We have long advocated for prompt China trademark registration. For companies that manufacture and export from China, registration of the English language trademark is essential. For companies that sell products and services in China, registration of the existing English language marks and the Chinese language marks for the product is essential. China now has the
China Distributor Relationships Make Sense, Especially Now My law firm's China lawyers have written more product distribution agreements in the last three years than in the ten years prior. This is happening because foreign companies want to profit from China's consumer and industrial markets, but they are wary of going into the country in a
We have been drafting an increasing number of contracts for foreign companies licensing their concept or technology for use in China. In the old days, this type of licensing was primarily in the industrial sector. These days, much of our work has involved licensing agreements for companies that want to capture China business without having
Virtually every Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) our China lawyers see is defective. One of the things that most frequently makes them defective is that they call for disputes to be resolved in a U.S. court. The problem is that Chinese courts do not enforce US court judgments and so even if the American company prevails
Companies often come to our China WFOE lawyers wanting a Wholly Foreign Owned Entity (WFOE) formed "right away" so they can "immediately" bring on a China-based employee or employees. No matter what anyone tells you, it is the rare WFOE that can be formed in less than three months, and three months is possible only
Clients often ask our China lawyers whether their buyers in China are telling the truth when they claim not to be able to pay them more than $50,000 in one year. The answer is both yes and no. China controls inbound and outbound foreign exchange flows. If a Chinese citizen or company needs to make
One of the many things that makes suing Chinese companies and individuals difficult is the requirement that service be done according to the Hague Convention on Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters, to which China is a party. Service of an entity or person in China under the Hague
American businessperson held in China for his company's unpaid debt Yet another story of an American businessperson held in China for his company's unpaid debt. Hate to say we told you so, but we told you so. This latest debt-hostage story was brought to my attention by Jeremiah Jenne. Jeremiah asked me about it by
Danwei ran a story, University Diploma Scandal in Jinan [link no longer exists], on a fake Chinese university. This story is directly relevant for those doing business in China. Let me explain. The story is from the Jinan Times. Jinan is the capital of Shandong Province. I have been there a couple of times and
One of the most common calls our China lawyers get is the one from someone saying they want to "start a business in China." The first thing we do with that sort of caller is to seek to ascertain whether a China business is actually necessary. Forming and then operating a business entity in China
