Intellectual Property

Subscribe to Intellectual Property via RSS

作者：瞿淼 金杜律师事务所知识产权组

随着市场经济体制的完善，缓慢的自我积累难以满足企业筹资发展的需求，越来越多的企业选择进行投资及并购实现快速的业务扩张。在并购及投资交易中，企业的知识产权状况是并购双方关注的焦点之一。为了充分认识和评估并购交易中的法律风险，避免出现“并购后遗症”类型的纠纷，本文中总结了几种具有典型意义的并购中的知识产权问题。Continue Reading 投资并购交易中需要警惕的知识产权问题（一）

By He Wei and Wang Yaxi of King & Wood Dispute Resolution Group

When a domain name is in conflict with the prior rights of others (e.g. the trademark rights, the rights of the company name, etc.), there are two approaches of settling the disputes: 1) the prior right holder may file a complaint to one of two domain name dispute resolution centers, or 2) the prior right holder may bring an action to the court or refer the dispute to arbitration. For the sake of efficiency and cost control, the prior right holder will typically seek a resolution from a domain name dispute resolution center(1)("DNDRC"), on the condition that the disputed domain name has been registered for less than two years.

Continue Reading Bridging DNDRC Decision and Judicial Judgment on Domain Name Dispute

By Denning Jin, Helen Chen of King & Wood’ s Dispute Resolution Group and Shanghai Office

Background

A number of automobile design patent infringement cases have been brought to Chinese courts in recent years, such as Honda v. Hebei Shuanghuan, FIAT PANDA v. Great Wall PERI, Neoplan v. Beijing Zhongtong Xinghua Automobile Selling Co., Ltd., et al. The hallmarks of these cases are not only the high value of the damages claimed and the importance of the outcomes which are dispositive to the market structure, but also the malleability of rule of law in the field of design patent infringement determination.Continue Reading PRC Supreme People’s Court: Clarified Design Patent Infringement Determination

By Richard W. Wigley of King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

Today in China, in conjunction with World IP Day 2011, numerous governmental agencies will actively begin a week-long promotion of the role of intellectual property in the nation’s economy, according to Han Xiucheng of the State Intellectual Property Office (“SIPO”)1. Such efforts are to be lauded, but it is well known that copyright piracy rates in China are still significantly higher (80-90+%, depending on the type of work) than those seen in developed countries, such as the United States. Copyright piracy results from a combination of factors, including not only the effectiveness of the enforcement regime, but also from consumers’ attitudes toward pirated works. There has been a shift in recent years in China away from pirated works and toward legitimate works, but this shift has been slow due to a variety of reasons. Into this dynamic, it is valuable to look at some of the most recent efforts of the P.R.C. government to reduce copyright piracy across China.Continue Reading World IP Day 2011 in China Shows Progress in Copyright Protection, though Challenges Remain

By King & Wood’s Trademark Practice

The Law of the Application of Law for Foreign-related Civil Relations of the People’s Republic of China was promulgated on October 28, 2010 and will come into force on April 1, 2011. The new law absorbs the latest achievements of the research and legislation in the field of the private international laws, which is widely viewed as having reflected the contemporary legislation ideas and incorporated innovative rules, and the issuance of this law would have accomplished the systemization and modernization of the conflicting rules concerning foreign-related relations in Chinese legislation system.Continue Reading China’s New Foreign-Related Civil Relations Law Harmonizes Conflicting Rules

By King & Wood’s Trademark Practice

On December 16, 2009, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) of the People’s Republic of China announced that it approved the registration of Cognac as a geographic indication, which is the first foreign geographic indication protected in China. On October 9, 2010, Scotch whisky was also recognized as a geographic indication, as a result of three-year discussion between the Scotch Whisky Association and the Chinese government. This will provide better protection for Cognac and Scotch whisky in China, which will also guarantee purchase of genuine Cognac and Scotch Whisky to the local consumers.Continue Reading Cognac and Scotch Whisky obtain GI Protection in China

By Richard  Wigley of King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

China’s packaged software market is estimated to "grow from $4.7 Billion in 2008 to $8.3 Billion by 2013, with a five-year CAGR of 12.1%"1. China’s domestic software industry has, however, long suffered from the effects of rampant software piracy, making it difficult for domestic industry players to proportionally benefit from China’s economic rise over the past 30 years. Though the trials and travails of major global software companies, such as Microsoft, in China have been well-documented, domestic software companies, though with a seeming "home market" advantage, have often found it difficult to build viable business models in this environment. This environment for domestic software companies, however, appears to be changing for the better.Continue Reading China’s Support of Domestic Software Industry Strengthened by State Council Release of P.R.C. Government Policies

By Richard Wigley and Chen Wenping of King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

There has been a great deal of interest lately – both from inside and outside of China – in P.R.C. governmental policies aimed a promoting "indigenous innovation". In an April 2010 publication entitled "2010 Notification Regarding the Development of Determining ‘ Indigenous Innovation’ Products (Draft Seeking Opinions)"  (hereinafter referred to as the "2010 Notification"), and jointly issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Commission for Development and Reform, and the Ministry of Finance, some government initiatives in this regard were addressed. While it makes perfect sense for any country to promote "indigenous innovation" as a means of economic growth, it is valuable to look at one measure of  "indigenous innovation" — invention patents. Specifically, it is valuable to look at the growth in recent years of invention patents granted in China, as just one indicator of  "indigenous innovation".Continue Reading China’s Drive towards Indigenous Innovation Seen in Rise in Invention Patents Granted to Domestic Entities