Trademark Law Amended The PRC Trademark Law (TML) was amended on April 23, 2019, by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), with …
The PRC Social Credit System and IP Protection
Introduction The Chinese government is in the process of developing a nationwide “Social Credit System” (社会信用体系) that aims to strengthen compliance by individuals and corporate …
Prosecuting Trademarks in China: An Insider’s Guide for Foreign Brand Owners in 2019 (Part I)
This article is the first of two parts and is intended to provide outsiders with information on recent developments, tips and tricks that are vital …
Draft SIPO Provisions for Addressing Bad Faith Registration in China
On February 14, 2019, the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) – the parent organization of the Trademark Office (TMO) – published draft regulations …
China’s New Ecommerce Law: A Summary and Assessment of IP Provisions
China’s new E-commerce Law (“ECL” which entered into effect on 1 January 2019) regulates a wide array of matters, including antitrust issues, data protection, consumer …
Case Note: Analysis of Bayer vs. Li Qing – Hangzhou IP Tribunal
This memorandum summarizes the contents of a recent decision by the Hangzhou IP Tribunal in a civil dispute involving Bayer and its Coppertone sunscreen and …
Trademark Monitoring for the PRC
Limitations of Global Trademark Monitoring Services Global trademark monitoring services offer an invaluable and cost-effective service for identifying marks worthy of consideration for possible oppositions …
Non-Use Cancellations in China – Offensive and Defensive Applications
This article addresses the topic of non-use cancellation (NUC) actions in China, focusing primarily on its offensive uses against third party and/or pirate marks on …
China Set to Expand Data Localization and Security Review Requirements
A draft regulation released on April 11, 2017, by the Cyberspace Administration of China (“CAC”) could have a significant effect on foreign companies with operations …
Best Practices in Protecting Retail Service Marks
The PRC Trade Mark Office (TMO) has had a longstanding policy prohibiting Class 35 service mark coverage for “retail services” and similar descriptions. This policy …
Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Madrid in China
In this article we look at benefits and drawbacks of using the Madrid system to extend international trade mark registrations (IRs) to, as compared with …
Draft Ecommerce Law Issued for Public Comment
On December 26 2016, China’s Draft Ecommerce Law was issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), with an invitation for public …
SPC Guidance on Trademark Registry Cases
On January 10 2017, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) promulgated the final version of provisions that were first circulated for public comment in the autumn …
Supply Chain Integrity in China
Protecting trademarks and other IP rights in the supply chain presents growing challenges to companies, in part due to increasing demand by unscrupulous traders seeking …
Protecting Your IP on Kickstarter
If you’re crowd-funding a popular product on Kickstarter, there’s a good chance that Chinese pirates have already stolen your idea. As detailed in a recent …
The Pitfalls of Unregistered Marks
Companies that decide to produce or sell products in mainland China without first having registered their trademarks do so at their own peril. Without a …
Attacking Pirated Marks Based on Copyright
Copyright offers a potentially powerful tool for addressing piracy in China of logo marks and stylized word marks in the context of oppositions and invalidations. …
How to Register Trademarks in China
Companies large and small are filing more and more trademark applications in China to support product launches. But even companies without immediate plans to sell …
Online Counterfeiting Best Practices
China’s State Council will soon issue a draft of the country’s first E‐Commerce Law for public comment. Provisions of this proposed law may offer new …
Draft Anti-Unfair Competition Law
On February 25 2016, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council released a draft version of an amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (draft AUCL) for …
A Guide To China’s New Online Publishing Rules For Foreign Media
This analysis is intended to address a number of concerns that have been raised regarding China’s new Administrative Regulations for Online Publishing Services (“Online Publishing Regulations”) and …
