By Kenneth Choy, Partner, Corporate, King & Wood–Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, the Hon. John C Tsang, gave his annual budget speech Wednesday, February 24th. Buried in the 178 paragraph speech on the 2010-2011 Budget Report were two paragraphs relating to intellectual property rights. The issues mentioned by the Financial Secretary may benefit inventors and high-tech start ups.
Continue Reading Hong Kong Budget Report: New Benefits for Inventors
By Kenneth Choy, Partner, Corporate, King & Wood–Hong Kong
The World Intellectual Property Organization, also known as WIPO, recently disclosed the number of international patent applications filed under its Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”) for 2009. A copy of the release, entitled International Patent Filings Dip in 2009 Downturn (PR/2010/6), may be downloaded here. While the total number of PCT applications filed for the year was down compared to 2008, filings by applicants from East Asian countries actually grew with Japan, Korea and China ranking among the top five filing countries. Although the number of applications from the United States dropped by more than 11% to 45,700 applications, it still held its place on top of the rankings. Japan (2), Korea (4) and China (5) accounted for 45,839 PCT applications in 2009, about 30% of total filingsContinue Reading 30% Jump in Chinese WIPO Filings
By Jiang Ling, Partner, King & Wood’s Trademark Department
Concise and vivid advertising slogans quickly draw the public’s attention and are integral to a company’s brand. Over years of use and promotion, some slogans have become well-known to the public, such as Nike’s "Just do it", Adidas’ "Impossible is nothing" and DeBeers’ "Diamonds are forever." In many ways, such slogans are often no less important than the company’s logo and other marks. As such, companies must figure how to protect and prevent the unlicensed use of their advertising slogans. Accomplishing this in China presents a unique set of considerations.
Continue Reading Just Do It!? Protecting Advertising Slogans in China Part I
By John Lo, Partner, Corporate, King & Wood–Hong Kong
Hong Kong is blessed with many favorable elements for business growth. The most prominent factors often cited for Hong Kong’s business success include its gateway role to China, the rule of law, and a location where goods, services and finance move freely. Such a positive environment has led to many success stories, particularly in the tech sector.Continue Reading Angel Investing in Hong Kong: Part VI Conclusion
By John Lo, Partner, Corporate, King & Wood–Hong Kong
Nurturing the growth of a science and technology focused sector became a significant part of the government policies of the first post-1997 administration. Under the guidance of the late Professor Tien Chang-lin, former chancellor of University of California, Berkeley, the government issued a technology blueprint for Hong Kong shortly after the changeover, which led to a new period of innovation and growth in the tech sector.Continue Reading Angel Investing in Hong Kong: Part V Government Tech Policies
By John Lo, Partner, Corporate, King & Wood–Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a strong venture capital industry and a vibrant capital market, which together afford a much needed financial backdrop for financing growth businesses. This business friendly environment provides funds for start ups as well as exit strategies for more mature companies.
Continue Reading Angel Investing in Hong Kong: Part IV Financial Infrastructure
By Tony Dong and Alice Zhang, King & Wood’s Tax Department
It is common for multinational companies to deploy offshore holding structures or set up special purpose vehicles ("SPVs") in tax havens to make investments, enter into cross border transactions or to list their IPOs. There are various reasons for companies to utilize offshore SPVs, and tax optimization is clearly one of the top considerations. For example, a company may take advantage of preferential tax treaty provisions or align profits to a low-tax jurisdiction or tax haven. However, in recent years, governments around the world have been tightening their tax administration of cross-border tax avoidance arrangements with TPG’s recent tax dispute in Australia is the latest example. The Chinese government has been actively involved in the game, and the State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") has issued a series of regulations in 2009 to strengthen tax scrutiny on non-residents.Continue Reading China Weaves a Tax Net over Offshore SPVs