By Ding Xianjie and Steven Yao Tang Lei King and Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group

(1) Chaozhou Ge Lan Te Clothes Ltd. vs. Haochang Ltd. (Jiangxi High Court, No.19, 2007)

In this case, the Plaintiff not only brought a claim for protection of copyright, but also sought protection under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. The Court of first instance held that generally a ‘well-known commodity’, should be identified based on the following elements: Familiarity of the disputed commodity to the relevant public, the timing, sales amount and percentage of market coverage of that commodity sold in the market, the extent of advertisement promotion, the scale of capital investment, the scope of geographical distribution, and authoritative awards received by the commodity, etc.
Continue Reading Protecting of Works of Applied Art under Chinese Judicial Practice(II)

By Ding Xianjie and Steven Yao Tang Lei King and Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group

I. “Works of applied art” as defined under Chinese law

Under Chinese law, the term “works of applied art” originates from the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (the “Berne Convention”), in which Article 2 and Article 7 state that all signatory countries should give at least a 25-year protection to works of applied art. After China joined the Berne Convention, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China promulgated the Provisions on the Implementation of the International Copyright Treaties in 1992 (the “1992 Provision”), in which Article 6 provides that the term of protection for foreign works of applied art shall be 25 years, commencing from the creation of the works. Other than the 1992 Provision, the term “works of applied art” is not mentioned in any law or regulation, including the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China (the “Copyright Law”) and its implementing regulations.
Continue Reading Protecting of Works of Applied Art under Chinese Judicial Practice(I)