November 2005 e-BULLETIN Page MEMBER NEWS • Gide Loyrettte Nouel Strengthens Global Aviation Practice 2 • Hoet Pelaez Castillo & Duque Expands IP Practice with Unfair Competition Practice 3 • Hogan & Hartson Boosts Corporate Transactional Capabilities By Adding Media and Entertainment Partner 4 • Rodyk & Davidson Welcomes New Finance & Corporate Partner 5 • Tilleke & Gibbins International Ltd. Awarded AsiaLaw’s Thailand IP Firm of 2005 5 • Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr Announce General Electric Senior Vice President, Ben W. Heineman, Jr to become Senior Counsel to WilmerHale 6 MAKING NEWS • Gide Loyrette Nouel Istanbul Advises German Banks on Major Transportation Deal 7 • Hogan & Hartson Advises on $3 Billion Natural Gas Pipeline Project 7 MEMBER EVENTS 8 COUNTRY ROUNDUPS • AUSTRALIA – Clayton Utz – Sharing Interest Rate Risk in Social Infrastructure Projects 9 • BRAZIL – Tozzini Freire Teixeira e Silva – Brazilian Government Poised to Open up Reinsurance Market 11 • CHINA – King & Wood – Proposed Property Right Law Significant Impact on Real Estate Investment in China 14 • NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM – NautaDutilh – Sunrise Period for “.eu” Domain Names Starts December 2005 18 • UNITED STATES • Hogan & Hartson – Antitrust & Energy Update – PUHCA Repeal Opens the Door to Foreign Investments 19 • Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps – California Legislature Eliminates Type 1 Indemnities for Residential Construction 21 • Morgan Lewis & Bockius – Update - Employee Stock Option Plan 23 PRAC EVENTS (Members Only) • Thailand 2006 Conference – May 13-19, 2006 (advance programme available on line) • San Diego 2006 Conference – October 14 -18, 2006 • Los Angeles 2006 Follow on Program – October 18 -19, 2006 Tools to Use • PRAC Contacts Matrix & Email Listing –Update (members’ version only) • Directory 2005 Member Firms now available at PRAC web site • Expert System available at PRAC web site Private Libraries (members only) • Intellectual Property & Licensing Capabilities Survey – 2005 Update Now Available on line (members only) PRAC e-Bulletin is published monthly Visit us on line at www.prac.org Page 1 of 28 GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL STRENGTHENS GLOBAL AVIATION PRACTICE 24 October 2005 Gide Loyrette Nouel is pleased to announce that Neil McGilchrist, a leading aviation lawyer with extensive experience representing aviation companies and their insurers in litigation, joins on 1st November 2005 as Of Counsel. Neil was previously a partner and chairman of Beaumont & Son, one of the world's leading niche aviation law firms. Beaumont & Son was the winner of Global Aviation Practice Law Firm of the year 2005 in the inaugural Who's Who Legal Awards. Gide has an historic presence in the aviation sector and a recognised expertise in aviation and insurance work. Neil's appointment is a major step in consolidating Gide's expertise in this area and builds on the reputation of the firm in Paris and around the world. An important focus of Neil's practice has been the defence of air carriers together with their insurers in respect of aircraft accidents. Recently, this has included the handling of passenger claims for Egypt Air 1999 North Atlantic and Air France Concorde 2000. This work has provided him with extensive litigation experience throughout the world. Gérard Tavernier, Senior Partner of Gide Loyrette Nouel, said: "We are delighted to have such a highly regarded aviation practitioner join us. Neil will build upon the existing practice of the firm and will focus on establishing a worldwide capability for Gide to serve the global aviation business community and its insurers. We look forward to welcoming him to the firm in November." Neil McGilchrist commented: "I greatly look forward to working with my new colleagues at Gide in consolidating its aviation practice by capitalising on its existing strengths in the aviation and insurance sectors. Through its network of 18 international offices, Gide is very well placed to develop a fully integrated practice that is capable of serving all the requirements of aviation clients and their insurers, anywhere in the world." For additional information visit www.gide.com Page 2 of 28 HOET PELAEZ CASTILLO & DUQUE EXPAND IP PRACTICE WITH ADDITION OF UNFAIR COMPETITION Caracas – In a continued effort to better serve our clients, we are pleased to announce the recent expansion of our IP practice with the creation of the department of Unfair Competition. As of its foundation, more than 60 years ago, Hoet Pelaez Castillo & Duque has been committed to its clients and rendering, in the meantime, high quality legal services. As an acknowledgment to our quality, we have been the first and only law firm in Venezuela to obtain the ISO 9001:2000 certifications. Our office and its leading IP practice