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

Patents and Data: Extraterritorial Effect of Chinese Laws

China’s Five-Year Plan calls for the development of a Chinese-style socialist rule of law that also has an impact abroad. The country is to distinguish itself as a first-choice jurisdiction for resolving cross-border disputes and promote the application of Chinese law abroad. International legal and regulatory norms should be amended and the Chinese legal system… Continue reading Patents and Data: Extraterritorial Effect of Chinese Laws

Is Your Personal Data Safe with Chatbots?

Chatbots are popular in China and are part of everyday digital life. They can be found in business as well as in society, for example in customer service or as social chatbots, a kind of virtual friend of the user. One example is the app XiaoIce, which now has more than 40 million registered users… Continue reading Is Your Personal Data Safe with Chatbots?

Who Is Operator of Critical Information Infrastructure?

Critical Information Infrastructure Operators (CIIOs) are a central and so far vague concept of China’s new cybersecurity and data protection system. With the regulations on critical information infrastructure protection (“the regulations”) that came into force on September 1, 2020, the government is now creating more transparency, but at the same time increasing the pressure on… Continue reading Who Is Operator of Critical Information Infrastructure?

Chinese Brands Overtake Western Brands

The trend cuts across all sectors: on the Chinese domestic market, many domestic brands are overtaking their foreign competitors in terms of popularity with consumers. These include Li-Ning and Erke in the sportswear sector, Midea and Gree in household appliances, and Perfect Diary and Florasis in the cosmetics markets. Some Chinese brands are now growing… Continue reading Chinese Brands Overtake Western Brands

Regionalization: Avoiding Loss of Control

Many international companies are currently considering regionalizing their production and upstream supply chains for specific markets to a greater extent and making their subsidiaries in different world regions more independent of each other. The goal is to secure supply chains by deepening regional value creation and to better meet regional customer needs through regionally manufactured… Continue reading Regionalization: Avoiding Loss of Control

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

The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) Challenges Companies

After three revisions, China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which has received much attention abroad, will come into force on November 1, 2021. It comprehensively protects personal data, going beyond the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – a milestone in Chinese legal history. Take Big Data price discrimination, for example: it refers to the… Continue reading The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) Challenges Companies

Development Partner for Smart Cities

The concept of Smart Cities is gaining importance in many countries. It aims to, significantly improve efficiency and quality in the areas of urban mobility, communication, shopping and living through the use of networked devices, cloud computing and Big Data. China is very successfully combining embedded sensors, meters, cameras and other surveillance technologies with Big… Continue reading Development Partner for Smart Cities

Alternative Foods Conquer China

Healthy nutrition is becoming increasingly popular among Chinese. This is clearly reflected in the purchase of alternative nutrition products via online platforms – its volume almost doubled in 2020. Around 75% of online consumers of alternative foods are new customers, and most repeat orders are placed within 30 days. The reason for the boom is… Continue reading Alternative Foods Conquer China