About the Author

I am Gabriel Sawma, the purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for those who would like to discuss issues related to International law, in particular, the European Union Law.

Unfortunately, work responsibilities prevent my colleague, John Soueid Esq, and me from discussing at length those cases that we find interesting. Hopefully, you can fnd the time to read my posts and add to the dialogue.

Being an attorney for over thirty years, graduated from the Lebanese University, school of Law, the Europan Union Law has been a labor of love for me.I am a member of the New York State Bar Association, Associate Member of the American Bar, and the Beirut Bar Association in Lebanon.

American lawyers need to be equipped with the tools necessary to advise clients on trade with America's largest customer, the European Union. Sales of American goods and services to the Union exceed sales to any other nation.

American lawyers who would advise his client to sign a document giving disributorship, say, in Germany, that exclusive agreement for an American product does a disservice to his client and commits malpractice. The German distributor is now perfectly free to market this American product anywhere in the European Union territory, and the Amercian manuacturer most likely has violated European Union's laws prohibiting anticompetitive behavour.

Unfamiliar rules on franchising, patents, trademarks, and copyrights are new concepts which American lawyers may not be familiar with.

For further information on this, please feel free to e-mail me at gabrielsawma@yahoo.com. I hope you enjoy my articles.

Gabriel Sawma Esq.