Tips for Protecting your IP in China and South-East Asia

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woshou2_007China and the majority of South-East Asian countries have recently shown considerable efforts in creating stronger intellectual property rights (IPR) protection systems and in bringing their existing intellectual property laws in line with, or closer to, international standards. However, counterfeiting, trade mark infringements and other IPR infringements remain one of the major issues both in China and in the South-East Asian region. When European SMEs enter these markets, there are some key points they need to look out for in order to ensure their IPR is effectively protected. Continue reading “Tips for Protecting your IP in China and South-East Asia” »

UK-China IP Forum Looks at Growing Two-way Need for Protection

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Brit Cham picToday our partners from the British Chamber of Commerce in China share with us some valuable insights on China’s future IPR developments, presented at the UK-China Intellectual Property Forum.

The UK-China (Shenzhen) Intellectual Property Forum was held on 29 April 2016 in Shenzhen, organised by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and the British Chamber of Commerce Guangdong and hosted by the British Consulate-General Guangzhou, the UK Intellectual Property Office, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (Shenzhen Sub-Council) and the Guangdong Innovative Talents Promotion Association. Continue reading “UK-China IP Forum Looks at Growing Two-way Need for Protection” »

Back to the Basics Series: Protecting your IP at Trade Fairs in China

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dreamstime_m_24720610Trade fairs are an excellent opportunity for a business to showcase their new products and scout out business partners for manufacturing, promotion, and distribution. Unfortunately, in China these exhibitions are a common prowling ground for infringers, so it is of utmost importance to ensure all intellectual property precautions are undertaken. It is not sufficient to merely gain intellectual property rights for a company’s assets – steps should be taken before, during and after a trade fair to ensure maximum protection. This article takes a look at some of the steps foreign businesses should take.

Before the trade fair: fail to prepare, prepare to fail

Determine your strategy in advance of the trade fair. Do you want to take enforcement action at the fair, or only use the fair as an opportunity to gather evidence? If you are not certain about securing all necessary evidence and paperwork to carry out an action at the fair, gathering evidence there first may be a better strategy. Continue reading “Back to the Basics Series: Protecting your IP at Trade Fairs in China” »

Back to the Basics Series: The realities of doing business in China – Copyrights and Trade Marks

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RegisteredChina’s intellectual property rights (IPR) system  has come a long way in the past 30 years, and development continues – a revision of the trade mark law came into force in May, paving the way for more thorough protection for rights holders. Although China is now coming into line with international IPR standards, there are still many ways in which the system differs from the European one. Below the China IPR SME Helpdesk takes a look at two major types of intellectual property rights, trade marks and copyright, and considers how these differ from European standards. Continue reading “Back to the Basics Series: The realities of doing business in China – Copyrights and Trade Marks” »

Back to the Basics Series: Design Patents and Utility Models in China

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PatentsChina remains among the top destinations for any business looking to internationalise, and the business environment there is still evolving in terms of both production and consumption. Its growing capacity to produce sophisticated manufactures and complex services is matched by an increasingly affluent domestic consumer base that demands state-of-the-art, internationally popular brands and products.

Although stories of Chinese counterfeits and brand infringements are still regular news in international media, the IPR system in China has seen considerable development in the last decade. This is propelled to a large extent by domestic industries innovating like never before and keen to protect their new technologies, and also those trying their chances with as many IPR filings as possible in order to improve their status or satisfy local government innovation drives. Whatever the reason, the number of patent applications shows the trend clearly: a 20.5% year-on-year increase for 2015 to more than 1,124,000 applications. Also, foreign patent applications are increasing fast, boasting a 14.9% year-on-year increase for 2015. Continue reading “Back to the Basics Series: Design Patents and Utility Models in China” »