November 2007

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ANN ARBOR - During Henry Ford’s time, when he was building Ford Motor Company, there was a handshake deal among the Big Three automakers not to sue each other over patents. Now that auto suppliers have taken over much of the design work, the gloves have come off, says Brad Smith, an Intellectual Property litigator with Brinks, Hofer, Gilson and Lione’s Ann Arbor Office. In a survey done by Smith and his colleagues, auto IP litigation over the past decade has risen sharply. To find out more, listen to this News Maker Interview.

 
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LANSING - A version of the Michigan Business Tax Surcharge has passed the Michigan Senate, but the tax is much less than under a proposal adopted earlier by the Michigan House. BL Government Affairs’ Brandon Ringlever discusses the controversial tax proposal in this special edition of News Maker Interview.

 
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LANSING - Legislation to ban the incandescent light bulb - invented by Michigan’s own Thomas Edison more than a century ago - has been introduced by Senator John Gleason. Senate bill 578 bans the use of incandescent light bulbs. Why would the legislature want to ban something like a light bulb that everyone uses? Find out by listening to this special edition of News Maker Interview with Brandon Ringlever, with BL Government Affairs’ Lansing office.

 
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GRAND RAPIDS - Larry Shattuck, a Midwest InfraGard board member, reports on the presentation give Nov. 5 by Paul Hightower, Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security. Hightower was the keynote speaker for a Michigan InfraGard event at Grand Valley State University. He examined the tough question of where does America stand in the protection of its critical infrastructure?

 
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TRAVERSE CITY - On Tuesday, at the Traverse City Business Expo, Traverse Angels officially opened its doors for business. The private equity finance group is looking for fundable comapanies in Northern Michigan and to tap what founder Robert Ochtel said was an untapped source of funds from high net worth individuals who live in this more rural area of Michigan. To learn more, listen to this News Maker Interview.

 
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