Our international manufacturing lawyers have been seeing an increase in calls from foreign companies seeking help on quality control problems with their foreign manufacturers. Often, there is little we can do to help with the quality problem that necessitated their call, but there is a lot we can do to help prevent such problems in
Every year U.S. producers file 10-15 petitions asking the U.S. government to investigate whether certain products imported into the US are sold at unfair prices (antidumping or AD) or are unfairly subsidized (countervailing duty or CVD). Odds are good that at least two new AD/CVD petitions will be filed by Halloween and as many as
Just read an article, What do Suppliers do with Rejected Products? that starts with the following nightmare scenario: Imagine you are walking down a busy street in China full of vendors. Suddenly, you notice something: your company’s flagship product, distinctive luxury handbags, is being sold by a random merchant you have never met. Upon closer inspection,
One common mistake U.S. companies make is failing to understand that patents and trademarks are territorial.* That is, these forms of intellectual property provide protection only in the country in which they were registered. If a U.S. company has not registered its patents and trademarks in China, a Chinese company is free to make use
Chinese factories are notorious for making their own-label products that bear a strong resemblance to the products they make for their foreign company manufacturing companies. And here's the thing: it is perfectly legal for your Chinese factory to copy your products unless you have a contract forbidding it. And it is also perfectly legal for them to use your brand name in China (or even to register it as their own trademark) if you have not registered your brand name as a China trademark.
The U.S. Government has been cracking the whip on products illegally transshipped from China. Chinese companies and U.S. importers of their products often tell me they are not concerned about U.S. Antidumping (“AD”) and Countervailing Duty (“CVD”) orders because they can “just get around those orders by transshipping our products to Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Sri
The US Importer of Record is liable for antidumping and countervailing duties tied to the product imported. The Importer of Record is the company listed in Block 26 of the U.S. Customs 7501 form. Importer of Record must exercise reasonable care in importing products and in filling out Customs forms Under US Antidumping (AD), Countervailing
China has rapidly stepped up its technology game. Its larger, better known companies (and many of its smaller and lesser known companies) are upping their technology game. To put it bluntly, their first goal is to get high end technology from American and European and Australian (mostly) companies for free. Failing that, it is to
Years ago, I spoke at a major technology event on how to protect IP from China. I rarely use notes when I give a speech, which and I often riff on various things. At some point during that speech, I mentioned how technology companies tended to get into more trouble when it comes to China
The title of this post comes from a terrific NPR Marketplace article of the same name. If you are doing anything related to manufacturing in China, this is the one article you should read this year. The article is based on a question Chinese Premier Li Keqiang asked in Beijing earlier this month. Li went
