regulation

    Indonesia has one of the biggest economies in the Asia-Pacific region and its rate of internet adoption is one of the fastest in the world. So naturally, e-commerce in the region is starting to boom.

    According to Alibaba Group Executive Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai, Indonesia’s per capita GDP is about the same as China’s was in 2009, when Alibaba’s marketplaces really began to take off. Alibaba has taken steps to get a stake in the region, investing US$1 billion in Southeast Asia e-commerce platform Lazada, a Singapore-based company with extensive operations in Indonesia.

    To help help drive e-commerce growth in Indonesia, the government has made moves to open the country up to foreign e-commerce investment and expertise.

    Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) is finalising guidelines for foreign e-commerce investment. The new BKPM regulations will allow 100 percent foreign ownership for e-commerce businesses with a minimum investment of Rp100 billion (about AU$10.3 million) or businesses that create 1,000 jobs.

    The guidelines, however, limit foreign ownership to 49 percent for businesses investing below the Rp100 billion mark. The moves are designed to encourage big e-commerce investment from major players, while offering some protection to Indonesia’s local SMB e-commerce players.

    The removal of e-commerce businesses from Indonesia’s ‘negative investment list’ (which outlines business activities that are either entirely closed or conditionally open to foreign investment) provides a significant opportunity for foreign investment into one of South-East Asia’s fastest growing e-commerce markets.

    “I think this is the right time for Indonesia to aim to become the largest digital nation in Asia,” said Rosan Roeslani, Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

    “What this country needs is not only money but also know-how, which is why we invited incubators to come to Indonesia,” he said.

    “We have also talked about how we can get more start-ups to go through seed stage. One of the possibilities is to encourage big e-commerce players to spin their people off their company… We have not come out with the conclusion yet, but the government is very open for solutions,” he said.

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo is looking to make the country South-East Asia’s largest digital economy by 2020. The lifting of foreign ownership restrictions has been praised by those in the industry who welcome the injection of foreign capital and expertise.

    The removal of e-commerce from the negative list is part of Indonesia’s e-commerce roadmap, which was released earlier this year. The roadmap includes a list or proposals aimed at making it easier for e-commerce firms to operate in the country. Key elements of the roadmap include:

    • Government financied developments of logistics facilities and improvements to communication infrastructure
    • Government financing for start-ups in the form of grants and funds, as well as regulation for crowdfunding
    • Streamlining business licensing processesand increasing consumer protection regulationE-Commerce Regulation
    • Tax breaks for tech start-ups
    • Increased cyber security
  • Ikea Korea falls foul of regulator

    Ikea Korea falls foul of regulator

    South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has told global furniture giant Ikea Korea to revise its terms regarding refunds for cancelled deliveries.

    Ikea, which opened its first store in southern Seoul in 2014, is running a delivery service for South Korean customers who are familiar with free packaging and door-to-door delivery.

    The service costs between 19,000 won (US$16) and 159,000 won ($137) depending on the distance from its store in Gwangmyeong to the destination.

    Ikea Korea has never refunded the delivery fees for any cancelled items even if the item is cancelled before the delivery truck departs, according to Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

    The FTC said the furniture company has to change its refund guidelines to enable customers to get a refund after omitting packaging and other costs upon the FTC’s recommendation.

    Ikea Korea also revised its assembly terms to pay back the money when the customer cancels the service, added the watchdog.

    “We’ve received many complaints about Ikea’s refund policies on its delivery and assembly services,” said Min Hye-young, director of the unfair contract examination division at the FTC.

    “We took action, as all customers have the right to get a refund for their cancelled purchases.”

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  • Rare reef fish brought in illegally

    Rare reef fish brought in illegally

    More than 1,000 endangered but highly valued reef fish sold in Hong Kong last year were imported illegally, a university study shows.

    It was released yesterday and funded by the University of Hong Kong and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

    More than 1,000 humphead wrasse, also known as Napoleon fish, were on sale in Hong Kong live fish shops from January to December 2015, said the study.

    Since no official imports occurred in 2015 and the species is typically sold within a few weeks of import, the survey suggests that many of these fish illegally entered the SAR, said professor Yvonne Sadovy of HKU’s School of Biological Sciences.

    Humphead wrasse is one of the biggest reef fish in the world. It is reported to grow as long as two meters and can live longer than 30 years.

    The retail price of live humphead wrasse in the local seafood markets was HK$1,550 to HK$1,600 per kilogram.

