I constantly get emails asking me (often in an accusatory or conspiratorial tone) why the China Law Blog didn't write about such and such. As tensions with China increase, the number of these emails have also increased and I am going to respond to a random bunch of them here so I can simply link
One of our China IP lawyers tends towards sarcasm, and in cleaning out my email stack I found this email: Another company that loves China so much that they have already given all their IP to a Chinese company with nothing in return. American and European companies seem not to realize that if they teach
As we have written a number of times, the essential first step in any China IP strategy is to register your trademarks with China's Trademark Office. Because China is a first-to-file country, until you register a trademark in China you have no rights in that trademark in China. But a trademark registration alone goes only
Many of our lawyers and staff attended international schools or are sons or daughters of teachers or professors. I spent my junior year of high school at Robert College in Istanbul, a year studying Spanish at LAE Madrid and Taronja Spanish School in Valencia, Spain (both are excellent, BTW) and 8 months studying French at the
The Limited Value of Chinese Factory Indemnification Navigating the differences between Western and Chinese legal systems is seldom an easy endeavor, but this is especially true for indemnification clauses. Though these clauses are robust and effective tools in Western countries with mature legal frameworks, their efficacy in China-based manufacturing agreements is considerably murkier. This post
I wrote the below article many years ago with Gregory Buyoff, a good friend, a brilliant international IP lawyer, and the most knowledgeable person I've ever known on Vietnam history. Intellectual Property Magazine published this article, but it no longer shows up on its website so I am running it here (with a few updates),
As we have written many times over the years, if you are selling goods into China, sourcing goods from China, or just doing business in/with China, you should probably register trademarks in China for your brand names and logos. China is a first-to-file country and it does not require evidence of prior use. This means
The common thread in all four examples is timing. The equipment contribution, quality standard, collection strategy, and arbitration language were manageable questions when the deal was being structured; they only became expensive legal problems after the parties committed themselves.
A few weeks ago, a client asked our law firm to handle a relatively routine domestic matter for them. We told them we do not handle such matters and we gave them a short list of excellent attorneys that do. The client expressed surprise at our unwillingness to take on their matter and remarked on
Before the Lunar New Year, Shanghai police cracked down on one of the largest subtitle groups in China, Renren Yingshi (YYeTs.com). The police arrested 14 people (not the actual translators but people who run the business). According to officials, Renren Yingshi is suspected of pirating more than 20,000 television shows and films and of earning
