The Communications Authority of Hong Kong has recently amended the Television and Radio Codes of Practice on Programme and Advertising Standards (“Codes of Practice”). Among other amendments, there are new provisions in...more
Today, the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention enters into force in China. The Convention aims to abolish the requirement of legalization of foreign official documents, replacing it with the issuance of a single apostille by one...more
On 11 November 2020, China's National People's Congress adopted an amended version of the Copyright Law, which will take effect on 1 June 2021. This is the first comprehensive revision of the Copyright Law since 2001, and the...more
China is a market that represents a paradox for many telecoms, media and technology (“TMT“) companies. On the one hand it offers the promise of almost unlimited growth potential if you get the product right, but on the other...more
8/19/2019
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
China ,
Competition ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Infrastructure ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Market Access Rule ,
Telecommunications ,
Variable Interest Entities
Recently, the Chinese Patent Reexamination Board (PRB) published a written decision where patentee Chen He’s Electric Unicycle patent (CN102275621B) was invalidated based, partly, on a failure to establish sufficient domestic...more
Previously, under the CNNIC ccTLD Dispute Resolution Policy (CNDRP) which governs the .CN domain in China, no complaints under CNDRP could be filed against a .CN domain which had been registered for more than 2 years....more
Previously, under the CNNIC ccTLD Dispute Resolution Policy (CNDRP) which governs the .CN domain in China, no complaints under CNDRP could be filed against a .CN domain which had been registered for more than 2 years....more
On 23 April 2019, both China’s Trademark Law (“TML“) and its Anti-Unfair Competition Law (“AUCL“) were amended. The amendments to the TML are aimed at curbing bad faith trademarks and increasing damages for infringement,...more
5/7/2019
/ Amended Legislation ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Bad Faith ,
China ,
Competition ,
Infringement ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
Hong Kong becomes the first and only jurisdiction outside the Mainland where the Mainland courts can grant interim measures in aid of a foreign arbitration if administered by an institution....more
In a recent move involving both the Chinese legislature (the National People’s Congress) and the executive branch (the State Council), China has overhauled two of its most important pieces of legislation governing inbound...more
China’s Supreme People’s Court recently passed its new “Regulations on Certain Issues on the Application of Law for Conduct Preservation in Trials of Intellectual Property Disputes”. ...more
3/4/2019
/ Arbitration ,
China ,
Design Patent ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Jurisdiction ,
License Agreements ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Supreme People's Court of China
In this edition we survey the latest legal and regulatory developments across the global media and communications industry. We have a particular focus on new privacy laws.
...more
On 5 December 2018, the latest draft of the Chinese Patent Law was presented to China’s State Council (i.e. the executive body of China’s central government) during a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang (see here for a...more
On 26 October 2018, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) issued a Decision setting out the establishment of a new IP Court of Appeals at the national level within the Supreme People’s Court...more
11/9/2018
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
China ,
Copyright ,
Infringement ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jurisdiction ,
Patents ,
Supreme People's Court of China ,
Trademarks
In stark contrast to the rapid development of e-commerce in China, it has taken nearly five years and no less than four drafts for China to finalise its first e-Commerce Law. The new law will enter into force on 1 January...more
9/24/2018
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Business Licenses ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
E-Commerce ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Retailers ,
Internet Taxation ,
New Legislation ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Retail Market ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sales Tax ,
Taxation ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
According to several recent publications by Chinese governmental authorities, both IP litigation and IP prosecution numbers in China continue to increase significantly. ...more
9/19/2018
/ China ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
SIPO ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Venue
China’s Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) has recently published its list of the “top 10 significant IP cases” for 2017, which it has done yearly since 2007. ...more
6/28/2018
/ Beverage Manufacturers ,
China ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jaguar ,
Markush Grouping ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Plant Patents ,
Supreme People's Court of China ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Squatting ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
In a recent decision, a Chinese court imposed a fine lower than the statutory range under the Advertising Law of the People’s Republic of China (as amended in 2015) (“Advertising Law“)....more
Cybersecurity in China remains a hot topic. The Cyber Security Law is already in place but the question is how this law is going to be interpreted and implemented. In this edition, we will look at various draft/trial measures...more
6/14/2018
/ China ,
Cloud Computing ,
Cryptography ,
Cybersecurity ,
Do Not Call List ,
E-Commerce ,
Foreign Investment ,
gTLD ,
Huawei ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Joint Venture ,
Network Security ,
p2p ,
Patent Litigation ,
Samsung ,
Sharing Economy ,
Trading Platforms
In a recent landmark decision, the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) reversed the remarkable appeal decision in the Dongfeng trademark case about Original Equipment Manufacture (“OEM”). The SPC reiterates its view expressed in...more
Since November 2014, when the first IP courts were set up in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China has been rapidly setting up new specialised IP tribunals throughout its vast hinterland. ...more
While not compulsory, getting a copyright registration in China can offer many benefits to IP owners. This article will give an overview of the copyright registration system in China. Copyright registration is also available...more
On 28 December 2017, the District Court of Hong Kong handed down sentences varying from 21 to 27 months’ imprisonment against 3 individuals who took part in a scheme that enabled users of the “Maige Set Top Box” (the “Maige...more
On 7 November 2017, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (“NPC“) published the second draft of the E-commerce Law, “Draft“). The goal of the Draft is to regulate China’s burgeoning e-commerce sector, and...more
12/22/2017
/ Administration for Industry and Commerce (AIC) ,
China ,
Comment Period ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Dispute Resolution ,
E-Commerce ,
False Advertising ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Retailers ,
Licensing Rules ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Registration Requirement ,
Retail Market
In China, trade dress protection provides exclusive rights over a certain product get-up that acts as an indicator of origin. In order to qualify for protection, a trade dress must have a unique quality, rather than being...more