    “Failure to act to ensure legal and sustainable trade in this globally threatened species will ultimately result in higher prices for humpheads and fewer fish available to consumers and to the poor fishermen. Nobody wins,” Sadovy said.

    She called for urgent action by the government to ensure that imports and sales of humpheads are legal.

    FLORA CHUNG

  • China completes drafting e-commerce law

    China completes drafting e-commerce law

    China has completed a draft version of the country’s first e-commerce law, a lawmaker said on Thursday.

    The draft will be submitted as early as possible to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) for review, said Uzhitu, vice chairman of the committee.

    After that, the draft e-commerce law will be presented to the NPC Standing Committee for further reading, Xinhua news agency quoted Uzhitu as saying.

    The legislation is necessary to deal with new problems in data protection and infringements upon customers’ interests, he added.

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  • California Wow founder sues Thai government

    California Wow founder sues Thai government

    Eric Mark Levine, the founder of California Fitness clubs worldwide and the Thai chain California Wow Xperience has filed a US$2.8 million defamation lawsuit through his legal representative at Bangkok Criminal Court.

    Levine has filed suit against Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), as well as its secretary-general Police Colonel Sihanart Prayoonrat, for damaging Levine’s reputation through public remarks made by the Police Colonel alleging improper payments and fund transfers by Levine.

    As CEO of California Wow, Levine said the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) has already investigated the chain’s operations and financial records with specialist forensic accounting investigators as well as specially trained police officers.

    “All  publicly stated there is no evidence of wrongdoing or of any action to substantiate the Anti-Money Laundering Office’s allegations,” Levine said in a statement.

    He added that the Department of Special Investigation has also refused to conduct any further investigation as requested by Police Colonel Prayoonrat and the AMLO.

    Levine said he and all involved in the management of California Wow had given their “full cooperation to authorities” during the investigations which had cleared them of the AMLO’s allegations.

    Levine added that internationally recognised auditing firms like Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Jaiyos and PriceWaterhouseCooper have confirmed the accounts and transactions of California Wow to be correct and without irregularity.

    “And… far from taking money out of the company, I had injected personal funds to support the operations of the company in its final days.”

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  • MAS outlines new safeguards for retail investors

    MAS outlines new safeguards for retail investors

    Retail investors will enjoy a boost in protection with new rules for investments linked to gold and other physical assets. The enhancements also allows flexibility for accredited investors (AIs) to decide on the level of regulatory protection they want to be entitled to.

    The enhancements to its regulatory framework for safeguarding investors’ interests were announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday. They take into account feedback received on its consultation paper published in July last year.

    AIs include individuals whose net personal assets exceed S$2 million or whose income in the preceding 12 months is not less than S$300,000.

    MAS said that consumers should enjoy the regulatory safeguards for non-conventional investment products that are similar to existing capital markets products. The non-conventional investment products – previously not in MAS’ regulatory scope – will be regulated either as debentures or investment funds, depending on their features.

    Precious metals buy-back arrangements involving gold, silver and platinum with guaranteed buy-back at an agreed price will be regulated as debentures. This is because they are widely regarded as financial assets and are commonly used as collateral for such arrangements.

    Collectively-managed investment schemes intended for retail investors will require authorisation from MAS and be restricted to investments in securities or other assets that are liquid (for example precious metals), or have stable income-generating ability such as completed real estate.

    Arrangements that exist before the legislative changes will not be affected, unless additional funds are raised from retail investors after the new laws are in place.

    In the high net worth space, (AIs) will have the option to benefit from the stronger and full range of regulatory safeguards available to retail investors.

    As part of the changes, financial institutions will have to treat new customers who are AI-eligible as retail investors by default, unless the customers choose to “opt-in” to AI status. The latter could be those who wish to retain their easier access to a wider range of complex and risky products.

    For existing AIs, FIs can continue to treat them as AIs, unless they choose to “opt-out” of AI status to benefit from the full range of capital markets regulatory safeguards available to retail investors.

    Mr Lee Boon Ngiap, assistant managing director, capital markets, MAS, said that while the regulatory measures will strengthen regulatory safeguards for retail investors, they are “not a substitute for investor responsibility”.

    “All investments carry risk, so investors should buy only products that they understand and have a level of risk that they are comfortable with. In addition to seeking advice from regulated financial advisers, we encourage investors to visit the MoneySENSE website, which has a wealth of financial educational information to help investors manage their money and better understand financial products,” he said.

    MAS is still reviewing feedback on the remaining proposal to introduce a framework to rate retail investment products on their complexity and risk, and will issue a separate public response later.

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