Ai-Leen Lim
China endorses good-faith commitment when applying for well-known status
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on November 8, 2021
From 1 September 2021 applicants and their trademark agents or representing agency will be required to sign and seal a “Letter of Commitment to the Good Faith of the Parties Requesting the Protection of Well-Known Trademarks” (当事人请求驰名商标保护诚信承诺书). Background Well-known status for Chinese trademarks is typically requested through: the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), either directly or...
Filed under: Insights
Tags: china, trademarks, well-known
Lego’s compensation increased tenfold by appeal court
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on May 12, 2021
On 1 April 2020 the Guangdong Higher People’s Court announced that it had awarded Danish toymaker Lego Rmb30 million (approximately $4.58 million) in damages for trademark infringement and unfair competition against Guangdong Meizhi Zhijiao Technology Co Ltd and three other defendants. The amount was increased tenfold compared to an earlier decision by the Guangzhou Intellectual...
China’s president pledges stronger IP enforcement
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on May 4, 2021
China’s president Xi Jinping has reiterated the country’s commitment to strengthening intellectual property protection and enforcement through higher damages and criminalisation. The article was published by the official state-run press agency of the People’s Republic of China – Xinhua. It stresses that innovation is the primary driving force behind development and protecting intellectual property rights is equal to protecting...
Tags: awards, china, copyright, Intellectual Property, Patent, Trademark
After seven years China and EU sign investment agreement
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on March 16, 2021
Ai-Leen Lim considers some of the highlights from the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between China and the EU. Agreement negotiations have been ongoing for seven years, but finally a deal has been reached “in principle”. Despite the ongoing pandemic, two of the world’s largest economies came together on shared priorities. On December 30, 2020, the...
Beijing IP Court awards Shell statutory damages
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on February 24, 2021
In a recent base before the Beijing IP Court, oil and gas giant Shell International received the maximum amount of statutory damages in a trademark infringement and unfair competition case On January 21, 2021, the Beijing IP Court announced its decision in a trademark infringement and unfair competition case between two plaintiffs and five defendants....
Tags: Beijing IP Court, china, Infringement, Shell, trademarks, unfair competition
Lego’s copyright victory against Lepin in China
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on December 14, 2020
Danish toymaker Lego wins another landmark case in China using copyright and anti-unfair competition to protect its market share of the US$15 billion toy and games industry On September 2, 2020, the Shanghai Third Intermediate Court announced sentencing of nine individuals to up to six years imprisonment and fines of RMB 90 million RMB (USD...
China issues Opinions on destroying infringing and counterfeit goods
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on October 15, 2020
On August 13, 2020, nine of China’s authorities including the Supreme People’s Court and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly released the Opinions on Strengthening the Destruction of Infringing and Counterfeit Goods (Opinions). The nine authorities involved are: National Leading Group for Combating Infringement and Counterfeiting, Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China,...
Filed under: Insights
Tags: china, counterfeit, destruction, Infringement, trademarks
CNIPA publishes trademark infringement criteria
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on October 15, 2020
To help strengthen and guide trademark law enforcement, provide uniform criteria for law enforcement, strengthen the protection of exclusive rights to use trademarks and create a good business environment, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has enacted the Criteria for Judging Trademark Infringement (Criteria), which went into effect on June 15, 2020. The Criteria...
Upcoming amendments to China’s Copyright Law
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on June 24, 2020
Long-awaited amendments to China’s Copyright Law introduce punitive damages for the first time, provide greater powers to the authorities when investigating infringement and capture the rapid developments in digital technology First enacted in 1991 and amended in 2001 and then 2010, China’s lawmakers began reviewing the third amendment (Draft) to the Copyright Law on April...
Tags: china, copyright, digital technology, enforcement, Infringement, punitive damages
Punitive damages case appears in list of top 10 IP cases from China’s Supreme People’s Court
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on May 20, 2020
On April 21, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court released a list of the top 10 intellectual property law cases of 2019. The cases cover patent (invention and design), trademark, copyright and unfair competition. One of the cases selected involved a US Pilates company where punitive damages were awarded. While punitive damages are well-established in terms...
Filed under: Insights
Tags: Balanced Body, Infringement, IPR, punitive damages, SPC, statutory damages, trademarks, Yongkang Elina
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