Emissions trading refers to a mechanism for trading legal emissions rights as commodities with the aim of controlling the overall emission of pollutants into the environment and optimizing the allocation of emissions quotas. As a concept, emissions rights trading dates back over thirty years. However, it was not until the advent of the Kyoto Protocol which became effective in 2005, that the international community established the “Clean Development Mechanism” (“CDM”), a global emissions reduction regime. Under this mechanism, every developed country is required to commit to a certain amount of emissions reduction by a specified deadline. Those countries which generate more emissions than their certified emission reduction (“CER”) may purchase CER credits from the countries which have unused CER credits or which are not subject to emissions reduction commitments. In other words, enterprises in different countries may buy and sell rights to emit carbon dioxide by means of climate exchanges in a similar manner as they would trade stocks in stock exchanges.

By Xu Ping, Partner, FDI

Continue Reading Establishment of the Tianjin Climate Exchange

Apart from judgments dealing with divorce and custodial issues, only a small number of published cases have been identified involving attempts to enforce monetary judgments entered in China in U.S. courts. A recent decision from the Central District of California is a landmark in the recognition of Chinese decisions.

By Ge Yan, Partner, Cross Border Dispute Resolution

 

Continue Reading Landmark International Products Liability Case Decided in China and Reinforced by US Federal District Court

A Chinese company’s top executive is usually the company’s legal representative, and he or she is legally entrusted with the company seal, which is the company’s official symbol. The company seal provides the legal capacity to make and execute agreements, provide guarantees, transfer assets, and legally bind the company. When a legal representative is replaced, the displaced legal representative must return the company seal to the company so that the new legal representative can represent the company. However, if the displaced legal representative refuses to return the seal, the company could be liable for all the agreements that the former legal representative binds the company to. In other words, even if the articles of association can be used to remove an executive it does not necessarily mean that the foreign investors have been able to regain control of the company in practice. Therefore, retrieving the terminated legal representative’s unlawfully held company seal is an important step toward the foreign investors recapturing control of the company.

By Zhang Shouzhi, Xu Xiaodan and Li Xiang, King & Wood’s Cross-Border Dispute Resolution Practice, Beijing

Continue Reading Battle for the Company Seal

China’s rapid economic development and its emerging middle class allow franchises to operate in China under the following model:

The franchisor
• owns a well-known brand with a global reputation;
• has a strong desire to expand its brand in China;
• currently lacks sufficient capital and the traditional franchising model is no longer suitable to support such expansion.

The franchisee:
• has a well-developed distribution network;
• already owns second-line brands for the same or similar products which have already established certain market share in China;
• has ready capital and other operational resources.

By Cecilia Lou, Partner at King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

 

Continue Reading Franchising Challenges in China Part II

Once a friend of mine visited Shanghai and asked me to recommend some quick restaurants. After listing a few options, I realized that he was not interested in them as he just wanted to find a simple restaurant providing real Shanghai cuisine. It dawned on me that, we were surrounded by national and international franchised stores with standardized products and services which often provide little local flavor. Franchising is ubiquitous in China, and not just the fast food chains.

 By Cecilia Lou, Partner at King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group

 

Continue Reading Franchising Challenges in China

Traditionally civil, administrative and criminal IPR cases have been heard by the Intellectual Property, Administrative and Criminal Divisions of the courts, respectively. For instance, both the IPR Tribunals and the Administrative Tribunals of the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s courts were entitled to exercise jurisdiction over IPR administrative cases involving patent and trademark rights grants and determinations. The issue is that different divisions may apply different criteria to the same case.

Xu Jing & Zhang Hairuo, IP Litigation, King & Wood

 

Continue Reading Unification of Jurisdiction in IPR-Related Civil, Criminal and Administrative Cases in China

With the increased popularity of the Internet, web-based information is frequently used as evidence in judicial proceedings in China. In most cases, the web-based information is stored inside a web server in the form of electronic data. When submitted to a Chinese court as evidence, the web-based information must be downloaded in the presence of a notary public in order to verify its authenticity.

By Xu Jing, Partner at King & Wood

 

Continue Reading PRC Web Page Notarization for Evidence

Not only the marketing affairs, the Chinese Basketball Association also effectively controls all other critical aspects of the CBA under the CBA AOA. The following three issues illustrate how the Chinese Basketball Association greatly influences the operations of the CBA clubs.

By Wang Rui, Partner at King & Wood, William Gould, Alvin Attle, and Peter Gall

 

Continue Reading Measuring the Need for Reform in Chinese Basketball Pt. II: The Structural Organization of the CBA

The rapid expansion of the NBA in China overshadowed the premier professional basketball league in China— the China Basketball Association (“CBA”). Beyond the superior play, the CBA currently underperforms the NBA in many other aspects.

By Wang Rui, Partner at King & Wood, William Gould, Alvin Attle, and Peter Gall

 

Continue Reading Measuring the Need for Reform in Chinese Basketball: Cues from the NBA

By Su Zheng, Partner at King & Wood, and Hu Ping

I. First Law Governing State-Owned Assets in China

The Enterprise State-owned Assets Law of the People’s Republic of China (“State-owned Assets Law”) was adopted on the fifth session of 11th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on October 28, 2008 and become effective on May 1, 2009. The State-owned Assets Law, which had been drafted and deliberated for more than ten years, is China’s first law addressing state-owned assets.

Continue Reading Guarding State-Owned Assets – the PRC Enterprise State-Owned Assets Law