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[extract] Electronics companies are amongst the fiercest rivals when it comes to protecting their patents. That

Litigation tied to Porsche's failed attempt to buy a controlling share of VW could now threaten the proposed VW/Porsche merger which was announced last year. In a VW prospectus on the merger, the litigation was listed as a risk factor that could delay or even derail the merger plan. Last December, VW obtained a 49.9 percent stake in Porsche AG, the sports car division of holding company Porsche SE. According to the plan, VW will have to pay for the rest of Porsche AG as well as buy the Porsche Holding dealer network, the largest in Europe, by 2011. The lawsuits threaten VW Group's ability to fund the deal without going into substantial debt. Porsche SE is accused of breaching market rules during its (failed) hostile takeover of VW which took place before the companies announced what amounted to a reverse takeover of Porsche by Volkswagen Group in 2009. Lawsuits filed by hedge funds, who claim to have lost more than 1 billion in what they contend was a manipulation of the stock market, were listed as a risk factor in the VW prospectus. "The merger may not be possible at all, or may only be carried out at a later date," reads the prospectus. How much of a risk the litigation is, analysts are not sure. But one banker did say the level of risk as described in the prospectus was "unusual."

There have been more than 80 lawsuits filed against Toyota in America alone since the Japanese company's Dark Days began. A group of attorneys, representing personal and commercial clients for claims ranging from death to loss of resale value, will argue before a federal panel to have the suits consolidated into less than four score. If they are granted that action, Automotive News is reporting that a panel will also need to decide where the cases should be heard. Toyota would like the gladiatorial jurisprudence to be set in California, while at least one attorney has also mentioned Kentucky (where Toyota has a factory that is among the defendants) and Louisiana as potential locales. Fifteen jurisdictions are being considered, though, and the panel will settle the matter based on factors including convenience to the plaintiffs and defendants, and the expertise a jurist might have in such cases. A decision is expected in a few weeks on those matters. A decision on where Toyota emerges after all dust has cleared remains a long, long, long way off.

http://www.divaasia.com/article/5380 more than meets the eye liao loh......more dirt going to be dig up by the press...i bet wan bao and sin min tonight got something to say