WASHINGTON, DC – To help curb piracy, the U.S. has filed two World Trade Organization cases against China: one regarding deficiencies in China's legal body to protect and enforce copyrights and trademarks on various products, and the second on the country's distribution barriers to trade in books, music, videos and movies. According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. consultation request on IPR protection and enforcement seeks to eliminate structural barriers that grant pirates and counterfeiters in China safe harbor to avoid criminal liability. It also aims to reduce the volume of counterfeit goods crossing the border into China and to provide copyright owners more tools to prevent unauthorized copies in the country. According to a Xinhua report, China has recently ordered that anyone caught with 500 pirated discs will face criminal penalties, compared to the previous penalty for owning 1,000 pirated discs. In addition, fines for piracy were raised to up to 15 times a pirate's illegal gains, the report said. Fines for smaller offenders were also increased. However, the USTR statement held that wholesalers and distributors would continue to be able to operate below high thresholds without fear of criminal liability.

SANTA BARBARA, CA – Design Solutions Inc. has opened a design center in Munich. The site provides electronics engineering, design, simulation, and prototype manufacturing services. The center also includes a high-level FPGA and ASIC development group. Software manager Stefan Dragomir was named to manage the branch. DSI currently has seven locations in the U.S. and two in Europe.

CRANSTON, RI – Seven things defense contractors must know before selecting an EMS partner for outsourcing military and government projects is the theme of a free new white paper. The paper, “Selecting an Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) Partner for Military/Government Applications: 7 Things You Must Know,” by Ed Evangelista of Federal Electronics, provides how-to advice on such issues as determining the appropriate outsourcing strategy; matching business profiles and capabilities; addressing product mix; enterprise resource planning; new product introductions, and cost strategies and issues. It is available at www.federalelec.com/militarypaper.  

CLINTON, NY – Indium Corp. promoted Ross Berntson to vice president of its solder products business unit, responsible for sales and technical services for printed circuit board assembly, semiconductor packaging, engineered solders and thermal interface materials. Berntson joined Indium in 1996 as a product specialist and was previously director of the solder products business unit. He is active in several industry consortia including the IPC Solder Products Value Council. Bernston has a bachelor’s in chemistry and master’s in teaching and business administration from Cornell University.

Broadband equipment sales were $11.2 billion in 2006, as users are opting for faster access to the Web. Household broadband is expected to exceed 50% in the U.S. and Japan for the first time this year, and will do so in Europe in 2008, iSuppli predicts. Global broadband subscribers will grow to 622.7 million by 2011, more than double the 270.4 million in 2006. “ADSL remained the leading broadband technology around the world in 2006, with 72% of the subscribers, while cable modems ended 2006 with 22%,” said Steve Rago, iSuppli principal analyst. “The ADSL market is headed for a major inflection point … This has happened in Japan already, as many service providers have migrated to fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology, which offers a 15-times increase in bandwidth compared to ADSL.”

IRVINE, CA – EMS firm ACC Electronix Inc. has purchased its second Mimot Advantage 2 placement system. ACC bought its first Advantage 2 last year.

RICHARDSON, TX – TXP Corp. reported fourth-quarter rose to $3.1 million, up from $897,000 year-over-year. The EMS provider’s net loss rose to $1.8 million compared to net loss of $573,000 last year. The operating loss narrowed to $232,000, from $502,000. For the year, total revenue was $8.2 million, compared with $9.4 million for 2005. Revenue for 2005 included $5.2 million related to a one-time project with a single customer. The operating loss rose to $1.3 million, from $170,000 in 2005. The net loss was $4.6 million, versus a loss of $595,000. On March 30, TXP completed a private placement with Cornell Capital Partners worth about $5 million gross. The proceeds will be used to accelerate the company's ONT business strategy.

HERTFORDSHIRE, UK – Although 75% of respondents build products for markets outside the RoHS Directive scope, just 25% still use SnPb solder, according to a recent poll. And while most firms have opted for SAC alloys in soldering, no clear preference has emerged for board or IC finishes. The responses include companies exporting product to countries not covered by the RoHS Directive. The survey was conducted by Elfnet between November and February, and results compared with previous studies conducted in 2004 and 2005. SAC alloy remains the predominant choice in reflow soldering, at around 70%. SAC use has risen to 59% from 18% for wave soldering, and to 75% from 54% for hand soldering. About 12 to 13% of PWB and component finishes were SnPb, respondents said. Interestingly, companies have not standardized on a single replacement. Indeed, the number of finishes used has risen, to 10 in 2006 from seven in 2004. The report also includes limited data on regional variations with the U.S. and Japan, as well as equipment purchases and upgrades. About 80% of respondents reported ongoing implementation problems, some 15 to 18 months after the Directive went into effect. The report can be downloaded for free at www.europeanleadfree.net/pooled/articles/BF_DOCART/view.asp?Q=BF_DOCART_285702

SAN JOSE, CA – Sanmina-SCI Corp. today cut its quarterly revenue forecast and said earnings would be worse than expected because of weak demand for communications and high-end computers. The EMS firm lowered it estimate for revenue for the March quarter to about $2.6 billion, from its previous guidance of $2.65 billion to $2.75 billion. Non-GAAP earnings would also be below guidance, Sanmina said. Chief executive Jure Sola called the weakness short-term, saying business should improve in the second half.  Sanmina said inventories are expected to fall least $90 million in its second quarter, and cash and equivalents would rise least $100 million.