Got an email this morning from a company asked only “for advice” about importing their specific product from China into the United States and the EU. My response was as follows: My advice is if you are not paying in advance, you do some combination of the following: Chinese Company Reputational Reports: You should have
Introduction Imagine a child’s toy, gleaming with bright colors and designed for endless hours of fun. A toy which turned out to hold a lurking danger due to poor manufacturing processes. A month after hitting the shelves, there’s a widespread outcry. Parents are furious, the media is ablaze with criticism, and the company responsible faces
Chinese Employment Law Complexities Employers in China, (especially foreign employers) face myriad, complicated and hyper technical local employment laws. This often means that one small employer mistake can lead to big and expensive problems. As much as we wish all our employment law clients would first come to us requesting we audit their employment program
Introduction A toy importer, thrilled about getting its toys from Vietnam at a great price paid $2 million upfront to a supposed “toy maker”. The dream turned into a nightmare when they realized there was no such Vietnamese toy maker, and no toys would ever materialize. This importer isn’t alone. Many foreign companies have faced
The Madrid Trademark System Securing global trademark protection is crucial for establishing strong brand recognition internationally. This post provides an overview of the Madrid Trademark System and how it can be leveraged to improve your global trademark protections, along with examining the alternative procedures required for territories outside the Madrid framework. The Madrid Trademark System
Introduction You’ve just come up with a catchy name for your new business, but there’s one crucial step before you can start splashing that name everywhere—ensuring no one else has a claim to it. This is where the world of trademarks and, specifically, trademark oppositions come into play. Think of a trademark opposition as someone
Introduction Picture this: A young entrepreneur named Alex (all names have been changed to protect the innocent) launches a trendy eco-friendly shoe line named “VerdeVoyage” in the U.S. After gaining popularity stateside, Alex decides to expand to China. However, unbeknownst to Alex, 绿行 (lvxing), which translates to “Green Journey”, is already a registered trademark for
Navigating International Manufacturing Agreements: The Power of Term Sheets Outsourcing manufacturing requires meticulous planning, skillful negotiation, and unwavering attention to detail. International Manufacturing Terms sheets can streamline this process, by helping manufacturers and product buyers establish crucial terms before embarking on the formal drafting of a comprehensive Manufacturing Agreement. The Role of Term Sheets Consider
The shifting winds surrounding China geopolitics have left many companies feeling adrift. “We have been trying to diversify away from China manufacturing for years, but we’ve only managed to move about 10% of our supply chain out,” a client recently told me. “China still makes 80% of our products. Even if we wanted to pull
Bye-bye China Manufacturing With no sign of peace breaking out any time soon on the US-China trade front, an increasing number of businesses are turning their eyes toward alternative manufacturing destinations, such as Vietnam, Thailand and Mexico. Such relocations present all sorts of new and different headaches, but I suspect that before long many folks
