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By King & Wood Mallesons’ Trademark Group

Currently, trademark protection is becoming one of the hottest topics in China. The latest headlines include the NBA star Michael Jordan suing the Chinese sportswear and footwear manufacture Qiaodan Sports Joint Stock Company for the alleged infringement over his name right, the preemptive registration of the mark "LIN SHU HAO (Jeremy Lin’s Chinese name)", and the domain name "lingshuhao.com" being for sale at a high price.

These trademark-related cases have drawn great attention among scholars and China’s online community (often referred to as "netizens"). Most netizens gave their opinions in a rational manner and appealed for fair treatment over the parties involved within the purview of relevant laws and regulations. Some netizens acknowledged that China has changed from a single and occlusive market to an open and international one and the interaction and competition with foreign companies are more intensified than before. China will be left far behind if the market lacks honesty and legal rules.Continue Reading Viewing IP Protection in China through Preemptive Trademark Registration

By James Rowland  King & Wood Mallesons Dispute Resolution Group

I.    Background

The Claimants were three Singaporean companies which had been set up to hold shares in a number of sino-foreign joint ventures established under JV contracts governed by PRC law (the “JVs”). The fourth claimant was the parent company of the first three claimants, and had entered into a Services Agreement with the general manager of the JVs (the “Services Agreement”). He was in turn the chairman and legal representative of each of the JVs and of each of their Chinese shareholders. The Service Agreement was governed for the most part by PRC law, although it contained a non-competition clause governed by English law.

The Defendants were the BVI shareholders in a number of Chinese enterprises (the “Non-JVs”) which had been gradually assimilated into the JVs’ manufacturing supply-chain. After many years both the JVs and Non-JVs were operating as an integrated manufacturing and sales business.Continue Reading Freezing China Assets through the BVI Courts–A British Virgin Islands (BVI) case demonstrates some of the difficulty of obtaining interim relief in arbitration as well as in parallel civil litigation

By He Wei  King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group

I.    Introduction

Although Chinese enterprises are often engaged in disputes arising out of international fertilizer transactions, generally a large number of these enterprises are struggling, since they are unacquainted with international dispute resolution mechanisms, and the numerous highly technical issues that are involved in relevant international sale contracts. However, in January 2009, a Chinese fertilizer company obtained the first ever victory in offshore arbitration, in which expert witnesses played an important role.Continue Reading The First Victory for PRC Fertilizer Enterprises in Offshore Arbitration

By King & Wood Mallesons’ Trademark Group

On December 16, 2011, the Supreme People’s Court of China issued the Opinions on Exerting the Function of Intellectual Property Rights Judgment to Facilitate Socialist Cultural Development and Prosperity and Promote Independent and Coordinated Economic Development (the "Opinions"). The Opinions provide several guidelines on the trial of trademark infringement cases, which mainly touch upon the following issues:

a. Deliberate plagiarism in bad faith. To determine whether an alleged infringer has acted in bad faith, the trial court shall adopt comprehensive criteria by taking into account the reputation and distinctiveness of trademarks, similarities between trademarks and designated goods, and whether the applicant/registrant has the intention to use the mark and the improper use of the marks, such as trademark squatting and free-riding activities.Continue Reading The Supreme People’s Court: Giving Full Play to Intellectual Property Trial Functions

King & Wood Mallesons’ Labor & Employment Group

The Decision to Amend the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Treatment of Occupational Diseases was adopted by the Standing Committee of the 11th National People’ s Congress on December 31st, 2011. The amended Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Treatment of Occupational Diseases (hereinafter "Law") came into force on the same day.

