Ai-Leen Lim
Supreme People’s Court reverses position on OEM trademark use in Honda case
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on March 16, 2020
China’s highest court has reversed its stance on trademark use from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in this landmark case brought by Honda Background Honda owns China trademark registrations in relation to motorcycles and other goods in Class 12 for the following marks: Chongqing Heng Sheng Group Limited (Heng Sheng) contracted with the Burmese Meihua Company...
Tags: china, Dongfeng, Honda, IPR, OEM, PRETUL, SPC, trademarks
Alibaba’s DOUBLE 11 trademark: JD.com sues China’s IP authority
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on January 6, 2020
Singles’ Day falls on 11 November in China. Since 2009, it has become a 24-hour shopping extravaganza, with international and local brands offering discounts. China’s biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba, hit a record $38 billion in sales this year, with $1 billion worth of goods sold in the first minute and eight seconds. The online direct...
Tags: Alibaba, china, CNIPA, consumer goods, Double 11, enforcement, JD.Com, trademarks
Hong Kong Launches New Patent System
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on December 20, 2019
The Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department (HKIPD) launches a new patent system on December 19, 2019. The system becomes effective through the Patents (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 and the Patents (General) (Amendment) Rules 2019, which will also come into force on the same date. The new system modernises and reforms Hong Kong’s patent regime to support...
Tags: HKIPD, Hong Kong, Innovation, IP, original grant patent, patents, regulation, short-term patent
Chanel loses Chinese trademark infringement case involving ‘double C’ logo
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on October 17, 2019
Background Chanel owns the registered trademark (the ‘double C’ logo) in Class 14 in China. In June 2016 the Guangzhou City Haizhu District Administration for Industry and Commerce (AIC) raided a jewellery store and found goods resembling the shape of Chanel’s ‘double C’ logo. Representatives from Chanel later confirmed that the goods were fake. The...
Tags: chanel, china, IP court, trademarks, unfair competition
Draft regulations cement China’s emerging position on tackling infringement
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on September 11, 2019
Draft regulations from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) formalise China’s changing stance on asserting punitive damages for infringement, severely punishing criminal acts regarding IP rights and stating that IP rights should be fully protected. Background The NDRC leads China’s macroeconomic planning. It formulates and implements strategies for national economic and social development and...
China Tackles Bad-faith Trademark Registrations
By Ai-Leen Lim, Ashley Zhao | Posted on June 4, 2019
The China National Intellectual Property Administration has published Draft Regulations in an effort to tackle bad-faith trademark applications. In this article, we take a closer look at the (i) Draft Regulations for Regulating the Application for the Registration of Trademarks, (ii) revisions to the PRC Trademark Law (wef November 1, 2019) and (iii) recently issued...
Tags: AIPLA, Bad faith, Beijing Court, china, Guidelines, INTA, regulations, trademark law, trademarks
Beijing High Court rejects Thermos’ appeal in invalidation proceedings
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on May 28, 2019
Over a decade ago, a Chinese company filed for the mark TILIR THERMO VOGUE in Class 21 for use on goods including vacuum bottles. Attempts by insulated container manufacturer Thermos to invalidate this mark over the past three years were put to an end by a recent decision from the Beijing High Court. Background In...
Tags: Bad faith, china, Infringement, registration, Thermos, trademark law, trademarks
Did Dunhill score big in China litigation case?
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on February 1, 2019
In October 2018, UK luxury goods brand Dunhill announced that it had won a trademark battle against Chinese menswear brand Danhouli. The Foshan Intermediate People’s Court in Guangdong Province awarded Dunhill Rmb10 million (approximately $1.5 million) in an infringement case involving its well-known mark. The court also determined that Danhouli was guilty of unfair competition...
Tags: brands, china, Infringement, Litigation, Trademark, unfair competition
China’s innovation rise – patent landscape review and outlook
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on October 18, 2018
For the first time in 11 years China broke into the world’s top 20 most innovative economies in the Global Innovation Index for 2018. The report – which was jointly published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organisation – annually ranks 126 economies based on 80 indicators. China’s number 17 ranking is...
Creating an effective FinTech IP strategy
By Ai-Leen Lim | Posted on October 10, 2018
AWA Asia’s IP strategy and patent team in Beijing looks at the China FinTech market, discusses available IP protection mechanisms and considers how revised guidelines could provide opportunities to protect technology in this rapidly developing sector What is FinTech? The term financial technology or FinTech refers to businesses that utilise technology to create financial services...
Tags: Asia, awa asia, Branding, china, copyright, design patents, fintech, Intellectual Property, managing ip
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