The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, September 20, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 goes on sale tomorrow.

WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 20, 2012 6:04pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tech giant Apple Inc, battling Samsung Electronics Co over patents in several countries, argued on Thursday that a U.S. appeals court should reconsider its decision to overturn a pretrial sales ban on Samsung for infringement.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in October overturned a pretrial sales ban ordered by a lower court in California. The order was to stop sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

Apple argued that this was inappropriate and asked for an "en banc review," which means that a larger panel of judges would reconsider the decision made by the three-judge panel in October.

The fight is over a single patent - one that allows the smartphone to search multiple data storage locations at once. For example, the smartphone could search the device's memory as well as the Internet with a single query.

Apple argued that the sales ban should be reinstated because it uses the patent in question and competes with Samsung. The three-judge panel had said that consumers did not buy Samsung phones primarily because of the patent, and thus, a sales ban was inappropriate.

It has become increasingly difficult for companies to win sales bans related to patent infringement in recent years. Such sales injunctions have been a key for companies trying to increase their leverage in courtroom patent fights.

Apple, in a different patent lawsuit, scored a sweeping legal victory over Samsung in August when a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the hugely popular iPhone and iPad and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.

The Nexus phone was not included in that trial, but is part of a tandem case Apple filed against Samsung earlier this year.

The case in the Federal Circuit is Apple Inc vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al., 12-1507.

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh rejected Apple's request for a permanent sales ban against 26 mostly older Samsung phones, though any injunction could potentially have been extended to Samsung's newer Galaxy products. Koh cited the Federal Circuit's Nexus ruling as binding legal precedent in her order.

In a separate court filing on Thursday, Apple said it intended to appeal Koh's ruling.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

View the original article here

LONDON | Tue Oct 9, 2012 8:23am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - A global supervisory body for securities has published its final recommendations for new rules for the $4.7 trillion money market fund sector despite opposition from its U.S. member.

The recommendations were called for by leaders of the world's top economies (G20) a year ago as part of efforts to crack down on "shadow banks" that also include hedge funds, special investment vehicles and repurchase agreements.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) said the recommendations - which the body's regulatory members such as Britain's Financial Services Authority will apply locally - cover valuations, liquidity management, use of ratings and disclosures to investors.

"Although money market funds, which provide a significant source of credit and liquidity, did not cause the crisis, their performance during the 2007/08 financial turmoil highlighted their potential to spread or even amplify a crisis," IOSCO said in a statement.

Some regulators worry that as traditional banks become more heavily regulated, risky credit activities will shift to shadow banks which are currently less regulated.

IOSCO's 15 recommendations supplement reforms already introduced in the United States and Europe in 2010. It will review within two years how they are being applied.

The industry says money market funds are safe and don't need more rules.

Most of the commissioners from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an IOSCO member, opposed the publication of the global watchdog's recommendations.

In August, the SEC commissioners blocked U.S. proposals to introduce more rules for the money market funds sector on top of those already implemented in the United States in 2010.

IOSCO said that apart from U.S. opposition, there were no other objections to it publishing the recommendations on Tuesday.

The watchdog's members, who also include Bafin of Germany and Japan's Financial Services Agency, regulate more than 95 percent of the world's securities markets and are required to implement agreed rules.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Laurence Fletcher and David Holmes)

View the original article here

1 of 9. Gu Kailai (front, C), wife of ousted Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Bo Xilai, attends a trial in the court room at Hefei Intermediate People's Court in this still image taken from video August 9, 2012.

HEFEI, China | Thu Aug 9, 2012 10:41pm EDT

HEFEI, China (Reuters) - China pressed ahead with an offensive against ousted politician Bo Xilai on Friday, a day after the murder trial of his wife, with a separate prosecution of four police officers accused of trying to cover up the killing that she was accused of.

The dismissed officers went on trial for "bending the law to show favoritism" by shielding Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, from an inquiry into the death of Briton Neil Heywood.