In order to protect the rights and interests of patients with occupational diseases, the Law makes diagnosis and appraisal of occupational diseases more practicable. For instance, if an occupational disease diagnosis or appraisal institution deems necessary to investigate the hazardous factors that may result in occupational diseases in the workplace, the institution may conduct an on-site investigation itself, or request the administrative departments of work safety supervision to so investigate. Upon the request, the administrative departments shall make an on-site investigation within 10 days. And employers shall not refuse or hinder the foresaid investigations.Continue Reading New Law on Prevention and Treatment of Occupational Diseases Strengthens the Protection for Employees

By Liu Xiang Wen Xia Dongxia and Li Xinyu King & Wood’s Dispute Resolution Group

Under PRC laws, the legal representative of a company is the person who acts in the name of the company and represents the company in the exercise of its rights and obligations. The legal representative is a fundamental part of a company’s corporate governance structure. To an extent, the person who is appointed to the position of the legal representative is authorized to conduct many of the company’s affairs. However, the legal representative must fulfill certain duties while exercising his/her rights. This article will briefly introduce the potential legal risks that a legal representative may face under civil, criminal and administrative laws and how such risks are often prevented or minimized based on China’s legal practices.

I. The legal representative of a company should also be its board chairman or its general manager

Continue Reading Minimizing the Risks that Legal Representatives Face

By Ariel Ye and Ge Yan  King & Wood Mallesons Dispute Resolution Group

Introduction

With the exception of judgments dealing with divorce and custodial issues, it is rare for those issued by Chinese courts to be enforced in the United States. Therefore, it was a significant development when, in the matter of Hubei Gezhouba Sanlian Industrial Co., Ltd. et. al. v. Robinson Helicopter Co., Inc., 06-01798 (C.D. Cal 2009) (the “Sanlian Case”), United States District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper decided to enforce a monetary judgment of almost US $6.5 million awarded by the Higher People’s Court of Hubei Province, China, (the “Hubei Higher Court”) against Robinson Helicopter Company, an aircraft manufacturer based in Torrance, California (“Robinson”).

On 29 March 2011, the judgment was affirmed by circuit Judges Rymer, Callahan and Ikuta of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This is the first ever United States appellate ruling that affirms enforcement of a PRC court judgment in the United States.Continue Reading The Hubei Gezhouba Sanlian Case: Enforcement of a Chinese Monetary Judgment in the United States

By Guan Feng King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group, Shanghai Office

I.    Introduction

Dispute resolution proceedings involving aviation accidents are far more complicated than general dispute resolution proceedings because complicated relationships between numerous parties should be considered. Due to their complex nature, the successful resolution of disputes involving aviation accidents requires meticulous long-term efforts. Using a recent Air France crash as a guide, this article will discuss the nature of dispute resolution proceedings in aviation accidents from the perspective of subjects that may be held liable for the accident.Continue Reading Dispute Resolution of Aviation Accidents-By Reference to the Air France Crash

By Susan Ning, Zheng Ziqing and Wu Han

On March 12, two Chinese Internet video giants Youku and Tudou announced that the two companies have signed a final agreement on March 11 to combine their services in a 100% stock-for-stock transaction to create a new service provider, Youku Tudou Inc, allowing Tudou to exit the stock market.

After the combination, Youku’s shareholders and holders of its American Depository Receipts (ADRs) will have 71.5% of equity of the new company, with Tudou’s shareholders and its ADR holders entitled to 28.5% of the combined equity. Youku’s ADRs, under the symbol of "YOKU", will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.Continue Reading Launch of Youku Tudou Inc.

By Susan Ning, Wu Han, and Sun Yiming

On 13 March, Mr. Zhang Guangyuan, Deputy Director of the Anti-monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) spoke on the latest development of NDRC’s antitrust investigation on China Telecom and China Unicom. Mr.Zhang said that the two companies have so far completed a 100G bandwidth expansion and committed to further reduce the internet access service charges. The Anti-monopoly Bureau of the NDRC will continue to press for rectification and reform of the two companies.

This investigation was initiated last April, targeting at China Telecom and China Unicom for their alleged abuse of market dominance in the Internet access market by administering price discrimination against different Internet service providers (ISPs)1. On December 2, 2011, the two companies publicized statement on their websites saying they have submitted applications to the NRDC for suspension of the antitrust investigation and decided to correct their misconduct, but NDRC demanded more concrete pledges.Continue Reading Latest Development re NDRC’s Antitrust Investigation against China Telecom