Trade Marks in China: Q&A for the International Comparative Legal Guide to Trade Marks 2017

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Posted on 14-Apr-2017 by Helika Jurgenson

For any EU SME operating in China, Trade Marks will be an important IP asset to have. So in order to meet any questions you might have, 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 Trade Mark Protection in China. In this comprehensive Trade Mark guide, our Q&A with Mr. Feng will give you all the answers you need on Trade Mark protection in China.

1 Relevant Authorities and Legislation

1.1 What is the relevant trade mark authority in your jurisdiction?

The Trademark Office (“TMO”), which is affiliated with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, is the authorised government agency in charge of trademark administration including examinations of trademark applications, oppositions as well as the cancellation of trademark registrations for three years of non-use. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (“TRAB”) oversees the examination of various applications for appeals against the TMO’s decisions, as well as trademark invalidation matters.

In addition, local Administrations for Industry and Commerce (“AICs”) or Market Supervision Administrations (“MSAs”) are in charge of the administrative enforcement of trademark rights.

People’s Courts have jurisdiction over trials for trademark-related administrative or civil litigation.

1.2 What is the relevant trade mark legislation in your jurisdiction?

The most fundamental legislations include the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC Trademark Law”), the Implementing Regulations of the PRC Trademark Law as well as multiple Judicial Interpretations related to trademark law which are issued by the Supreme People’s Court.

In addition, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of PRC provides protection to unregistered marks such as distinctive names, packaging or decoration of famous goods. The criminal code provides protection against counterfeiting activities where the illegal turnover exceeds a certain amount.

Continue reading “Trade Marks in China: Q&A for the International Comparative Legal Guide to Trade Marks 2017” »

How to Secure Effective Evidence at Trade Fairs in China

Posted on 15-Mar-2017 by Helika Jurgenson

Trade fairs are a great place for European SMEs to introduce their products to China and to find suitable business partners. With the coming spring there will be many opportunities for European SMEs to participate at various trade fairs in China. SMEs planning to participate in trade fairs should however have the full knowledge of what to do if they happen to find infringing products at trade fairs, in order to be able to protect their business. Thus in today’s blog post we have chosen to discuss how to effectively secure evidence at trade fairs in China.

For companies considering moving into international markets, trade fairs are a key channel to introduce their product to the new market, expand visibility and customer base and seek partners for manufacturing, distribution and retail.For many European SMEs, exhibiting at a major trade fair in China may be the first step towards internationalisation. However, as well as providing business opportunities, trade fairs also pose risks for exhibitors by exposing new products, technology, designs and brands to those who would copy the efforts of others for their own financial gain. In many ways a trade fair can be viewed as a supermarket for local counterfeiters looking for the next great product to copy or brand to appropriate, often to be sold at the same fair that the original product developer would like to exhibit.

Examples of typical infringements found at trade fairs include:

Displaying and selling counterfeit products bearing the trade mark(s) identical or similar to others’ registered trade mark(s);
Displaying and selling the products counterfeiting other’s patent rights;
Utilising others’ copyrighted images, texts in the advertisement and/or company brochure and/or product catalogue;
Copying others’ products’ design;
Copying the design of another’s exhibition booth.

Why is collecting evidence important?

Evidence is needed for IPR enforcement. No matter which enforcement action is best suited for the company, the European SME will need to prove that its IPR have been infringed by producing a significant volume of evidence. In China’s People’s Court the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff (claimant) and documentary evidence is far stronger than witness testimony. As well as proving ownership via IPR certificates SMEs must prove the infringement via physical evidence including contracts, photographs of infringing products and proof of sale which have been validated by a notary public (a public officer or other person who is authorised to authenticate documents, evidence etc). If SMEs wish to seek assistance from an administrative body (e.g. the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) for trade marks) they must provide a similar body of evidence for the case to be accepted. Continue reading “How to Secure Effective Evidence at Trade Fairs in China” »

Using Contracts to Protect your IP in South-East Asia: Licensing and Technology Transfer Agreements

Posted on 6-Mar-2017 by Helika Jurgenson

Many companies wishing to do business in South-East Asia choose to license their IP to third parties in order to be able to expand their business ever more rapidly and conveniently. Well-drafted licensing and technology transfer agreements are the key to a successful business endeavor in South-East Asia and thus, we have chosen to discuss the art of drafting these contracts in today’s blog post. This blog post will provide you with some useful tips and watch-outs to keep in mind when drafting contracts with your partners in South-East Asia.

