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By Susan Ning, Ji Kailun and Hazel Yin

On March 2nd, 2012, the acquisition by Western Digital ("WD") of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies ("Hitachi") finally received conditional nod from the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM"), three month after MOFCOM conditionally cleared the Seagate/Samsung deal1 .

Review Timeline

According to MOFCOM’s announcement 2, this review process is particularly lengthy: the first submission was made on April 2nd, 2011, while the clearance was obtained 11months later.  During this period, this filing was withdrawn by WD shortly before the expiry of the Extended Phase II due to "significant changes of facts".  On November 7th, 2011, WD re-submitted the notification and the filing was cleared at the end of the second round of Phase II.Continue Reading Western Digital/Hitachi Received Conditional Nod from MOFCOM

By King & Wood Mallesons’ Banking Group

On the 24th day of February 2012, China Banking Regulatory Commission (the "CBRC") issued the Green Credit Guidelines (the "Guidelines"), which require banking financial institutions ("Banks") to encourage energy saving, emission reduction and environment protection by managing environmental and social risk(1) of its client. The Guidelines apply to domestic policy banks, commercial banks, rural cooperation banks and rural credit cooperatives. In addition, village banks, loan companies, rural funding cooperatives and non-banking financial institutions shall also adopt the Guidelines to the extent applicable.

The Guidelines introduced some specific requirements in relation to the following aspects:Continue Reading The Green Credit Guideline

By Susan Ning and Liu Jia

Most recently,a piece of news related to the Anti-Monopoly Law ("AML")indicates that, the National Development and Reform Commission("NDRC")who is in charge of the implementation of the Price Law and price-related antitrust violation, communicated with the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television("SARFT")1, for SARFT’s proposed draft of Guidance on Further Regulation of Movie Ticket Business("draft Guidance").It is reported that SARFT is suspected of abusing its administrative power for fixing the price of movie tickets.
 

Fact
 

On 26 February 2012, the draft Guidance was posted on the internet by a micro-blogger. According to the draft Guidance, SARFT divides the sales market of movie tickets into several districts, and sets the guided price (i.e.highest retail price) of movie tickets for each of the district.  It also provides that the movie tickets for theater members and group buyers should not be sold for less than 70% of the listed price.Continue Reading Does SARFT Have the Authority to Regulate Movie Ticket Price?

By Sun Mingfei King & Wood Mallesons’ Dispute Resolution Group, Guangzhou Office

As Chinese courts rarely accept copyright disputes concerning computer user interfaces, the case of Shenzhen TP-LINK Technologies Co., Ltd vs. Shenzhen Tenda Technology Co., Ltd and Zhang Yabo (the "TP-LINK Case") represents a significant precedent in dealing with similar cases. It is highly controversial even for copyright or computer experts to answer questions such as whether computer user interfaces are under the protection of China’s Copyright Law or how to judge originality of a work in the case.Continue Reading Landmark Copyright Case on Computer User Interfaces

By Zeng Xianwu King & Wood’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Group

Since the reform and opening-up policy was introduced in 1978, especially in the past ten (10) years, the People’s Republic of China (the "PRC" or "China") has undergone significant changes.  China is a growth engine for the worldwide economy, fueling global expansion via higher output and trading relationships with other nations as well as greater contributions from domestic consumption.  Over last nine (9) months of 2011, China has already attracted contractual inbound foreign direct investment of USD177.8 billion.  Notwithstanding China’s status as one of the world’s largest economies, and the massive amounts of foreign money invested in China, the basic laws and rules in China governing foreign investment seems mysterious for those who want to invest in China or are accustomed to laws of their countries.Continue Reading Overview of Doing Business in China

Dear friends and readers,

On 1 March, King & Wood, the leading Chinese law firm, brings together with the premium Australia law firm, Mallesons Stephen Jaques, to set up the largest international legal network in Asia Pacific region. The firm will be operated under the name of King & Wood Mallesons (金杜律师事务所).Continue Reading KING & WOOD MALLESONS

By Susan Ning, Liu Jia and Hazel Yin

China Securities Regulation Commission ("CSRC") is the authority in charge of supervising Chinese listed companies.  In August 2010 and November 2011, CSRC published on its website two FAQs addressing application of the merger control regime under the Anti-Monopoly Law ("AML") to listed companies.
 Continue Reading CSRC’s Guidance on Merger Control of Listed Chinese Companies

By Susan Ning, Liu Jia and Hazel Yin

On February 9, 2012, the Ministry of Commerce ("MOFCOM") published its first conditional clearance decision in 2012, approving the proposed joint venture ("JV") established by Henkel Hong Kong Holdings Co., Ltd. ("Henkel HK") and Tiande Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. ("Tiande") ("Transaction").  This is the second conditional clearance decision in relation to a joint venture and reaffirms MOFCOM’s approach that formation of a joint venture does constitute a notifiable transaction under the Anti-monopoly Law ("AML"). 1

Review Process.  MOFCOM received the notification on 8 August 2011 and  officially accepted it on 26 September 2011.  The case entered into Phase II on 25 October 2011 and the parties submitted the proposed remedies on 13 January 2012, shortly before MOFCOM decided to extend the Phase II period for another 60 days on 19 January 2012. On 9 February 2012, MOFCOM made the final decision to approve the Transaction with conditions.Continue Reading MOFCOM Issued the Second Conditional Clearance on Joint Venture

By King & Wood’s Trademark Group

Dissatisfied with the trademark registration of "BRITNEY 布兰妮 (BRITNEY in Chinese)" by a third party in China, the famous star singer Britney Spears filed suit against the China Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) before the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court, requesting the Court to rescind the TRAB’s decision on maintaining the registration of the mark "布兰妮BRITNEY".

The third party, Shenzhen Wanfuda Trading Co., Ltd. ("Wanfuda") filed an application for registration of the mark "BRITNEY 布兰妮 (BRITNEY in Chinese)" in August of 2001. The mark was granted registration on "clocks; watches; etc." in class 14 on January 28, 2004 by the China Trademark Office (CTMO) under Reg. No. 2010626. Ms. Spears filed an application for cancellation against the said mark with the TRAB on October 8, 2005 based on her name rights. After examination, the TRAB maintained the registration of the disputed mark. Ms. Spears was dissatisfied with the TRAB’s decision and therefore filed suit with the Court against the TRAB’s decision.Continue Reading Dispute of Name Rights: Pop Singer Britney Spears Sues TRAB

By Xu Jing King & Wood’s IP Litigation Group

Overview

On April 20, 2011, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (the “SPC”) promulgated the Annual Report on Intellectual Property Cases (2010) (the “Annual Report”), which comprises the SPC’s 43 pieces of brief comments on 36 IP cases adjudicated by the same court in 2010. Based upon the nature of the disputes, the Annual Report is categorized into seven main categories, including: (1) Patent Cases, (2) Copyright Cases, (3) Trademark Cases, (4) Unfair Competition Cases, (5) IP Related Contract Cases, (6) IP Infringement Liability, and (7) IP Litigation Evidence and Procedures.Continue Reading IP Report: Another Year Wiser