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Extreme Measures

Written by: Rebel Brown

Article Overview: Companies practice CYA because not doing so opens them up to frivolous litigation. What about our personal responsibility?

Extreme Measures

Fifteen Laughable Product Warning Labels The above article was in Forbes this week. I got a kick out of all of the warning labels - some were truly extreme, for example the one below. Imagine - Office Depot warning people to wear Safety Goggles to use a letter opener. Pretty bad, huh?

Letter Opener

But then I started thinking about why the companies delivering these products felt compelled to cover their proverbial derrieres in such obviously over-the-top ways.

It's not because they've lost their minds. Nor have their corporate lawyers run amok - well, at least no more so than normal. It's not even because they're trying to do the best job possible of protecting their customers.

These companies are going to extreme measures to CYA because NOT doing so means they open themselves up to frivolous litigation. Not going to these extreme measures means they could lose their business to someone who makes a silly move and blames them - and in the end, the company pays, and pays big.

My righteous indignation is screaming!

I get ticked every time I hear of yet another lawsuit filed by some person who wasn't paying attention, using common sense or who was doing something just plain stupid and was injured. Remember the person who poured hot coffee on themselves and was burned - and sued the restaurant? That was only the beginning.

I have to ask. What happened to personal responsibility and just plain good judgment? Is anyone else out there thinking our legal system has gone loco? Are we so inept that we can't be trusted to make good decisions and protect ourselves from dangerous letter openers? Must we place the responsibility for protecting our safely (and common sense) on the manufacturers of products? I hope not.

Here's my BIG concern.

If this trend continues - businesses will have a hard time releasing products to their markets. Legal teams will determine the risk/reward scenarios of bringing a new product to market. Great innovations will die a sad death. We'll fall behind the rest of the world thanks to our onerous litigation.

There has to be a way to halt this madness and return to a balanced and equitable distribution of responsibility. Starting with our legal system - or maybe with a return to personal responsibility.

Let me know what YOU think. Rebel Rant over and out....for now.

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Article Tags: business, business transformation, consumer protection, defying gravity, frivolous lawsuits, lawsuits, legality, strategy



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Information Disclosure Requirements and Regulation on Franchisors Information disclosure system is the core system of franchising. The laws provides that the franchisors shall establish and implement a perfect information disclosure system, and provide the relevant information and franchising contracts in written form, at least thirty days before execution of franchising contracts. It also sets out the specific provisions on the information which shall be provided by franchisors, including the basic conditions and commercial reputation records of the franchisors and their legal representatives, business sources owned by franchisors, abilities of franchisors to provide service to franchisees and management and supervision on business of franchisees, franchisee fees and the payments, and budgets for investment in franchising shops. To the franchisors that violate these provisions, the authorities in charge of commerce will order them to rectify, charge penalties and make public statements. Archival Filing and Public Announcement Systems To protect the franchisees’ lawful rights and interests, considering the asymmetric information between franchisors and franchisees, in addition to intensifying information disclosure requirements and regulating the activities of franchisors, the Measures also bring in the archival filing and public announcement systems. The Measures provides that the franchisors shall make a filing with the commerce administrative department within 15 days after the execution of franchising contracts for the first time. Anyone who intends to engage in any commercial franchise activities within a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall go through the archival filing formalities in the commerce administrative department of the people’s government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where the franchisors are located. Anyone who intends to engage in any commercial franchise activities beyond a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government shall go through archival filing formalities in the commerce administrative department of the State Council. Any franchisor having been engaging in franchise activities before May 1, 2007 shall apply for archival filing at the commercial administrative department. The Ministry of Commerce has established the national network for archival filing work relating to commercial franchise. Any franchisor shall go through the archival formalities through the government website. The general public may obtain the following information through the government website of the Ministry of Commerce: (1)The registered trademark(s), enterprise mark(s), patent(s), know-how and other business resources of the franchisor; (2)The franchisor’s archival filing date; (3)The location of the legal business place, contact information and name of the legal representative of the franchisor; and (4)The location of the business place of the franchisee(s) within China. The authorities in charge of filing will cancel the archival filing if there is any following activities of franchisors, and make public announcement on the government website: (1) the business licenses of the franchisors have been withdrawn by the registration administrative authorities for illegal business; (2) the authorities in charge of filing receive judicial suggestion letter on cancellation of archival filing from the judiciary for illegal business by franchisors; (3) the franchisors conceal the relevant information or provide false information, which has been proved; (4) the franchisors carry on cancellation by themselves. In addition, the illegal activities of the franchisors will be announced to the public. By Erex Chen, a Chinese lawyer based in Shanghai.


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