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China’s Communist Party Central Committee concluded its Fourth Plenum of the 18th CPC Central Committee on 23 October 2014, with a communique which declared sweeping judicial reforms while hailing the overarching role of the Constitution in the country’s legal system.

The Fourth Plenum announcements focus on “the rule of law”  for the first time and represent a key milestone in the Party’s history. As a result, China will begin to undergo significant judicial reforms based on the blueprint set out under communique, implementing changes which are likely to reshape China’s political, economic and legal environment.

It is expected that these changes will have a significant impact on China’s long term economic growth and political stability, and are likely to positively benefit those doing business in China and with China.
Continue Reading China’s Fourth Plenum on Rule of Law Marks Judicial Reform

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?

By Xu Ping  Yao Lijuan  King&Wood Mallesons’ Mergers & Acquisitions Group

In the wake of recent heightened anti-monopoly investigations and enforcement in the PRC auto industry, there have been a number of new regulations being passed by the legislators particularly in the auto distribution and aftermarket sector. It is envisaged that a new regulatory framework over auto distribution and aftermarket may take shape in the near future.

1. New Legislative Developments

(1) Abolishment of the SAIC Record-filing of Auto Brand Authorized Dealers
Continue Reading New Regulatory Framework on Auto Distribution and Aftermarket to Take Shape

作者：Meg Utterback  King&Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group

Mergers take patience and tolerance. The following is my experience in law firm mergers and I hope it helps you understand where I hope we are headed at KWM.

When I began practicing law in 1991, lawyers still aspired to join a law firm for life. The partners were like our parents, mentoring us and bringing us along as lawyers, imbuing both good and bad habits that they themselves had learned over the years. Oddly though, I do not long for the familial atmosphere of my original firm. Those days of practice, while comfortable, were not innovative. A lot of bad habits were passed down to junior partners. Not many partners were looking to be creative or change how the system worked. They had nice cars and kids in college and bills to pay so the status quo was safe.

In the past twenty-three years, the profession has taken a diametric shift. It began with lawyers being more inclined to change firms or develop new practice areas. The availability of new modes of communication via the internet, mobile phones and teleconferencing brought us closer together with our colleagues and with our clients. It also created a 24/7 work ethic that changed how we related to our jobs and our families. In this time, it became acceptable to change firms. In fact, by changing firms, you could see what worked and what didn’t work. The world also shrunk. I moved into bigger law firms and from the US East Coast, we often worked with our colleagues on the West Coast or traveled cross country to take depositions and try cases. It was no longer a provincial local practice.
Continue Reading Law Firm Mergers

By King & Wood Mallesons’ International Dispute Resolution Group

In recent years, several large multinational pharmaceutical companies have been found to be in violation of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. Compliance in the area of commercial bribery is increasingly a focus of the Chinese authorities. Most recently, pharmaceutical companies have been punished in China for commercial bribery. Not only the companies, but also individual employees who have violated Chinese law, are being charged and prosecuted.

The State Administration of Industry and Commerce, as well as the administrative agencies of industry and commerce at lower levels, are primarily responsible for the enforcement of the anti-commercial bribery laws. The focus has been enforcement of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and the Interim Provisions on Prohibition of Commercial Bribery (“Interim Provisions”).
Continue Reading China Focuses on Bribery and Corruption in Multinational Companies

By Meg Utterback  Holly Blackwell  King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group

The risks faced by investors, owners and contractors on large infrastructure projects in Asia, South America, Africa and other developing nations are varied. Large scale projects to build infrastructure such as power plants, hydroelectric dams, highways, railways, and airports can range from US$100 million to billions of dollars in value. These projects often impact local populations, industries, and the environment. Because local resources are often limited, foreign contractors are called in to undertake the work. Project structures can create a wide web of contracts, contractors, and subcontractors subject to domestic and foreign regulations, codes, and procedures. Project owners and contractors often fail to consider project risks (or are too late in addressing them) resulting in additional costs and delay, diminished profit, and possible litigation. Risk cannot be eliminated but it can be managed.
Continue Reading Managing Risk and Avoiding Disputes in Global Infrastructure Projects

By Chen Yun & Wang Rong   King&Wood Mallesons’ Banking Group

On September 11, 2014, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (the “CBRC“) promulgated the Implementation Measures on Administrative Licensing Items for Foreign Funded Banks (the “New Measures“), substituting the Implementation Measures on Administrative Licensing Items for Foreign Funded Financial Institutions (the “Old Measures“) promulgated in 2006.

