Archive for January, 2010

A fixed price may not always be fixed in China

I bought a painting a couple of months ago which I really liked. I did not have a place to hang it at the time. The gallery owner was eager to make the sale and so agreed I could pick it up later when I had found a place [...] read more »

Going Green Gets Greatly Muddled

The spreading trend toward “green” building has resulted in a number of competing and overlapping certification systems, with only faint hope in sight of better standardization. United States builders are most familiar with the LEED system sponsored by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Through USGBC’s association with the World Green Building [...] read more »

Making Demands on Advance Payment Guarantees and Performance Bonds – the “fraud exception”

The general principle is that subject only to the “fraud exception” claims for payment under Advance Payment Guarantees (“APGs”) and Performance Guarantees or Bonds (“PGs”) should be met on demand. The Courts have not been kind to those resisting payment, even when the claims are doubtful, potentially dishonest and/or clearly overstated.
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Do you own the copyright in your employees’ designs?

If you’re based in the UAE, the answer to the above question is probably not.
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We’re Turning Green: New Green Contract Addendum is Released

The U.S momentum to build “green” is rapidly gaining popularity, with the office market currently leading the way toward more sustainable structures. The construction industry, including the publishers of form construction contracts, is scrambling to keep up. ConsensusDOCS, a relatively new group of industry organizations that is promoting a family of contract forms [...] read more »

A chicken talking to a duck !

There is a funny commercial that you can see when you take a taxi in Shanghai. You can view it on a video screen on the back of the front passenger seat. It features a foreign businessman getting into a taxi in Shanghai and telling the Chinese taxi driver the address of his destination. The [...] read more »