Global Briefing: Feb. 25, 2002

Dialing 911 for Profits

The FCC has ruled that every cell phone should have Enhanced 911 (or E911) service as a way to pinpoint the location of anyone who calls the emergency line–a mandate that gained urgency following the Sept. 11 tragedies. Global Locate, a San Jose, Calif., company that creates global-positioning-system technology, could benefit from the upgrade. The company has developed a chip (above, next to a standard microchip), about half the size of a fingernail, that can transmit a cell phone’s location to the police and authorized callers (your buddy list) with GPS. What’s more, the signal continues to transmit when the user is indoors, a task that has been difficult for other GPS devices. The chip is being tested by several cell-phone manufacturers and will be available in about a year. Marketing bonus: teenagers can track each other at the mall.

A Quick Aussie Cleanup

The massive and delicate job of clearing the World Trade Center site is running one to three months ahead of schedule. And much of the praise for the job is going to the firm that oversees the project: Bovis Lend Lease of Sydney. How did a company from Down Under land such a high-profile contract? In 1988 Leher McGovern, the New York City firm that restored the Statue of Liberty in 1986, was acquired by Bovis–a global construction giant based in London. Bovis was bought in 1999 by Australia’s Lend Lease, which not only does good work but also retains executives with close ties to New York City officials.

Japanese Chess

Foreigners who are moving to Japan or doing business there are often advised to learn to play Go, a game of strategy that serves as a social icebreaker and offers insights into Japanese culture. Invented 4,000 years ago in China, Go has won new prominence through a scene in the movie A Beautiful Mind. The main character, a brilliant mathematician played by Russell Crowe, tries to conquer Go–and loses. Played with black and white stones, Go looks like a giant game of checkers, but its aficionados say it is more complicated than chess. Although players try to capture opponents’ stones, the larger aim is to gain as much territory as possible. Victory requires planning and patience, which is why Go is described as a metaphor for business as well as life.

BUSINESS GLOSSARY DUMPSTER DIVING

Homeless people who scavenge garbage bins for food have for years been said to be “Dumpster diving.” But now the term has morphed to describe an unscrupulous business practice: rummaging through a competitor’s trash for inside information. It’s a low-tech form of corporate espionage that has increased since 1988, when the Supreme Court ruled that once it leaves private property, trash is fair game. Last year Procter & Gamble, whose products include Pantene and Head & Shoulders shampoos, admitted Dumpster diving for information about Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever, makers of Finesse and Helene Curtis. Dumpster diving is also practiced by identity thieves, who seek credit-card information. Fear of Dumpster diving has helped fuel the growing popularity of shredders–even before Enron gave them such high visibility.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DID SOMEONE STEAL YOUR IDEA?

Toronto business partners Ian McDonald and Kerry Knoll and a lawyer friend, John Cocomile, had a novel idea. Patent suits are so expensive to litigate that if investors put up money to help independent inventors defend their rights, the inventors would probably be willing to share any award. The three were right on the money. The shareholders in their company, Patent Enforcement & Royalties, which trades on the Canadian Venture Exchange, are entitled to 50% of a $3 million January verdict against Land O’Lakes for infringing a New Yorker’s patent of a low-fat coffee creamer. Three weeks ago, Conair, the hair-appliance maker, was ordered to pay a German inventor $28.5 million in back royalties for a device that prevents electric shock when driers get wet. “When the little guy needs help, that’s where we come in,” says McDonald, above.

HELLO, MY NAME IS…

Trying to network at poorly lighted business functions–in nightclubs, at evening cookouts–can be a real drag if you can’t tell who’s who. Pc/nametag, a Madison, Wis., company that makes ID products for business meetings, thinks its GloTags are the solution. The reusable plastic tags are the size of a business card and are powered by lithium batteries. The tags come with special markers filled with erasable glow-in-the-dark ink. Just write on the faceplate, switch on the tag and project your name in lights. Pc/nametag can also customize the tags to feature corporate logos or slogans. Although GloTags are decidedly less geeky than the old “Hello” stickers, their wild fluorescent colors might be too reminiscent of the nightclub scene for more serious business gatherings. And because each tag costs almost $5 (more for custom orders), you will want to make sure attendees leave them behind.