April 2010

By Mia Qu and Bessie Ye, King & Wood’s IP Department

To many foreign companies, China remains attractive as the world’s largest potential market for pharmaceutical products. As such products rely heavily on the protection of intellectual property rights, it is essential for foreign companies in this field to adopt a combination of IP protection methods to formulate a strategy for their products in China. To this end, China has established a relatively comprehensive legal system in relation to IPR protection where intellectual assets are protected by way of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
 Continue Reading Protecting Pharmaceutical Intellectual Property Rights in China

By Xu Ping, Partner, King & Wood’s FDI Department

In continued support of foreign direct investment into China, on April 13, 2010, China’s State Council released the Further Views on the Utilization of Foreign Capital (国务院关于进一步做好利用外资工作的若干意见). These new guidelines for foreign investment in China encourage foreign funds to flow into high-end manufacturing, hi-tech and eco-friendly sectors and to the central and western areas of the nation. The guidelines restrict investment into environmentally unsound projects and in sectors suffering from overcapacity. Meanwhile, the new guidelines also promise more favorable policies for foreign-funded companies, including an array of new tax incentives.Continue Reading China Reaffirms Support for Foreign Investment

By Guan Feng and Wu Sijie, King & Wood’s Litigation & Arbitration Group

In 2008, a financial derivatives dispute arose between a foreign-funded bank (the "Bank") and a local Chinese company (the "Company"). Although both parties executed certain documents to conclude the transaction, due to adverse changes in the international financial environment, the Company denied that the parties had entered into any contract regarding the derivative transaction and refused to perform. As a result, the Bank initiated a lawsuit against the Company to seek damages.
 Continue Reading Culpa in Contrahendo: PRC Judgment in Dispute over Financial Derivatives Services