AI and Copyright in China
Ownership of copyright by nonhumans is not allowed in China, but increasing AI capabilities could spur changes in legal thinking.
China Copyright Protection for Applied Art
With no explicit provisions in China's copyright law for the protection of works of applied art, courts have until now used different approaches when considering the issue. In some cases, protection has been extended based on the protections afforded to works of fine art. However, in last year's Guiding Case No. 157 (指导案例157号), the Supreme People's Court (SPC) endorsed the view that works of applied art are entitled to copyright protection in their own right.
China Trademark Squatters: A Danger for All
When it comes to China IP protection, one of the greatest mistakes a brand can make is failing to register its trademarks in China. An unregistered trademark is a tempting target for trademark squatters (and other bad-faith actors, such as unscrupulous competitors), who register trademarks in the hopes of a payday from legitimate owners. China trademark squatters are looking for victims all the time. What's more, they will take their chances on just about any trademark, regardless of how small the brand, as long as there is a chance their bet will pay off. And given that it's not very costly to register a mark in China, the chances of success don't have to be high for the gamble to make economic sense.
Chinese Free Look Schemes to Steal your IP
Last week, I wrote about how Chinese companies use fake investment scams to trick foreign companies into turning over their IP. This post goes into additional detail regarding the China fake investment scam, but it also goes beyond it to ecompass the various IP theft scams our China lawyers have been seeing in the last couple of years.
Investing in Your Business to Steal your IP
One of the more sophisticated and costly scams we see is what we call the "investing in your business to steal your IP scam." We see this scam maybe 4-5 times a year, mostly before they happen and mostly before the company realizes a scam is about to take place.
The Four Best Ways to Protect Your IP from China
This post sets out the four most important steps you should take to protect your IP from China. These steps will minimize the likelihood of you having a China IP problem and maximize your chances of prevailing should such a problem actually arise.
Protecting Your Product From China: The 101
This post explains how to protect your product from China when having your product made in China. One of the first things our international manufacturing lawyers do when working with a company having products made in China is to figure out the contracts and IP registrations that will ensure our client's intellectual property and other rights will be protected against its Chinese manufacturer and the rest of the world.
THE Rules When Manufacturing Overseas
International Manufacturing Turmoil Increases International Manufacturing Risks With the increasing risks of manufacturing in China, our international manufacturing lawyers are being contacted by many companies seeking legal help after all has been lost. These are mostly companies that moved their manufacturing to “bad” Chinese manufacturers or to other countries in an effort to reduce their
China NNN Agreements and How to Give Them Real Teeth
As I noted in my previous post on China NNN agreements, for enforcement purposes you must make sure your China NNN agreement has teeth. To understand how enforcement works under Chinese law, we need to do a little work. The first point to realize is that the standard approach for enforcing an IP contract under the common law (this is the law in the United States and the UK and most of the British world) has no application under Chinese law. In the common law system, lawyers are mostly concerned with two issues. First, the rule that disfavors liquidated damage provisions. Second, the law/equity distinction that allows only for injunctive relief when a law (damages) remedy is not available.
The Three Keys to Protecting Your IP in China and Internationally
A new client the other day asked me what it should be doing to protect its IP in China and I asked whether they wanted the ten minute version or the ten day version. Fortunately for the both of us (and not surprisingly), they chose the ten minute version and the below is basically that.