China Trademark and Patent Law Office - CTPLO

Based in Hangzhou, China and founded in 2004, the China Trademark and Patent Law Office Limited (CTPLO) is one of the leading IP law offices in China. CTPLO was created in order to provide marketing and trademark services for both small and large businesses through the simplest process possible. Founded by Mr. Joe Shen, the CTPLO provides creative solutions in regards to brand infringements and trademark related matters.

Mr. Joe Shen, President of CTPLO, has had over ten years of experience with Trademark law and is knowledgeable in the following areas: trademark search, registration, review, opposition, defense, and negotiation. In order to get a clearer view of his practices and focus, you can visit the CTPLO website. Mr. Shen personally counsels and advises his clients in regards to patent and copyrights.

CTPLO aims to minimize and eliminate any and all threats that may affect their client’s portfolio. In order to do this, CTPLO provides quick and responsive service as well as bilingual legal services for international clients. CTPLO’s primary goal is to establish and maintain long-term relationships with all clients. Their current clientele include the following brands and industries: Lemforder, Tommy Bahama, Isomers, Aston Villa FC, Fulham FC, Serge Blanco, to name a few.

Learn more about the services provided by CTPLO by visiting their website.

Judge says court battle over giant emerald can proceed

A Los Angeles judge has ruled a trial can go forward to determine ownership of an emerald weighing 840 pounds that was hauled out of a Brazilian mine more than a decade ago.
 
The 180,000-carat emerald is at the center of a court battle between gem traders, miners, real estate tycoons and others vying for the jewel once valued at $372 million.

The latest claim to ownership came from the Brazil government, which wants the gem returned to its country of origin.

The Los Angeles Times reports Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson said this week a motion by Brazil lacked sufficient evidence to warrant halting the case.

The jewel known as the Bahia Emerald is one of the largest of its kind in the world.

5 arrested in protest inside Supreme Court

Protesters disrupted Supreme Court proceedings on Wednesday for the second time this year with shouted criticism of the court's previous rulings on campaign finance.
 
Supreme Court police swiftly removed five people from the courtroom after they rose, one after another, to interrupt the start of the court's session.

The advocacy group 99rise, which opposes the influence of money in elections, took responsibility for the protest, as it did for similar episodes in January and last year. The group said in a statement that six of its members took part Wednesday, though court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said only five people were arrested.

Arberg said all five have been charged under a law that prohibits making "a harangue or oration" or uttering "loud, threatening or abusive language" in the Supreme Court Building. They also were charged with conspiracy-related offenses and sent to a holding cell at Washington, D.C., police headquarters.

The first protester rose from his seat among spectators in the courtroom just after the justices took the bench at 10 a.m. "I rise to claim our democracy, one person, one vote," he said.

Chief Justice John Roberts initially joked that he didn't think the court's scheduled arguments in bankruptcy cases "would attract such attention." But Roberts turned serious as the protests continued and warned that anyone disrupting proceedings could be charged with criminal contempt.

In the two previous protests, at least one person from 99rise carried a camera and recorded the disruption in violation of the court's ban on cameras in the courtroom. The surreptitiously recorded video was later posted online.

The group said in a statement that the protest was tied to the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in McCutcheon v. FEC, in which the justices struck down the overall federal limit on individual campaign contributions. The anniversary is on Thursday, when the court will not be in session.