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.