For all tea enthusiasts, connoisseurs and fans of Darjeeling tea, it may come as a relief perhaps in case you get duped, that Darjeeling tea is the first India commodity to be included in the EU registry for Geographical indications (GI).
What does this mean?
This will prevent ‘fake’ tea originating from places other than the Darjeeling area tea gardens from being sold and marketed in the EU market.
India applied for this inclusion in the EU registry last week. India will have a domestic certification system to my personal relief and build a unified supply chain for all gardens in Darjeeling.
The India Tea board has apparently fought at least 15 cases against infringement and misuse of the ‘Darjeeling’ name, the notables being from Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and amazingly France.
Additionally, the Tea Board rejected the Trademark application for Darjeeling Nouveau by a US company ‘Republic of Tea’ (ROT) – no harm intended to the acronym, apparently unable to prove that consumers view Darjeeling as a generic type, as opposed to tea from the Darjeeling region in India.
What does this do for me: I will continue to peacefully and confidently enjoy my very many cuppas a day of Darjeeling tea and feel at peace that at least today I am consuming the real thing. In the back of my mind, however I am still thinking am I really assured that my precious leaves origins are true to my favorite Darjeeling garden, for two years is a long time to be granted GI status by the EU.

Please no fakes, be nice. I love my Darjeeling.

The other day I did a blog on how the falling dollar is affecting Indian outsourcing companies.
Today we look at the other side of the coin-how it is hurting the American outsourcers.
U.S. companies had looked to India for their outsourcing in the first place with the intention of saving money.
Now, with the dollar plunging the way it has, things have suddenly become more expensive for the Americans.
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Despite the many initial qualms, outsourcing, especially to India, has been found to actually affect the American economy positively.
But the sharp decline of the dollar is making waves through all the world’s financial communities. In their latest report on the U.S. economy the International Monetary Fund has reiterated that the plunging dollar poses a risk to the world economy, in part because of the financial markets reacting unfavorably to the currency’s fall. With the dollar already showing up unfavorably against the pound and facing stiff competition from the euro, it looks like a further devaluation this year.
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The latest National Law Journal 250 reveals a great spurt in the growth of law firms for 2007 with the largest law firms expanding by 5.6 percent, the largest growth since 2001.
This, the 30th annual survey of the country’s largest law firms made by The National Law Journal reveals that there are now128,213 attorneys working at these firms.

This year, top spot holders since 1978, Baker & McKenzie with 3,335 attorneys was bested by DLA Piper and its 3,623 attorneys.
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An opinion with regard to ethical concerns about a law firm outsourcing legal work on behalf of a client has been issued by the San Diego Bar Association. In its opinion, such a firm could not be accused of assisting in the unauthorized practice of law or of violating its ethical duty of competency.
In conclusion the Association stated,
“The Committee concludes that outsourcing does not dilute the attorney’s professional responsibilities to his client, but may result in unique applications in the way those responsibilities are discharged. Under the hypothetical as we have framed it, the California attorneys may satisfy their obligations to their client in the manner in which they used Legalworks, but only if they have sufficient knowledge to supervise the outsourced work properly and they make sure the outsourcing does not compromise their other duties to their clients. However, they would not satisfy their obligations to their clients unless they informed the client of Legalworks’ anticipated involvement at the time they decided to use the firm to the extent stated in this hypothetical.”

A business will make many new products every month. While new ideas and new products are in the planning stage they can be easily copied by other competitors who can then steal a march on the first company. This is why outsourcing patent services are needed so that any ideas can be kept secure and be used by the original company alone. With a patent in place, no one else will be able to steal the idea, design, or any aspects of a certain product. If you do find that someone has stolen your ideas, your patent lawyer will be able to provide all your documentations and prosecute the parties that are responsible.

However, once a business is carried on abroad, there is very little chance of you in another country or another continent coming to know of any infringement on your product or idea. There is even less chance of you being able to do anything about it without going to the place itself and without you been fully conversant with the patent laws of that country. Outsourcing patent services to a local legal company therefore makes much better sense.
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One of the questions that most business men concern themselves about is which is the better of the two: an LLC or a corporation? Although there may be a number of factors that could help you decide which is better for you as a business man, a limited liability company is usually the business structure one should really consider.

Although both structures vary they are alike where filing procedures are concerned. Both have to put their business on record with the secretary of state. But, whereas limited liability companies do not require you to declare whether or not your company will issue stock, what the stock value will be and such, corporations do require you to do so.
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When you have decided to set up a branch of your successful corporation in another country, many financial and legal factors come into play including acquiring copyrights and trademarks for your business logos, names, and products. This will also include protection against ambush marketing, counterfeit merchandising and domain name abuse. This will be much easier if you outsource copyright services to a company that deals with this. It must be highly professional and experienced in setting you up with all of the appropriate names and logos that your company is already known by.

• What would be the chief benefit of outsourcing copyright services?
Well, first of all, your business has already been established using certain names, logos, symbols, and mottos. People will know a certain brand by its colors and names, and if you decide to open branch of a well known company in another country, outsourcing copyright services will ensure that you keep your signature style. It will not look very professional if you change the look of your company, or even worse, the name. This will confuse people and could turn some clients or customers away from your business.
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Companies in certain countries will help you to set up your business and keep it updated with the current information in the country. There are many reasons why one would resort to outsourcing business and corporate law.

• Why would you resort to outsourcing business and corporate law?
Firstly, if it were in order to handle your business such as cross border transactions, in another country itself, it would be to take advantage of the expertise and knowledge of someone who can deal with their own country’s laws. It would seem a little inappropriate to hire a lawyer from your country to practice and deal with the goings on of your business in another country. The laws are not the same.
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