Sands China increase salaries and wins trademark case

Sands China announced yesterday that it is increasing the salaries of 26,000 eligible full-time team members by 5 per cent. The hike is effective from March 1, 2015.
In a press release, the parent company of Las Vegas Sands, said that the wage increase follows the recent payment of a bonus last month. “Sands China is very pleased to reward its team members for going above and beyond in delivering excellent customer service and world-class experiences to our guests,” Rob Goldstein, President and Executive Director of Sands China said. “It is their commitment and dedication that allows us to strive for excellence in everything we do.”
Sands also won a US$2.2 million (MOP17.6 million) judgment against Asia-based trademark infringers, according to Courthouse News Service, an American website specialising in news for lawyers. However, the problem for the parent company of Sands China is that the infringers will only have to pay if they are identified and that may not happen.
So far, U.S. District Judge James Mahan’s ruling identifies the infringers First Cagayan Leisure & Resort, Wann Yichen, and Qing Wan Leng but there are still unknown registrants of 54 websites. The judge ruled that the infringers pay US$2 million (MOP16 million) for using the Sands trademarks and another US$150,000 (MOP1.6 million) for violating copyright.
The complaint of Las Vegas Sands was first submitted on 27 June last year to the District Court of Nevada. The American company complained that these websites were using Sands trademark in order to create a false affiliation with the company. The same court had decided before to stop these websites but the identification of the registrants may remain unknown because of the privacy policy of the companies that host these websites.
Sands stressed in its complaint that it opposes legalisation of Internet gaming in the United States and is a ‘strong supporter’ of the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling.