Since launching our Web3 practice group, we have been getting steady inquiries regarding international business and web3 crossover, including China-affiliated companies. Essentially all web3 technologies are international in nature. But unless you are personally interested and invested in cryptocurrencies or your business is heavily dependent on blockchain technology, it is likely that you are part
Next week, I will be a panelist at a Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) event discussing dual nationality. I'll be sharing the platform with Dr. Dana Raigrodski and David Freeburg. Registration is free, and if you're an attorney in Washington State, you can earn CLE credit for attending. Interestingly, the event being scheduled on St.
Sourcing product from China just got even riskier. Theses risks have never been higher and they just keep increasing. The Russian war and COVID in China are the key causes for this increased risk and both are nearly certain to get far worse.
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.
As the Chinese government continues to expand its power and get more concerned about its slowing economy and how it is viewed by its citizens, it just keeps getting tougher on foreign businesses that are not 100% abiding by its laws. China is right now in one of its perpetual crackdowns on foreign companies doing business in China. This makes now a good time for foreign companies doing business in China or with China to determine their China risks. The following questions are a good starting point for making that calculation.
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.
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.
Russia's war will impact your China business. We live in an interconnected world and what is happening with Ukraine will impact doing business with China. It's just a question of how and by how much. In this post and in its follow-up post, I will discuss how Russia's war against Ukraine is likely to impact doing business in and with China and what you can do to try to minimize that impact.
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.
A few weeks ago, we did a webinar on moving manufacturing from China to Mexico. To watch the webinar, go here. To see the Powerpoints from the webinar, go here. During the webinar we promised to post answers answers to questions we were asked but were unable to answer during the webinar. The below are an initial set of questions and answers. We will follow up with a part 2, with more questions and answers, in a few days. These questions are in no particular order. We received a number of questions that were very particular to a company or an industry and we will not be answering those questions on here, but if you email us, we will do so to the extent possible.