Comparing to the Old Measures, the New Measures have adjusted relevant provisions in compliance with the Administrative Regulations on Foreign Funded Banks and the Implementation Rules of the Administrative Regulations on Foreign Funded Banks. Since the category of foreign invested finance companies providing services to the general public is cancelled, the New Measures removed relevant clauses thereon. In addition, the New Measures have strengthened its coordination with the Administrative Measures for the Qualifications of Directors and Senior Management Personnel of Financial Institutions in the Banking Sector and the like.
Continue Reading CBRC Promulgated Implementation Measures on Administrative Licensing Items for Foreign Funded Banks

By Richard  Wigley  King&WoodMallesons’ Intellectual Property Group

Though there are relatively few publicized instances where foreign companies (or their P.R.C. subsidiaries or joint ventures) or foreign individuals in China have formally been found to have run afoul of the Law of the P.R.C. on Guarding State Secrets (“State Secrets Law”)[1], the consequences of doing so are significant. Specifically, the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law for Trial of Cases of Stealing, Buying, or Unlawfully Supplying State Secrets or Intelligence for Entities outside of the Territory of China (“Interpretation”) notes that “[w]hoever steals, spies into, buys or unlawfully supplies state secrets or intelligence for entities outside of the Territory of China” can, under certain circumstances, be given a lengthy prison term or, potentially, in especially serious cases even the death sentence.[2] As such, foreign companies and individuals that may be dealing with state secrets in China should be very concerned regarding their duties and potential liabilities under the State Secrets Law.
Continue Reading China’s State Secrets Law and Compliance Issues for Foreign Companies

On September 19, 2014 U.S. Eastern Standard Time, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (“Alibaba”) began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BABA”. A total of 320,106,100 American Depositary Shares (excluding green shoe) were offered and approximately US$21.8 billion proceeds were raised in the offering, making Alibaba’s IPO the biggest one in the history of the U.S. capital markets.

King & Wood Mallesons (“KWM”) acted as the PRC legal counsel for the six lead underwriters in Alibaba’s U.S. listing. From the kick-off to the filing of registration form with SEC, the roadshow and the successful listing, KWM lawyers participated in every stage of this milestone project and witnessed every important event of Alibaba’s U.S. listing process.
Continue Reading King & Wood Mallesons Advises Lead Underwriters for Alibaba on Its U.S. Listing

By Mia Qu King&Wood Mallesons’ IP Litigation Group

On April 8th, 2014, the Shanghai International Arbitration Center officially issued the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Arbitration Rules (the “FTZ Rules”). The FTZ Rules, which brings a lot of bold attempts and innovation based on the present legal frame and arbitration practice, is of important innovative significance. The FTZ Rules will enter into force on 1st May. This article will focus on the influence that the FTZ Rules will impose on IP disputes.

The innovative aspects of the FTZ Rules include: (1) the provisions regarding the interim measures; (2) the provision about the open panel of arbitrators; (3) the provision of combined trial of certain cases; (4) the provision of third party’s participation in the arbitration (including other parties of the arbitration agreement or even non-parties of the arbitration agreement); (5) the provision of evidence rules; (6) the provision that mediation may be conducted both by an arbitral tribunal or by an independent mediator; (7) introducing a friendly arbitration system; and (8) introducing procedures for disputes with small claims. The innovative arrangements which are most relevant to IP disputes are reflected in the above (1)、(5) and (8), which will be illustrated in detail as follows:
Continue Reading Arbitration in the Pilot Free Trade Zone: The New Alternative for IP Disputes——Comments on the Application of the Pilot Free Trade Zone Arbitration Rules in IP Dispute Resolution