Dorsey & Whitney LLP (JD Supra China)

With the rapid development of China’s national economy, more and more PRC companies will enter occasional disputes with foreign partners in international business dealings. Depending on their bargaining positions during the course of contract negotiations, the parties might choose to arbitrate in Hong Kong as dispute resolution provision.

In this part of our ongoing series, we will examine the costs of arbitration in Hong Kong and if it is expensive as thought. Arbitration costs mainly comprise of two parts: solicitors’ fees and the costs attributable to arbitration tribunals and institutions.

On April 2, 2019, the Supreme People’s Court of the PRC and the Department of Justice of Hong Kong signed the “Arrangements concerning the Mutual Assistance in Court-Order Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” (Hereinafter the “Arrangements”), which came into effect on October 1, 2019. The Arrangements can

China, like the United States, is a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. As such, in general any literary or artistic work created in the US will also be protected in China.

On December 19, 2020, China published the Rules on Foreign Investment Security Review (in Chinese, 外商投资安全审查办法) (“Security Review Rules”). Security Review Rules lay out the grounds by which foreign investments in China are required to be reviewed for national security concerns by the Foreign Investment Security Review Office of Work Mechanism (“Office of Work Mechanism”), a body headed by the...

On December 2, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued a Withhold Release Order (“WRO”) against cotton products made by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (“XPCC”) or any of its affiliates (collectively, “XPCC”) because those Chinese entities are viewed as relying on the use of forced labor from Uyghur or other minority Muslim groups in Xinjiang. This new WRO could...

An administrative enforcement action is one of the ways to enforce registered trademark rights in China against infringers, especially counterfeiters. Such enforcement actions are conducted by the Administration of Market Regulation (MSA) and its local branches.

On March 26, 2020, the Chinese Supreme People’s Court (the “SPC”), the highest court in China and thus China’s equivalent to the United States Supreme Court, issued its re-trial decision, giving Michael Jordan an assist against Registration No. 6020578 for the mark “Qiaodan in Chinese characters & Design” in Class 25 owned by Qiaodan Sports Co., Ltd (“Qiaodan Sports”), a Chinese sportswear...

The PRC Foreign Investment Law (“FIL”) and its Implementing Regulations (“Implementing Regulations”), took effect on January 1st, 2020. This means a single set of unified guiding documents has replaced the previous foreign investment regime, which mainly consisted of PRC Foreign Invested Enterprise Law, PRC Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture Law and PRC Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Law.

On January 2, 2020, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, or the SAMR, released the Draft Revision of the Anti-Monopoly Law of China (the “Draft AML Revision”) for public comment. The Draft AML Revision is significant in a number of respects, several of which will be highlighted below: (i) it makes it more likely that a transaction could trigger anti-monopoly review, (ii) it expands

This article is a follow-up to the article published on March 6, 2020, which will shed light on the payroll standards during the anti-virus period, the special protections enjoyed by employees affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, issues around layoffs due to financial difficulties or restructuring, and the supportive measures implemented by the Chinese government to help companies withstand the...

Due to the outbreak and rapid evolvement of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the central government and its local counterparts in China have taken a series of actions to contain the spread of the virus, including extending the Spring Festival Holiday, ordering enterprises to put off the schedule of business reopening and encouraging employees to work from home.  Now, with the growth of virus...

On October 23rd, 2019, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) issued a Circular on Further Promoting the Facilitation of Cross-border Trade and Investment (Hui Fa [2019] No.28) ("Circular 28"). The Circular 28 sets out 12 reform measures aiming to streamline the foreign exchange process in cross-border trade and ease controls over cross-border investments.

On April 23, 2019, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China promulgated the fourth revision of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China which will come into effect on November 1, 2019. This is the fourth amendment of the PRC Trademark Law after the amendments made in the years of 1993, 2001 and 2013.

With the ongoing US-China trade tension, what has been easily overlooked is China’s recent liberalization of its legal regime in the areas of foreign investment and foreign investors’ M&A activities in China. This liberalization involves reducing restrictions on market entry into certain industries and further opening-up of the financial sector.

On March 15th, 2019, the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislation body, promulgated a new PRC Foreign Investment Law, “FIL”), which is set to come into effect on January 1st, 2020. The FIL will replace and repeal the existing PRC Foreign Invested Enterprise Law, PRC Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture Law and PRC Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Law (collectively, “FIE Laws”), as a

As the countermeasure tariffs imposed on the U.S. - and China-origin imports between the two countries continue, Chinese authorities for the first time have established an exclusion procedure for Chinese imports of U.S.-origin goods (the “Procedure”). On May 13, 2019, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced the Procedure in a notice.

On August 31, 2018, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China promulgated the E-Commerce Law of the People‘s Republic of China (“Law”) which will come into effect on January 1, 2019. As Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, Taobao, JD.com, and others are now among the world’s largest e-commerce platforms handling billions of dollars of...

On November 4, 2017, the Amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law was passed by the Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Congress and promulgated on the same day. The new law became effective on January 1, 2018.

China’s open door policy is further opening up to welcome the world for business. The country is now building a landmark megalopolis on its southern coast with the name the “Greater Bay Area” (the “GBA”).

On October 18, 2017, President Xi Jinping, in a three and a half hour speech to the Party Congress emphasized that building an ecological civilization is necessary for the continued development of China. He chose his words carefully...

On June 1, China’s new Cybersecurity law took effect. The new law applies not only to domestic Chinese companies but has wide-ranging implications for U.S. and other foreign companies doing business in China.

On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress promulgated the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, a law James Zimmerman, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China calls “a step backwards for innovation in China that won’t do much to improve security.” The law becomes effective on June 1, 2017 and will apply to businesses in every...

A sound mark can be registered in China since May 1, 2014. According to a draft Standard of Examination issued by the Chinese Trademark Office, a sound mark can consist of a musical or non-musical sound, or a combination of both.

On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress promulgated the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “CSL”) to become effective on June 1, 2017. While the law purports to create an overall national cyber security plan, its provisions, some of which are still vague, create significant potential uncertainties for...

In November 2014, the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect (the“Shanghai-Hong Kong Train”), a pilot program for establishing mutual stock market access between Mainland China and Hong Kong, was officially launched. The new cross-border investment channel established mutual stock market access between Hong Kong and Mainland China, allowing Hong Kong and international investors to invest directly in...

The circumstances surrounding the replacement of Lu Wei as head of the Cyberspace Administration of China in June remain difficult to discern, but the politics surrounding its leadership seem not to have deflected the CAC from its mission to assert more control over cyberspace. The CAC – also known as the Office of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs – has issued new...

Apple’s iTunes and Disney’s DisneyLife websites have reportedly become early targets of China’s internet regulators who are beginning to enforce new rules restricting the publication of online content. The new rules, the Online Publishing Service Administrative Rules, were jointly released by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) and the Ministry of

Rules imposing new restrictions on the publication of online content in China came into effect on March 10, 2016. The new rules, the Online Publishing Service Administrative Rules, were jointly released by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Dear Friends, After returning from a two week trip to China to work on the Solar Cells case, this March blog post will cover trade policy, including Trump’s impact on Trade Policy, trade, Customs, False Claims Act, the recent ZTE Export Control debacle, 337, patents/IP, criminal IP cases, products liability, antitrust and securities. There are significant developments in the US antitrust...