Regulations & Compliance

Smartphone Makers Post Wins On Separate Continents

December 19, 2012 10:07 am | by Paul Elias, Associated Press | News | Comments

Apple and Samsung, the world's top two smartphone makers, each scored a significant victory on different continents that will allow both to keep selling their products without legal interference this holiday season. A federal judge rejected Apple's demands to block U.S. sales of three smartphones made by Samsung. The ruling came weeks after a jury found that Samsung infringed six Apple patents.

U.S. Fines Toyota $17M For Delayed Safety Reports

December 18, 2012 10:27 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | News | Comments

The U.S. government has hit Toyota Motor Corp. with a record $17.4 million fine for failing once again to quickly report problems to federal regulators and for delaying a safety recall. The fine against the world's biggest automaker from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency that monitors vehicle safety, is the maximum allowed by law.

Judge Denies Apple Request To Ban Samsung Phones

December 18, 2012 10:24 am | by Paul Elias, Associated Press | News | Comments

A federal judge rejected Apple Inc.'s demands that its chief rival in the more than $100B global smartphone market cease selling models a jury recently found illegally used Apple technology. The immediate impact of the ruling means that Samsung can continue to sell three of the older-generation smartphones still on U.S. shelves that a San Jose jury in August found ripped off technology Apple used to create its iPhone.

Bangladesh Probe: Fire Sabotage, Owner Negligent

December 18, 2012 10:16 am | by Julhas Alam, Associated Press | News | Comments

A Bangladesh government committee investigating the garment factory fire that killed 112 people last month said in its findings that the blaze was sabotage, probably by someone who worked there. But the panel said that no matter who set the fire, the owner of the factory also should be punished for the deaths because he neglected worker safety.

U.S. Tightens Standards For Soot Pollution

December 17, 2012 2:14 pm | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | Comments

The Obama administration on Friday imposed a new air quality standard that reduces by 20 percent the maximum amount of soot released into the air from smokestacks, diesel trucks and other sources of pollution in its first major regulation since the election. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the new standard will save thousands of lives each year as people "benefit from the simple fact of being able to breathe cleaner air."

Ford Hybrid Fuel Economy Falling Short

December 17, 2012 10:18 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer | News | Comments

Ford said Friday that it's talking to the government about the fuel economy of its hybrid cars after a report suggested they're falling short of targets. Consumer Reports said last week that Ford's new C-Max hybrid didn't meet the published fuel economy of 47 miles per gallon, averaging 38 miles per gallon in the magazine's testing.

Judge: Superfund Law Applies To Canadian Company

December 17, 2012 10:05 am | by Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press | News | Comments

A federal judge ruled Friday that his court has jurisdiction to apply the U.S. Superfund law to a Canadian company that acknowledges polluting Lake Roosevelt in Washington state. U.S. District Judge Lonny Suko of Yakima ruled against Teck Metals Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia, in a long-running case involving pollution of the lake in northeastern Washington. Cleanup has been estimated to cost up to $1B.

EU Approves Common Patent Rules

December 11, 2012 2:14 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

The European Union has approved a common patent system to cut red tape and streamline patent procedures across much of Europe. The European Parliament on Tuesday concluded the drawn-out decision-making process, backing a cluster of packages by a wide majority to end nearly four decades of fighting and negotiating over the issue.

U.S., EU Looking At World's Biggest Free Trade Pact

December 11, 2012 10:15 am | by Desmond Butler, The Associated Press | News | Comments

After years of battling each other on trade issues, U.S. and European officials are contemplating a dramatic change in direction: joining together in what could be the world's largest free trade pact in an attempt to boost their struggling economies.

Sanctions Hit Iranian Manufacturing Hard

December 10, 2012 10:13 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

A conservative Iranian news website says the number of manufacturing companies in the country facing financial crisis has increased four-fold over the past four years to nearly 1,600. The Monday report by tasnimnews.com reflects the impact of Western sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program. The website says the report has been drawn up by a government department but didn't elaborate.

Belarus Decrees Forced Employment For Some Jobs

December 7, 2012 2:16 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a decree that bans some industrial workers from leaving their jobs, threatening them with draconian fines if they do. Lukashenko's decree, signed Friday, follows a statement he made a week ago on a visit to a wood-processing plant. It's intended to stem the exodus of workers to neighboring Russia, where salaries are higher.

OR Pushes Forward Stalled Clean-Fuel Standards

December 7, 2012 2:12 pm | by Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press | News | Comments

Oregon's stalled effort to reduce greenhouse gases from cars and trucks could get new life soon, as the state pushes for a new pollution-reporting mandate for fuel providers and the Legislature prepares to take a fresh look at the program.

