By Li Ruihai and Su Juan, King & Wood’s IP Department

Patent ownership disputes arise, when a party challenges the ownership of a patent right at the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and files suit with the People’s Court to seek rectification of the ownership of the patent. Article 135 of the General Principles of Civil Law of the PRC (Civil Law) provides that "unless otherwise stipulated by law, the statute of limitations to file civil actions with the People’s Court shall be 2 years." The PRC Patent Law (Patent Law) provides no specific provision regarding the statute of limitations in patent ownership disputes. Hence, issue arises as to whether the court can, upon the defendant’s request, dismiss the plaintiff’s claim for patent ownership due to the statute of limitations for civil actions.

 

Continue Reading Limitation of Actions Regarding Patent Ownership Disputes

肖马克（合伙人）    金杜公司组               上海分所

每一家跨国公司都需要制定一个中国业务发展战略。中国经济在全球金融危机冲击下的坚韧表现使其对海外投资者愈发具有吸引力。不过问题是，投资公司应如何就个案项目中的潜在风险和机会做出真实的评估呢？

Continue Reading 尽职调查：交易杀手还是交易救主？

By Mark Schaub, Partner, Corporate, King & Wood Shanghai

Every multinational company needs a China strategy. The country’s resilient economic
performance during the global downturn has made it even more attractive to some overseas
investors, but how should such companies arrive at a realistic appraisal of the potential
risks and opportunities of a specific deal?

Continue Reading Due diligence: deal killer or deal saver?

By Ariel Ye and James Rowland, King & Wood’s Cross Border Litigation & Arbitration Group

Many foreign business operators report that they are concerned about the risks associated with entertaining their business partners in China, even when providing meals or offering to pay for travel and accommodation costs of a low value.
 

Continue Reading Offering Gifts of Travel and Entertainment in China – What if the Recipient is a State Functionary

By Andrew Tan, Partner, Corporate, King & Wood–Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (EPD) announced on 1 December 2009 that the Supplementary Notes on the Implementation of Projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) by Hong Kong enterprises on the Mainland have been released by both the Central and the HKSAR Governments. These notes open up new opportunities for Hong Kong companies (as well as others through companies in Hong Kong) to participate in CDM projects in mainland China.

Continue Reading New Investment Opportunities for Foreign Companies in Sustainable Projects in China

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

By Zhang Yi and Alan Du, King & Wood’s Corporate Group

The Oriental Morning Post reported that a Trial Plan for the Participation of Foreign Investment into RMB Equity Investment Funds (the “Trial Plan”) was approved by the Shanghai government on March 15, 2010. This development will be fully publicized in April and first implemented in the Pudong New Area. The Trial Plan will open a gateway for the conversion of foreign exchange into RMB, which has been a major factor hindering foreign general partners (GP) and limited partners (LP) from becoming involved in the RMB PE fund industry.

Continue Reading PE Fund Trial Plan: New Gateway for Foreign Investors?

By Wang Fengli and Wang Jiangang, King & Wood’s Dispute Resolution Group

For many people, their main wealth management strategy involves purchasing financial products promoted by banks. Since the first impact of the global financial crisis was felt in 2008, the performance of different bank-issued financial products has varied greatly. Some Chinese investors have lost money as a result of buying financial products promoted by foreign-funded banks, and some have even sued those banks for compensation. Since financial products are generally quite complex, hurt investors often make their claim against a bank on the grounds that the bank failed to give clear notice about the risks inherent in the financial product which it was promoting and that the bank induced the investor into purchasing a product while concealing important facts.

Continue Reading Should Banks Be Held Responsible for Losses which their Clients have Suffered as a Result of Purchasing Wealth Management Products?