renders a wide array of services including Patent and Trademark prosecution, maintenance, watching service and enforcement, as well as Copyright deposits and enforcement, Domain Name registration and arbitration procedures, technology transfer and licensing, among others. Protection against Unfair Competition extends, among others, to a number of practices such as simulation of products, deceitful or false advertising and violation of business secrets. Our Unfair Competition practice focuses on both advising and taking of legal actions against our client’s competitors who use unfair commercial practices to increase their share in the relevant market. An effective protection could be obtained through administrative sanctions based on Unfair Competition provisions in the legislation. The Competition Authority is empowered to impose high fines to the unfair competitor and raise those fines in cases of recidivism. Furthermore, the Competition Authority has the power to grant interim measures of protection to avoid damages while a final decision is taken. We are confident that this new practice will become a good opportunity to strengthen our good professional relationship into the future. For more information visit us at www.hpcd.com Page 3 of 28 HOGAN & HARTSON BOOSTS CORPORATE TRANSACTIONAL CAPABILITIES BY ADDING MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT PARTNER LOS ANGELES, October 20, 2005 – Hogan & Hartson L.L.P. announced today that Robert R. Jesuele has joined as a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Jesuele is widely regarded for his work as an international entertainment transactional lawyer. Jesuele brings to the firm nearly 20 years of experience handling cross-border transactions on behalf of clients in the media and other industries. He represents major U.S., European, and Asian media, entertainment, consumer products, manufacturing, and automotive companies in a variety of corporate, commercial, and intellectual property matters, including joint ventures, equity investments and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and distribution transactions, reorganizations, secured transactions, and securities offerings. “We are excited to have Rob with us, and believe he will be a tremendous asset, particularly for our U.S. and international clients conducting business in the entertainment and media industries,” said Neil O’Hanlon, managing partner of the firm’s Century City office. Jesuele has significant experience advising on entertainment transactions including international film co-productions, co- financings and split-rights deals; motion picture slate financings; film and television licensing and distribution; digital media transactions including video-on-demand; and the purchase and sale of film and television libraries and other intellectual property rights. He regularly represents clients in motion picture and literary rights acquisitions; advises on studio and independent film financing, production and distribution and copyright protection; and negotiates writer, producer, talent, and merchandising deals. “Rob’s arrival allows Hogan & Hartson to further develop our Los Angeles-based transactions practice. Additionally, Rob’s experience representing major French entertainment companies and German media funds doing business in Hollywood will complement the firm’s existing media practices in Paris and Berlin,” commented O’Hanlon. For the past 15 years, Jesuele was at the Los Angeles office of another prominent international law firm, most recently serving as co-chair of that firm’s entertainment and media practice. “Hogan & Hartson is a great fit because of its practice depth, industry experience and international reach and vision. I am excited about working with many of the firm’s talented lawyers to serve the needs of clients and expand the corporate, entertainment, and media practices in Los Angeles and internationally,” commented Jesuele. Jesuele received his undergraduate degree in business finance from Loyola Marymount University and his law degree from Loyola Law School. He is admitted to practice in California. About Hogan & Hartson Hogan & Hartson is an international law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. with over 1,000 attorneys practicing in offices around the globe. The firm's broad-based international practice cuts across virtually all legal disciplines and industries. Hogan & Hartson has offices in Baltimore, Beijing, Berlin, Boulder, Brussels, Budapest, Caracas, Colorado Springs, Denver, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Moscow, Munich, New York, Northern Virginia, Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo, Warsaw, and Washington, D.C. For more information about the firm, visit www.hhlaw.com. Page 4 of 28 RODYK & DAVIDSON WELCOMES NEW PARTNER TO FINANCE & CORPORATE PRACTICE GROUP Rodyk is pleased to