Couple Convicted Of Stealing GM Trade Secrets

December 3, 2012 10:15 am | by Ed White, Associated Press | News | Comments

A former General Motors engineer with access to the automaker's hybrid technology was convicted Friday along with her husband of stealing trade secrets for possible use in China. Shanshan Du won a transfer within GM in 2003 to be closer to the technology and then copied documents until she accepted a severance offer and left the company in 2005, prosecutors said.

DOJ Asserts Federal Interests In A123 Bankruptcy

November 29, 2012 2:01 pm | by Randall Chase, AP Business Writer | News | Comments

Government attorneys say failed battery maker A123 Systems Inc. needs the government's consent in order to sell its assets. The Justice Department told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Tuesday that any sale of A123's assets must protect the government's interests. The Department of Energy gave the Waltham, Mass., company a $249 million grant three years ago.

BP Suspended From New U.S. Gov't Contracts

November 28, 2012 2:08 pm | by Josh Lederman, Associated Press | News | Comments

The Obama administration put a temporary stop to new federal contracts with British oil company BP on Wednesday, citing the company's "lack of business integrity" and criminal proceedings stemming from the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.

Nokia Sues RIM For Breach Of Contract

November 28, 2012 2:06 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Nokia Corp. said Wednesday that it is suing Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry, for breach of contract in Britain, the United States and Canada over cellular patents the two companies agreed on nine years ago. The struggling Finnish cellphone maker agreed with RIM in 2003 on a license that covers patents on "standards-essential" technologies for mobile devices.

U.S. Declines To Label China A Currency Manipulator

November 28, 2012 10:05 am | by Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer | News | Comments

The Obama administration declined Tuesday to label China a currency manipulator, noting that it has let the yuan rise nearly 10 percent in value against the dollar since June 2010. Despite its decision, the administration said the yuan remains "significantly undervalued," and it urged China to make further progress.

GA Chemical Company Cited For Safety Violations

November 27, 2012 10:20 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

The U.S. Department of Labor cited a chemical manufacturing company in northwest Georgia for 20 safety violations, and proposes the company pay a $77,000 fine. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Monday that MFG Chemical Inc. exposed workers to fire and explosion hazards, among other safety infractions.

Ericsson Sues Samsung For Patent Infringement

November 27, 2012 10:15 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Swedish wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson has filed a lawsuit in the United States against Samsung Electronics Co. for infringing its patents, saying two years of negotiations to strike a deal with the South Korean company have been unsuccessful. Ericsson says the lawsuit concerns technology it has developed that is "essential to several telecommunications and networking standards" in Samsung's products.

Judge Approves RG Steel Retention Plan

November 21, 2012 10:06 am | by Randall Chase, Associated Press | News | Comments

A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved a request by failed steelmaker RG Steel to pay $767,000 under a retention program to keep about 20 key employees on the job through the end of the year as the company finishes liquidating its assets.

BP Settles With U.S. For $4.5B In Gulf Spill

November 15, 2012 2:51 pm | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | Comments

The largest environmental disaster in U.S. history came to reckoning Thursday, as British oil giant BP announced it was paying $4.5 billion in a settlement with the federal government over the 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster and two employees were charged with manslaughter over the 11 workers killed. The settlement was the "largest total criminal resolution in the history of the United States," Attorney General Eric Holder said.

Toyota Agrees To Settle Lawsuit Over Massive Recall

November 15, 2012 2:18 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it has agreed to settle a lawsuit with U.S. investors over massive recalls of its vehicles from late 2009 to 2010 due to acceleration problems, which caused its shares to plummet. The automaker will pay $25.5 million (about 2 billion yen) to settle the class action lawsuit, according to U.S. media reports.

CA Group Sues To Invalidate Cap-And-Trade

November 14, 2012 10:25 am | by Jason Dearen, Associated Press | News | Comments

California's largest business group filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the validity of the state's cap-and-trade program on the eve of the first pollution permit auction. The California Chamber of Commerce's lawsuit filed in Sacramento Superior Court was not expected to stop Wednesday's planned cap-and-trade auction. The group was not seeking an injunction to halt the program immediately, said Denise Davis, a chamber spokeswoman.

Judge Urged To Approve Chinese Drywall Settlements

November 14, 2012 10:22 am | by Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press | News | Comments

Attorneys for thousands of Gulf Coast property owners urged a federal judge Tuesday to give his final approval to a proposed class-action settlement that calls for a Chinese drywall manufacturer to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to repair homes damaged by its product.

Olympus Investors Seek $240M Compensation

November 13, 2012 10:27 am | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Olympus Corp. says nearly 50 shareholders have filed a suit seeking 19.1 billion yen ($240 million) in compensation for their investment losses stemming from a massive accounting scandal. The Japanese camera and medical equipment maker said Tuesday that 48 mostly foreign institutional investors and pension funds filed the suit in Tokyo District Court in June.