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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

By Denning Jin    King & Wood Mallesons’ IP Litigation Group

Introduction

With the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Arbitration Rules that came into effect on May 1, 2014 (“FTZ Arbitration Rules”), the Shanghai International Arbitration Center (“SHIAC”) adopts practices of the most renowned international arbitration institutions, and follows trends and developments in international commercial arbitration. The FTZ Arbitration Rules do not only apply to cases related to the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone (“FTZ”), they may also apply to cases where parties have agreed to apply the FTZ Arbitration Rules, regardless of the nature of the dispute.
Continue Reading What Will the New Developments in the FTZ Arbitration Rules on Interim Measures and Evidence Rules Mean for Multinational Companies?

By Wang Rui and Ge Yibo King & Wood Mallesons M&A Group

1.  Introduction

China’s (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (“FTZ”) has attracted global media attention ever since it was established in September 2013. This can largely be attributed to the new FTZ rules that relax restrictions on foreign investment in China’s markets. In particular, the value-added telecommunication services (“VATS”) sector in the FTZ opens up foreign investment in two main ways: (1) lifts bans on foreign investment in foreign invested telecom enterprises (“FITE”) in certain service areas, e.g., in information services (only applicable to application stores); and (2) opens up four new types of VATS services previously closed to foreign investment (i.e., call center services, internet access services, domestic multi-party communication services, and domestic internet VPN services). In mid-April of 2014, the government further issued detailed procedures and guidelines on the establishment of FITEs in the FTZ. This Article aims to provide an update of these new developments in the FTZ.   
Continue Reading China’s (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone Paves Way for Foreign Investment in China’s Value-added Telecommunication Service Market

By King & Wood Mallesons’ Banking Group

1. Overview

  • On 20 February 2014, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) issued the Measures Supporting the Expansion of Cross-border Use of Renminbi in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (《关于支持中国(上海)自由贸易试验区扩大人民币跨境使用的通知》)(PBOC Notice). The PBOC Notice provides various policy support in relation to the cross-border use of Renminbi (RMB) in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), including: (1) cross-border RMB settlement for current account and direct investment; (2) individual RMB settlement account; (3) offshore RMB borrowings by FTZ entities; (4) two-way cross-border RMB cash pooling; (5) centralized current account RMB payments and collections; (6)RMB settlement for cross-border e-commerce; and (7) cross-border RMB trading.
    Continue Reading PBOC Issued Detailed Rules to Expand Cross-border Use of Renminbi in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone

By King & Wood Mallesons’ Healthcare Group

On 13 November 2013, Shanghai Municipality released the Provisional Measures on the Administration of Wholly Foreign-Owned Medical Institutions in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (hufubanfa [2013] No.63, “Measures”), which provides the requirements and application matters for foreign investors to set up medical institutions in the form of wholly foreign-owned enterprises (“WFOE Medical Institution(s)”) in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (“FTZ”) with the highlights as follows:
Continue Reading Shanghai Municipality Released the Provisional Measures on the Administration of Wholly Foreign-Owned Medical Institutions in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone