International IP lawyer

China Trademark Law: Simple and Effective 17 Years Later

China Trademark Registrations Recently, I ran across an article Dan Harris wrote on China’s trademark laws way back in 2007, entitled China Trademark Law: Simple and Effective. As I read the article, it struck me that it could have just as well have been written, almost word for word, in 2024: Members of the media

International Manufacturing Contracts

Getting Stuff made in China — Tips from a China Factory Owner

Let me tell you about a European friend of mine in China. Well, he’s not really in China. Right now he’s in Thailand. Like many an expat, he went there for a quick holiday before the border closed and has been stuck for months because of virus travel restrictions.  My friend desires anonymity. We’ll just

expect the unexpected sign

Doing Business Overseas: The Trust Thing

As a business lawyer who specializes in international transactions, I spend about half of my time working on legal strategy with my clients. I describe legal strategy as figuring out what the right way is to get from A to B, and those are often separated by international borders, vast oceans, and language and cultural

China Joint Ventures

China Joint Ventures: The Long Version

China Joint Ventures With China’s economy in a downturn and so much uncertainty regarding the future of US/China and EU/China relations, our China business lawyers have lately been seeing an uptick in companies looking to do China joint ventures “to share in the risk.” When done right, China joint ventures do share risk. But when

young people in Hong Kong protesting for their independence

On Secession

One of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) most persistent bugbears are separatist threats—real or imagined—on the fringes of its empire. The most recent manifestation of this concern has been the CCP’s response to the ongoing unrest in Hong Kong. On May 20, 2020, the National People’s Congress adopted a decision regarding “national security” in Hong

sad person

Hong Kong’s Saddest Day

Whatever the Chinese Communist Party waxworks expected after the Hong Kong handover, the massive July 1, 2003 protest against proposed “national security” legislation was surely a warning about the limits of Hongkongers’ tolerance of authoritarian rule. The proposed legislation was the Hong Kong government’s response to Article 23 of its Basic Law, which requires the

China manufacturinemployment lawyers

Update Your China Employee Handbook NOW

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, China has released and updated countless national and local employment laws to deal with rapidly changing circumstances. In the United States and the EU, best practices usually dictate that you update your company’s employee handbook at least once a year and even more often if there have been

China cryptocurrency

On COVID-19, Cryptocurrencies, and Geopolitics

By James Cooper On Friday, April 24, I led a continuing legal education program along with my colleague Emilio Cazares of Sheppard Mullin in San Diego and co-founder of the San Diego Blockchain Forum. Invited by Fred Rocafort of Harris Sliwoski and Leonid Kisselev of the International Practice Section of the Washington State Bar Association,

China factory due diligence

How to Manage a Chinese Factory

Many Chinese factories are hurting right now. Badly. This should come as no surprise. First they went through months of closures due to the coronavirus, and just when they opened they faced massively reduced demand. Chinese factories are closing left and right and many of those that are open are facing reduced demand and falling

forced labor sanctions

China Products Made With Forced Labor Are Now in U.S. Customs’ Crosshairs

On May 1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it had issued a withhold release order (WRO) against hair products manufactured by a Xinjiang company called Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories Co. Ltd. (Haolin). The WRO was issued under the authority of 19 U.S.C. 1307, which prohibits importing merchandise produced by forced labor. To be

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