On April 21, 2020, Beijing Higher People’s Court released the Guidelines on Determination of Damages and Statutory Damages in Disputes over Intellectual Property and Unfair Competition (the “Guidelines”). It provides detailed guidelines on methods of damages calculation, punitive damages, recovery of attorney fees, evidence rules on defendant’s failure of producing evidence, and statutory damages. While the Guidelines have binding force among all the courts in Beijing, but it mirrors many existing practices across the country and is actually a secondary authority for all People’s courts. This note serves as an overview of those provisions related to trademark and passing off in the Guidelines followed by our comments and recommendations.
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