By Alex Zhang and Xuelin Ma   King & Wood Mallesons’ IP Group

I. INTRODUCTION

By 2015, the Chinese government plans to double the number of patent applications filed with the State Intellectual Property Office (“SIPO”), such that applications will increase from 1 million in 2010 to 2 million per year.[i]  According to SIPO’s “National Patent Development Strategy (2011-2020)” (the “Patent Strategy”), “China will rank among the top two in the world in terms of the annual number of patents for inventions.”[ii]  The Chinese government also expects that “the number of overseas patent applications filed by Chinese entities and individuals will double.”[iii]  However, this ambitious plan cannot relieve concerns about the quality of Chinese innovation.  The basis for these concerns is that “the vast majority of these applications are for utility model patents that merely undergo a preliminary examination for formalities rather than substance—a concept that does not exist in the US.”[iv]  According to a Shanghai-based patent attorney quoted by the Economist: “Patents are easy to file but gems are hard to find in a mountain of junk.”[v]
Continue Reading Recent Proposed Amendments to China’s Patent Law: Will it help to improve the enforceability of patents in China?

作者:尤杨 黄思哲 金杜律师事务所争议解决

公证债权文书执行制度与诉讼、仲裁程序相比,具有免除当事人的诉累、节约权利实现成本的优点,但由于有关立法不完善,适用范围有限且司法实践中的反映不一,因此在实践中没有广泛被采用。近年来,民间借贷和非银行融资(例如通过信托方式融资)活动逐渐增多,越来越多的当事人看到了公证债权文书执行制度简便、快速的优势,选择具有强制执行力的公证债权文书作为实现债权主要方式的情况已经比较普遍。通常情况下,无论是普通的借贷还是各种方式的信托融资,都会要求债务人或关联方为债权提供担保,如果主合同办理了强制执行公证,担保合同往往也与主合同一起办理强制执行公证,以期争议发生时能马上执行担保财产。那么,担保合同是否也能依法通过公证被赋予强制执行效力呢?
Continue Reading 信托实务专题之(二):通过公证赋予担保合同强制执行效力问题探析

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