The outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic led to an unprecedented increase in online piracy worldwide regarding music, movies, television, publishing, and software. For example, the number of pirated movies increased by 39% in 2022 compared to 2021, while the number of visits to piracy websites to watch movies increased by about 9%. The same… Continue reading Digital content piracy on the rise
Category: ACF
Enforcement of Judgments: Freezing assets
It is now well known that counterfeiters of branded or patented products are becoming increasingly sophisticated and that many infringements are often no longer 100% copies, making prosecution more difficult. We are now also observing a new trend in our day-to-day business: Chinese counterfeiters have prepared themselves to owe the compensation due after losing a… Continue reading Enforcement of Judgments: Freezing assets
Fighting Trademark Squatting as Unfair Competition
Trademark squatting and trademark hoarding have long been a troublesome problem for many foreign companies in China. Now, a breakthrough has been made in Chinese IP jurisprudence: Trademark rights holders can sue for unfair competition against trademark applications filed in bad faith and obtain injunctive relief and damages. One precedent is the case of Emerson… Continue reading Fighting Trademark Squatting as Unfair Competition
Crises Fuel Counterfeiting
The global economic weakness and persistent inflation are leading consumers and business customers to deliberately replace originals. To compensate for their current income losses and sales slumps, consumers and businesses are deliberately replacing high-priced originals with cheap copies from China. By replacing, they can significantly reduce their purchasing costs in the difficult economic situation –… Continue reading Crises Fuel Counterfeiting
China Cracks Down on Bad Faith IP Infringement Cases
The Supreme People’s Court of the PRC is emphasizing the need to step up its crackdown on false and bad faith IP litigation. The relevant document is the “Opinions of the OVG on Strengthening the IP Litigation System to Provide Effective Judicial Services and Ensure the Construction of an IP Stronghold”, published on October 29,… Continue reading China Cracks Down on Bad Faith IP Infringement Cases
Chinese Patent Flood: AI-Powered Search Tool Helps
The ever-growing flood of Chinese-language patents is causing increasing problems for foreign patent attorneys, corporate research and development teams, and in-house counsel. With traditional patent searches, it is not possible to identify and review all relevant IP rights within an acceptable period of time. Limited keywords do not scan the entire technology breadth and may… Continue reading Chinese Patent Flood: AI-Powered Search Tool Helps
Intentional and Punitive Damages in IPR Infringement
Punitive damages are applicable in all areas of IPR infringement and have been steadily improving in PRC legislation in recent years. It is also part of the latest Five-Year Plan through the government’s stated goal of establishing a comprehensive IPR infringement compensation system. The Judicial Interpretation of Punitive Damages for Intellectual Property Rights to Punish… Continue reading Intentional and Punitive Damages in IPR Infringement
Beware of Forged Evidence
In China, not only products are counterfeited, but also documents often lack the authenticity required in court. For example, an individual named Zhang filed an application to cancel the Yuanshai food trademark of Tianjin Zhongying Group because the trademark had not been used for three consecutive years. Upon review, the Intellectual Property Office determined from… Continue reading Beware of Forged Evidence
Cancellation of Trademarks Filed in Bad Faith in China
In China, bad faith registration of third-party trademarks is prohibited. Until recently, it was nevertheless difficult to act against trademarks that were no exact copy of the relevant trademark, even if the bad faith was obvious from the point of view of the company concerned. It took a while, but in the meantime the chances… Continue reading Cancellation of Trademarks Filed in Bad Faith in China
China’s Drug Patent Linkage System
Innovation in China’s patent system: On July 4, 2021, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published methods for the early resolution of drug patent disputes. Thus, China now has a system of patent linkage. The patent linkage system links the market approval of generic drugs to the… Continue reading China’s Drug Patent Linkage System
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