China Litigation for Foreign Companies: It’s a Good Thing
The Wall Street Journal wrote how China is increasingly becoming the venue of choice for foreign company patent litigation. That's right. China.
China Employment Laws: Get Them Right or Face PUBLIC Consequences
The PRC Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security recently released a set of rules regarding providing public notice of China employer labor violations (《重大劳动保障违法行为社会公布办法》). The goal of these new rules is to deter employers from violating China’s labor and employment laws and regulations. These rules will take effect on January 1, 2017, and they
Eight Keys for Navigating China’s Employment Laws
It is far cheaper to avoid China employment law problems than to deal with one that has arisen. If you follow the following eight rules, your chances of having a China employment problem will markedly decrease. 1. Use written employment contracts. China employers without a written employment contract are exposing themselves to penalties, administrative fines and the risk of
How to Prevent your Manufacturer from Selling Your Rejected Products
Just read an article, What do Suppliers do with Rejected Products? that starts with the following nightmare scenario: Imagine you are walking down a busy street in China full of vendors. Suddenly, you notice something: your company’s flagship product, distinctive luxury handbags, is being sold by a random merchant you have never met. Upon closer inspection,
A China Compliance Checklist
With the last quarter of the year approaching and with China increasing its scrutiny of foreign businesses operating in China, now seems like the right time to talk about what foreign businesses (WFOEs, joint ventures, representative offices) should be doing to protect themselves on the China compliance front. If you have familiarized yourself with applicable
When Your China Employee Leaves. . . .
Generally speaking, China employees must be employed under a written employment contract. Such a contract may be for a fixed or an indefinite term. When it comes to unilaterally terminating an employment contract, China employment law does not treat the employee and the employer as equal parties; the employee has much more power than the
How to Protect Your IP from China: Step One, Recognize the U.S. is NOT the Only Place in the World
One common mistake U.S. companies make is failing to understand that patents and trademarks are territorial.* That is, these forms of intellectual property provide protection only in the country in which they were registered. If a U.S. company has not registered its patents and trademarks in China, a Chinese company is free to make use
Using Section 337 Cases to Block Counterfeit Products from Entering the United States
With Amazon and Ebay having increased their efforts at bringing in Chinese sellers and with Chinese manufacturers branching out and making their own products, the number of companies contacting our international intellectual property lawyers about problems with counterfeit products and knockoffs has soared. If the problem involves infringing products being imported into the United States,
Foreign Company Due Diligence
It goes without saying you should choose good business partners abroad. The kind of partner that doesn't like getting sued ... and hence doesn't give you reason to sue them. Partners that won't steal your IP. But just how can you know a partner is reliable before you do business with them and put them to the acid test?
The Contract Basics When Selling Your Product Internationally
The first step for drafting an international product sales agreement is to deal with the basic sales terms. The terms for customization and cooperative design can come later.