Buying expensive equipment directly from China can save a business substantial money, but the risks rise quickly when the product is customized and the seller already has most of the purchase price. These seven questions help buyers protect themselves before they pay.
The Boise Cascade guilty plea shows why opaque DDP shipping can expose U.S. buyers to customs investigations, unpaid duties, penalties, and criminal risk.
Artwork can cross borders faster than the legal protections behind it. This guide explains how artists can protect ownership, control overseas production, register key rights, safeguard their names, and respond when galleries, manufacturers, licensees, or counterfeiters misuse their work.
Your China Employee Signed the Vacation Policy. You Can Still Lose. Every year, foreign employers in China face the same claim. Their handbook says unused vacation expires at year-end, every employee signed an acknowledgment, HR sent the reminders, and payroll kept a leave spreadsheet. Then an employee resigns or is terminated and demands compensation for
Your China contract may look comprehensive and still bind the wrong company. This article uses the RedNote dispute and two real manufacturing matters to show why contracts must reach the entities that actually control the factory, tooling, technical information, and money, and what can happen when they do not.
China adopted a revised Trademark Law on June 26, 2026. The new law will take effect on January 1, 2027. Much of the commentary surrounding the revised law has focused on the statutory changes themselves. Foreign companies, however, should focus on what they need to do differently before the law takes effect. The fundamentals remain
Sinosure: The Complete Guide for Foreign Buyers What Sinosure is, what it can do, and how foreign companies should respond The letter arrives without warning. A collection agency outside Chicago or a law firm you have never heard of writes to say your company owes a Chinese manufacturer several hundred thousand dollars. The letter says
Learn how foreign judgments are recognized, enforced, and challenged in U.S. courts, including key defenses, asset tracing, and collection strategy.
International Distribution Agreements: Beware the Eager Distributor In one matter my law firm handled, a manufacturer of industrial coatings signed an exclusive Southeast Asia distribution agreement with a distributor that looked ideal. It had regional warehousing, relevant sales experience, and a management team that sounded sophisticated from the first call. Eighteen months later, the manufacturer
Foreign Contractors and Distributors: Frequently Asked Questions Yesterday’s post explained why the overseas sales shortcut so often backfires: a company calls someone a contractor, agent, or distributor, but the relationship underneath does not match the label. This FAQ builds on that post. It answers the questions we most often hear from companies selling abroad without