IP can create value and revenue to the European SMEs through IP commercialization via licensing the IP to third parties. A company that owns rights in a patent, but cannot or does not want to be involved in the manufacturing of products, can benefit from licensing their IP assets to third parties who have better manufacturing capacity, wider distribution outlets or greater local knowledge. Furthermore, licensing trade marks can allow companies to expand their operations into new markets faster and more effectively as the companies can benefit from the wider distribution networks and contacts that the licensees have.

The people and companies that SMEs do business with, and therefore contract with, will often use the European SMEs IP to varying degrees. Therefore, it is also very important for the European SMEs to protect their IP well-written licensing and technology transfer contracts. In this article we will take a look at licensing and technology transfer agreements. Continue reading “Using Contracts to Protect your IP in South-East Asia: Licensing and Technology Transfer Agreements” »

Explaining the New Regulations of Foreign Contractor Withholding Tax on Trade Marks in Vietnam

Posted on 7-Dec-2016 by Helika Jurgenson

In today’s blog post we asked our IP expert Mr. Son Doan to clarify the provisions of the Official Letter on taxing the transfer of the right to use trade marks, issued by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam.

On 7 November 2016 the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam issued the Official Letter 15888/BCT-CST to provide detailed guidance on foreign contractor withholding tax (FCWT) applicable to income of foreign contractors from transfer of right to use a trade mark. According to the Official Letter:

Pursuant to the Law on Intellectual Property, when a Vietnamese party uses a trade mark and makes payments to a foreign party for the transfer of use right, this should be considered as transfer of the right to use a trade marks in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property, distinguishable from the assignment intellectual property rights.
As a result the income of foreign contractors from transfer of the rights to use a trade mark should be subject to FCWT with applicable tax rates as follows:
- CIT rate on taxable revenue is 10%
- VAT rate is 10% (if foreign contractor declare VAT under the credit method) or 5% (if foreign contractors declare VAT under the deemed method).

This means that if a foreign owner fully transfers the ownership of a trade mark to a Vietnamese party, there will be no taxes applied. However, if the foreign company merely grants the right to use the brand to the local Vietnamese businesses, then Vietnam tax authorities will collect the CIT and also the VAT. Continue reading “Explaining the New Regulations of Foreign Contractor Withholding Tax on Trade Marks in Vietnam” »

Upcoming Reform: Registered Designs Regime in Singapore

Posted on 3-Nov-2016 by Helika Jurgenson

Singapore has recently finalized the review of registered designs and is ready to implement the amendments to the Registered Designs Act. These amendments are meant to bring Singapore’s design rights in line with the changing environment and improve the country’s design industry. Our external IP experts Mr. Max Ng and Ms. You Na Lee from the Gateway Law Corporation have kindly drafted for us today’s blog post, where they discuss these amendments and their implications to the European SMEs.

Introduction

In light of the recent technological advances and evolving business practices in the designs industry, the Ministry of Law (the “MinLaw”) and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (the “IPOS”) commenced their review of the registered designs regime in Singapore in 2014, conducting 2 rounds of public consultations, and numerous focus group talks and one-to-one consultations with design associations, business, IP practitioners and academics. They have completed their joint review and released a “Final Report on the Review of Singapore’s Registered Designs Regime”, which sets out their recommendations to amend the Registered Designs Act (the “RDA”) to keep abreast of the changes in the industry.

Aims

The proposed reform is to complement the “Design 2025 Masterplan” released by DesignSingapore Council in March 2016, which sets out the government initiatives and policy framework to develop Singapore into a creativity- and innovation-driven economy and ecosystem by supporting capitalisation of the intellectual property in Singapore. Design is identified as one of the key pillars and catalysts to propel such a paradigm shift.

In the meantime, it seeks to protect interests of the users and the public, support business certainty and remain in line with international best practices, especially with other major markets. The MinLaw and IPOS have therefore taken into account different interests of all stakeholders and decided to implement some changes to the current designs regime to provide for sustainability and growth of the designs industry in Singapore. Continue reading “Upcoming Reform: Registered Designs Regime in Singapore” »

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