Copyright in China: Q&A for the International Comparative Legal Guide on Copyright 2017

Posted on 12-Sep-2016 by Helika Jurgenson

Have a question about Copyright protection in China? Today’s blog post will provide you an answer. Our China IPR SME Helpdesk expert Mr. Charles Feng from East & Concord Partners based in Beijing has kindly drafted for us a very useful and informative blog post on Copyright Protection in China. In this comprehensive Copyright Guide, presented in Q&A format, you will be able to find answers about how to register Copyright in China, what rights do you have in China and how you can enforce these rights.

1 Copyright Subsistence

1.1 What are the requirements for copyright to subsist in a work?

Article 2 of the Implementing Rule of Copyright Law of PRC provides that work shall refer to original intellectual creations in the literary, artistic and scientific domain, insofar as they are capable of being reproduced in a certain tangible form.

Therefore, a work protectable under the Copyright Law of PRC must be:

original, which means that the work must be originated by the author rather than copied from any other party; and
reproducible, which means that the work must be able to be fixed in a tangible form.

Trade Mark Protection in Cambodia

Posted on 9-Sep-2016 by Helika Jurgenson

As a rapidly developing region, Cambodia is becoming a popular business destination for European SMEs. However, rapid economic development has been accompanied with increasing counterfeiting and other IP infringements. European SMEs should still keep in mind that even though, Cambodia’s IP enforcement system needs to improve, there are still sufficient IP laws in place to protect your trade mark and other IP. Today’s blog post will take a closer look at Cambodian trade mark protection.

Background for the European SMEs

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a group is EU’s third largest trading partner after the United States and China. ASEAN countries are at different economic and political development stage, and among them, Cambodia has recently shown steady growth rates, while its economy grew at 7.1% in 2014 and 7% in 2015. The garment sector, together with construction and services, are the main drivers of its economy. Growth is expected to remain strong in 2016, as recovering internal demand and dynamic garment exports offset stagnation in agriculture and softer growth in tourism. Cambodia is an emerging market with a GDP of $16.4 billion, which has the potential of becoming a trading and logistics hub for the Indonesia region. Its 15.3 million strong population is mainly occupied in the agricultural sector. However, garment industry, construction and tourism are among major industries in Cambodia, with the garment industry accounting for 90% of Cambodia’s exports. Continue reading “Trade Mark Protection in Cambodia” »

How to Remove Counterfeit Goods from E-Commerce Sites in China

Posted on 6-Sep-2016 by Helika Jurgenson

As more and more European SMEs embrace the popular e-commerce concept in China, they are also confronted with online counterfeiting problems. Today’s blog post discusses how European SMEs can monitor online selling sites and how they can start the notice and take down process to remove counterfeits from the most famous Chinese online e-commerce sites like Taobao and Alibaba.

China: Counterfeit goods and the internet

The internet has become a popular and easy channel for product distribution around the world. It has created a marketplace of more than half a billion users in China, more than a third of the world’s total online population, and is still expanding. Apart from being a forum for legitimate vendors and original products, the internet is also used by illegal and unscrupulous businesses as a platform for the distribution of counterfeit goods which infringe intellectual property rights (IPR).

As the internet provides a convenient platform for counterfeits, we recommend that every European SME (especially those with successful products) should monitor Chinese e-commerce sites for infringing products. By moving quickly you will be able to have infringing products removed from sale and preserve your market share. Although some companies find that internet monitoring is time consuming but you may find yourself at high risk if you sell your product on the Chinese market, manufacture your product in China or even if you have a popular product on sale in Europe. Continue reading “How to Remove Counterfeit Goods from E-Commerce Sites in China” »

Patent Protection in South-East Asia

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Posted on 1-Sep-2016 by Helika Jurgenson

patent With today’s blog post we continue our Back to the Basics theme and take a look at patent protection in South-East Asia. This blog post will explain the patent application process and discuss alternative and oftentimes faster routes for obtaining patents in South-East Asia via using the Patent Cooperation Treaty or benefiting from ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation.

A patent is an exclusive right granted for the protection of new inventions, which are products or processes offering new technical solutions or providing new ways of doing something. The product or process in question must be applicable in industry to be eligible for protection. Patent protection lasts for a limited period of time, usually 20 years. A patent is a territorial right and has its effects only within the national boundaries of the country for which it is granted. It means that patents registered in Europe have no legal effect in any South-East Asian country.

A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent, meaning that the invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner’s consent. Patent rights are enforceable in courts and obtaining patent protection is therefore a crucial aspect of business in the modern global economy. It is vital that SMEs apply for patent protection in the South-East Asian countries of interest to their business, especially if the launch of their respective produc on the South-East Asian market is on the horizon. Continue reading “Patent Protection in South-East Asia” »

Back to the Basics Series: Copyright Protection in China

Posted on 29-Aug-2016 by Helika Jurgenson

Last week we refreshed our memories about the basic Copyright protection in South-East Asia and as copyright issues are still fresh in our minds, it is now a good time to also delve into copyright issues in China. Today’s blog post thus gives a good basic overview of the Copyright protection in China.

Today, intellectual property rights have a strong footing in China, despite the persistence of media accounts suggesting otherwise. There are dedicated IP courts in major cities and litigation by foreign companies is frequently successful.

China is now making significant headway in the cultural and high-tech industries, where copyright is the key. One example is the book industry, with sales increasing by over 30% from 2013 to 2014. Another new industry is the mobile app industry, now worth over $8.7 billion (2015), with small domestic start-ups relying on copyright to safeguard them in a market where less cautious foreign app developers have been overtaken by copycats. Continue reading “Back to the Basics Series: Copyright Protection in China” »

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