Gu stood trial for poisoning the businessman over a financial transaction that went sour, according to a court statement. She did not dispute the murder charge during Thursday's seven-hour, closed-door trial hearing and a verdict will soon be delivered, the statement said.

Heywood's death in November and its alleged cover-up in Bo's stronghold of Chongqing, the southwestern municipality he ran, was central to the torrent of events that toppled him from the Politburo and exposed the ruling Communist Party to its worst upheaval in decades.

The party's priority now is ensuring top-down control before a handover of power to a new generation of leaders this year.

The legal noose is tightening fast on Bo's wife and police involved in investigating the murder case, suggesting there is a danger Bo could himself face charges of masterminding a cover-up and could risk a lengthy jail term.

The South China Morning Post said on Friday that Bo's former Chongqing police chief, Wang Lijun, would stand trial as early as next week in the southwestern city of Chengdu. Wang sought temporary refuge in Chengdu's U.S. consulate in February after sources said he told Bo that Gu was a murder suspect.

Wang's dramatic flight to the U.S. mission triggered the murder scandal that quickly led to Bo's downfall. Until then, Heywood's death had been officially attributed to a possible heart attack brought on by excessive alcohol consumption.

Chinese media stuck to the terse official account of Gu's trial on Friday, despite avid public interest in this scandal that has exposed the fusion of wealth and privilege in China's political elite, and exposed rifts in the party.

Bo, 63, has not been a focus of the proceedings so far. But most experts believe the trial and almost certain conviction of his wife Gu and the four police officers is a prelude to his punishment, which could include a criminal trial.

VERDICT WON'T BE DELAYED

The court in the eastern Chinese city Hefei did not say when it would announce any verdict against Gu. But the usual wait was about a fortnight said Chen Guangwu, a criminal defense attorney who has followed the Chongqing scandal closely.

"But they won't delay for too long, because this case is being heard in order to pave the way for dealing with Bo Xilai himself," said Chen, who is based in eastern Shandong province.

"This case is in part about testing the waters for that. That is, they will sentence her and see what reaction there is in society and public opinion."

Bo's downfall has stirred more public division than that of any other party leader for over 30 years. To leftist supporters, Bo became a charismatic rallying figure for efforts to reimpose party control over dizzying and unequal market growth. To liberal critics, Bo was a dangerous opportunist who yearned to impose his harsh policies on the entire country.

As the four sacked officers went on trial, also in Hefei, Chinese police cordoned off the courthouse and excluded foreign reporters from the hearing. Vans parked nearby were bristling with video surveillance equipment.

A court spokeswoman said the case would start at 8:30 (0030 GMT). "It's open to the public but I'm afraid all the places are full at this time," she said.

The four men on trial - Guo Weiguo, Li Yang, Wang Pengfei and Wang Zhi -- were senior police officers in Chongqing who allegedly sought to stymie an investigation into Heywood's death in a hilltop hotel villa overlooking Chongqing.

On Thursday, a court official said prosecutors believed Bo's wife, Gu, and a family aide, Zhang Xiaojun, killed Heywood by pouring poison down his throat after a business dispute led Gu to believe Heywood had threatened her son, Bo Guagua, then a student at Harvard University.

During Gu's seven-hour hearing on Thursday, it was alleged Heywood had written a letter to Guagua, threatening to "destroy" him, said a source who had been briefed on the hearing. Heywood and Guagua had fallen into dispute over Heywood's demand for a fee to help arrange a 130 million pounds ($200 million) financial transaction, the source added.

Guagua, believed to be in the United States after graduating this year from Harvard University, denied there was such a deal of that value but appeared to confirm the letter's existence.

"I cannot comment on any of the details (of the letter), but I can disclose that there is no such thing as either possessing or transferring 130 million pounds," Guagua said in an e-mail sent to Reuters. ($1 = 0.6396 British pounds)

(Writing and additional reporting by Chris Buckley in Beijing; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

View the original article here