It’s Friday and the first week of our industry spotlight month is drawing to a close.
As a final treat for EU Food and Beverage SMEs we asked Mr Reinout Van Malenstein, IP lawyer and expert in Chinese intellectual property law for some advice for F&B companies looking to make the leap into the lucrative Chinese market:
Continue reading “Food and Beverage Podcast with our expert Reinout Van Malenstein” »
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Davide Follador is one of IP Key’s long term experts based in Beijing. He is responsible for the legal component focusing on trademarks, copyright, geographical indications and IP enforcement. He served as officer in the Italian Police and subsequently obtained a Master of Laws in International Commercial Law. He is also a qualified European Trademark and Design Attorney (OHIM) and is a member of the Milan BAR. Davide has been practicing as an IP lawyer since 2001 and specialises in cross border EU-China Intellectual Property matters, currently working with a cross-cultural and highly specialised international team based in Europe and in China, to design and develop EU-China cooperation activities in the field of intellectual property.
In recent months Davide has worked closely with both EU and domestic Chinese entities in the study of Chinese legal policy regarding GI products. He has kindly collated a wealth of information, together with his professional analysis of the current situation in China which should be of great use to any EU producers of GI products looking to export to China.
Continue reading “Guest Expert Davide Follador: GIs in China Today” »
“Champagne”, “Bordeaux”, “Parma Ham”, “Parmesan”. Each of these products, associated with certain regions, are renowned and trusted for their nature, quality and authenticity. As a consumer, you are probably more familiar with “Scotch”, “Cognac” and “Bavarian beer” than unnamed brands claiming to use the same ingredients. A GI is therefore a labelling that identifies a good as originating in a specific territory, region or locality, where characteristics of the good are associated with its place of origin.[1]
GIs are protected by World Trade Organization (WTO) signatories, including all 28 European Union (EU) Member States (MS) and China – since 2001. This is designed to prevent unfair competition and to protect consumers from purchasing goods that misleadingly claim to be from a particular place.
Continue reading “Getting Territorial: Champagne and Geographic Indicators in China” »
Introducing Simon
Simon Cheetham is the Team Leader of the China IPR SME Helpdesk. He is a China IPR Enforcement expert with over 30 years’ experience in commercial investigations, due diligence and IPR enforcement in China and internationally. He has lived and worked in China and South-East Asia for over 17 years.
He is also the Managing Director of ERINYES INTERNATIONAL LTD, a firm he founded to capitalize on his extensive experience of international investigations, loss prevention and enforcement work. He manages and directs the operations of the Company from Europe to the Far East. Simon began his career with the Hong Kong Police, where he was responsible for the detection and prosecution of a wide variety of crimes, including fraud and homicide.
We spoke to Simon about the conferences he has attended on our behalf recently, and the issues EU SMEs are most concerned about right now.