Expert Analysis

It is uncontroversial to say that, in years gone by, the reputation of China in the realm of IP protection and enforcement was far from good. Rightly or wrongly, the themes that were commonly associated with China included trademark squatting and counterfeiting. Concerns about IP practices even sparked the recent trade dispute between the US and China, and US authorities have been clamping down on alleged trade secrets theft by Chinese nationals.

Shirley Fu and Yakai Shi of Sanyou analyse the different types of IP protection afforded by customs authorities in China, evaluating the advantages of seeking active protection from customs

Lina Li and Yunze Lian of Jadong emphasise the importance of protecting Latin alphabet trade marks in Chinese, looking at both translation and transliteration of marks

Qian Hao and Hua Tan of Liu Shen analyse administrative enforcement of patents, highlighting improvements to the system, as well as flaws

Victor Guo of Panawell evaluates the best way in which foreign companies can protect their IP against Chinese plaintiffs, looking at protection before launch of a product, procedural options and defences

Feng Zheng of Wanhuida Peksung analyses a number of Supreme Court rulings on the doctrine of equivalents, including those concerning the all element rule and process patents