China NNN Agreements: The Hard Truth
China NNN Agreements work when they deterChinese companies from misusing your IP. Here is when they help, when they do not, and how to draft one that will actually work.
Dan Harris is a founding member of Harris Sliwoski, an international law firm where he mostly represents companies doing business in emerging market countries. Most of his time is spent helping American and European companies navigate foreign countries by working with the international lawyers at his firm in setting up companies overseas (WFOEs, Subsidiaries, Rep Offices and Joint Ventures), drafting international contracts, protecting IP, and overseeing M&A transactions.
In addition, Dan writes and speaks extensively on international law, with a focus on protecting foreign businesses in their overseas operations. He is also a prolific and widely-followed blogger, writing as the co-author of the award-winning China Law Blog.
International Litigation: Winning the Lawsuit Is Often the Easy Part
International Litigation: Winning the Lawsuit Is Often the Easy Part Companies often go into international litigation asking the wrong first question: can we win? That matters, of course. But in many cross-border disputes, it is not the most important question. The more important question is whether winning will ever lead to money. Our international dispute
Moving Production to Mexico: What U.S. Companies Get Wrong
Moving production to Mexico is more than just a sourcing decision. It is a legal and operational rebuild. Companies that treat China/Mexico contracts, labor, IP, customs, and transition sequencing as afterthoughts often end up paying to fix avoidable mistakes.
Your China Exit Strategy Is Also Your IP Strategy
Your leverage is usually strongest before your China factory knows you are leaving and before your plans in the new country become obvious to everyone else. That window does not stay open for long. Once it closes, fixing trademark gaps, tooling problems, and bad contracts becomes slower, more expensive, and much more difficult. Sometimes it does not just make the exit harder. Sometimes it makes the exit fail.
Doing Business Internationally: Why Your International Lawyer Should Handle Your Domestic Work Too
Doing Business Internationally: Why Your International Lawyer Should Handle Your Domestic Work Too There are times when you absolutely need a local specialist. A real estate lawyer who knows Oregon title issues, a New York tax lawyer, a California employment litigator. Some legal work is local, and it is a mistake to pretend otherwise. But
International Arbitration in Cross-Border Contracts: What Companies Get Wrong
International Arbitration in Cross-Border Contracts: What Companies Get Wrong An industrial pump company signs a supply agreement with an overseas supplier, receives eight million dollars’ worth of defective goods, and does what seems logical: it sues in the supplier’s home court. Five years later, it has spent more on legal fees than the amount in
How to Negotiate with Your Chinese Manufacturers
How to Negotiate with Your Chinese Manufacturers Most American companies hear the line “That’s not how we do it in China” and immediately start retreating. They soften their tone, over-explain, and offer compromises before they have identified what matters. They treat the phrase like a cultural law that cannot be questioned, instead of what it
Why Demand Letters to China Suppliers Often Backfire
Why Demand Letters to China Suppliers Often Backfire Sending a quick demand letter to a China supplier can destroy your leverage. Twice last week, I had to explain that to companies that were not clients. Both wanted me to immediately send a demand letter to their China suppliers to force shipment of long-delayed product. I
China Exit Bans for Foreign Executives: The Commercial Dispute Risk Nobody Plans For
China Exit Bans for Foreign Executives: The Commercial Dispute Risk Nobody Plans For You are at the airport with a boarding pass in hand, heading home after meetings. The China immigration officer scans your passport, pauses, types, and asks you to step aside. A few minutes later you are told you cannot leave China. No
Why Your U.S. Distributor Agreement and China Manufacturing Contract Will Eventually Collide (And How to Prevent It)
Foreign companies often lose U.S. distribution opportunities for a simple reason: their factory can’t deliver what their distributor contract promised. The fix isn’t complicated, but it’s often ignored--your U.S. distribution agreement and your China manufacturing contract have to be drafted as one integrated system.