This month’s issue of China Business Law Journal is focused on intellectual property (IP) issues, as a salute to the International Trademark Association’s 136th annual meeting being held in Hong Kong. We at China Business Law Journal are excited and proud to present you with some innovative ideas and informative features to accompany this special IP-focused issue.
Our cover feature, IP red flags, explores China’s moves to target abuse of intellectual property rights via antitrust law, specifically article 55 of the Anti-Monopoly Law (AML). China’s enforcement agencies and courts are cracking down on AML enforcement, even as the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has published what is likely to be the final consultation draft of its Rules on the Enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law with regard to IP.
Big foreign companies that sell or license their technology in China are becoming increasingly worried that the central government may use the AML to obtain better terms for Chinese companies, especially in relation to royalties charged to license foreign-owned technology and to negotiations to obtain access to important, standard-essential patents. IP red flags explores recent high-profile cases and court decisions, and seeks expert legal opinions on just how worried foreign companies need to be.
This month, we’re also proud to introduce a new concept called Head to head, created in tandem with our sister publication, India Business Law Journal, as a means of comparing a key area of the law and legal developments in the world’s two largest emerging economies. In Head to head: a comparison of Indian and Chinese trademark law, Chinese law firm Wan Hui Da and India’s Anand and Anand discuss everything from registration and protection of your mark to the courts and compensation issues in the two jurisdictions. The comparison makes for fascinating reading. Expect more Head to head features exploring various practice areas in future.
Finally, World of difference takes a look at issues of concern to Chinese brand owners around the world. As Chinese investment expands, acquiring a knowledge of compliance and procedure in foreign markets is crucial.
In the US, for example, Chinese IP owners need to clearly understand the patent application process, which changed last year from a first-to-invent to first-to-file system. Europe is working to simplify IP law and enforcement, and changes are desperately needed even in areas as simple or basic as language translation, which can be a headache for Chinese IP owners given there are 24 official languages in the EU. World of difference explores the international hotspots for IP law reform or development.
