In the fall of 2007, Taiwan Business TOPICS invited 14 experts to offer their thoughts on “what Taiwan should aim to be like” in their areas of expertise by the year 2020, and how to achieve those goals. Their views were published in the November 2007 edition of TOPICS under the heading “Vision 2020.” With 2020 now upon us, TOPICS sought to re-engage with the…
The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 brings numerous potential and actual legal risks, ranging from the supply chain to human resource matters. Following the declaration by the World Health Organization (where Taiwan unfortunately has neither membership nor observer status) of a public health emergency at the end of January, businesses need to take precautions regarding affected…
Taiwan is seeking to fight back against fake news with stricter new legislation, media-literacy education, and fact-checking mechanisms. When President Tsai Ing-wen last year was in an armored car visiting areas in southern Taiwan affected by flooding, a Facebook fan page devoted to news accused Tsai of feeling contempt for the victims. The evidence offered was…
Advice from a long-time in-house counsel on arranging for external legal support. Working with outside counsel can be frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive. But when done right, the advice and services outside counsel provide are invaluable. Through 20 years of trial and error, and after spending millions of dollars on outside counsel fees, I have learned…
Companies need to pay proper attention to trademark registration and licensing on a global basis. By Richard L. Thurston and Christopher M. Neumeyer Strategies that companies employ to increase revenue and improve competitiveness often focus on promoting and protecting a company’s image, reputation, and branding. An obvious cornerstone of such strategies is the strategic development,…
The Taiwan government deserves congratulations for its recent enactment of landmark legislation establishing a Patent Linkage system for pharmaceutical products, a mechanism designed to prevent infringing drugs from being licensed while an original medication still holds a valid patent in this market. Credit goes both to the executive branch agencies that ushered through this initiative…
BY JOHN EASTWOOD, HEATHER HSIAO AND JEFFREY LIEN It’s never pleasant when a company needs to get rid of a senior manager, but many practical issues arise when a termination has to occur. American companies operating in Taiwan and in the larger Asia-Pacific region have started placing greater emphasis on legal, ethical, and office-conduct compliance,…
The legislature is expected to loosen the current restrictions on media shareholding by government or political entities. BY TIMOTHY FERRY AND DON SHAPIRO The Legislative Yuan is currently considering draft amendments to Taiwan’s three primary media laws that would allow limited investment in electronic media operations by government, political parties, and the military. Current regulations…
A draft Telecommunications Management Act aimed at modernizing the regulatory structure has been sent to the legislature. Despite the immense technological advances that have profoundly shifted the telecommunications industry over the past decades, Taiwan’s telecom sector continues to be regulated by a law dating back to 1958. Taiwan has long been aware of its need…
Taiwan is preparing to join APEC’s Cross-Border Privacy Rules system. Last year Taiwan (or “Chinese Taipei” as it is known within APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum) announced plans to prepare to join the group’s Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system designed to facilitate the flow of data across the Asia-Pacific region. To participate in…
