Philip Morris fights Australian packaging rules    "We would
anticipate that the compensation would amount to billions,"
Philip Morris spokeswoman Anne Edwards told The Associated
Press.    The tobacco company says the treaty protects
companies' property, including intellectual property such as
trademarks. The plain packaging proposal severely diminishes the
value of the company's trademark, Edwards said.  "Our brands are
really one of the absolute key valuable assets that we have as a
company - it's what helps us compete, it's what enables us to
distinguish our products," Edwards said. "This move ... would
essentially amount to confiscation of our brand in Australia."
"Our government is determined to take every step we can to
reduce the harm by tobacco," Health Minister Nicola Roxon said.
"We won't be deterred by tobacco companies making threats or
taking legal action."  Prime Minister Julia Gillard also brushed
off Philip Morris' threats. "We're not going to be intimidated
by big tobacco's tactics," she t