China Business Law Blog 中國商法博客

China Business Law Blog Moved

2008-03-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

China Business Law Blog 中国商法博客 has been relocated to http://chinabusinesslawblog.com. Click here for posts at the new site.

New Boss at the Supreme People's Court of China

2008-03-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

After almost ten (10) years of service at the SPC, Hon. Xiao Yang is stepping down, and his replacement has been selected and confirmed by the National People’s Congress... The rest of the post is here.

Vulnerability of Chinese Lawyers

2008-03-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

The sudden disappearance and resurfacing of Beijing Lawyer Teng Biao captured lots of attention and generated much reporting in the media. If you haven't listened to this (the fourth one on the list) radio program, discussing Teng Biao's experience with the Beijing Police and the challenges that Weiquan lawyers face, I strongly recommend it. It makes me want to watch To Kill a Mockingbird again.

Common Questions about China-related Law Practice

2008-03-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

I just received an e-mail (ABA China Committee Listserve) with a list of most-frequently-asked questions posed by students and young lawyers about China-related law practice. As a law student, with a strong interest in a China-related law practice, I thought it relevant to post, and hope that readers would provide some good responses. Here are the questions: (1) What are the most important

China Business Law Blog, Moving Away from Blogspot...

2008-03-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

I have been test-driving a clone of China Business Law Blog for one week at http://www.chinabusinesslawblog.com/ via wordpress, and it's been working out ok. So, I want to let readers know that I will gradually move to the new site. During the transition, I will post at both sites concurrently. If you are a frequent reader of CBLB, please reset your “favorite” to http://

Legal Ethics, in Chinese Style

2008-03-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

Risking shameless self-promotion, I post the highlights of my article Chinese Law on Lawyers Amended: Progress Made and to be Made, published by the China Law & Practice in February 2008. (Somehow, the endnotes seem to be messed up in copy-and-paste process. I apologize for the mess.) Introduction Omitted. EXPANDED SCOPE OF THE DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY Compared to its predecessor, the

Enforcement of Judgments in China: Pretty Good in Urban Areas

2008-03-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

Contrary to the popular view that enforcement of judgments is poor in China, Professor Randall Peerenboom stated in his recent article that: While enforcement is often portrayed as difficult in China, recent studies have found significant improvements in urban areas, where more than half of creditor-plaintiffs receive 100 per cent of the amount owed, and three quarters are able to receive

Importers of Poisonous Chinese Toothpaste Indicted

2008-03-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

Four exectives of of two Californian import companies have been indicted by the city of Los Angeles, reported by the NY Times. The Los Angeles city attorney, Rocky Delgadillo, working with the Food and Drug Administration, filed a criminal complaint against two Los Angeles-based importers, Vernon Sales Inc. and the Selective Imports Corporation. At Selective, Frahad Nazarian, the president, and

Debunking the Myths about Doing Business in China

2008-03-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

Debunking the Myths about Doing Business in China Business Week came out with an article titled, China: Debunking the Myths. The authors, Charles Bien and Brian Renwick, lay out eight common myths, and shed light on them. Very interest stuff. MYTH ONE: "Western companies should view the rapid development of the Chinese economy as a competitive threat to which they are vulnerable." [As

Chinese Water Pollution Law Amended for Good

2008-02-28T15:13:00.000-08:00

China faces many problems in its modernization. Income gap, aging population, air pollution, inadequate housing, social security/retirement, and the lack of affordable healthcare, to name just a few. But, none is more urgent and worrying than water pollution. Many readers are already familiar with media coverage of extensive pollution in major Chinese waterways and fresh water sources, and it

G2000 v. 2000: Do Fear the Domino Effect

2008-02-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

In my previous post, I indicated that G2000 has a much bigger problem ahead. Here is why. Only one issue might be on appeal at the Zhejiang Higher People’s Court --the 20 million Yuan in damages for Plaintiff. No matter how the Court decides, Defendant G2000 will desperately want another bite at the apple regarding the validity of Plaintiff’s “2000 ” mark, but that is just a fanciful wish. In

G2000 v. 2000: Is 20 Million Yuan Enough for Trademark Infringement?

2008-02-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

I thought I have blogged about almost everything interesting on Chinese Trademark Law. But, I was wrong. In the case of G2000 v. 2000, the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court showed Chinese Trademark Law is still more interesting than the Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou, and the Hong Kong star sex scandal. (Disclaimer: After a reasonable search, I have not been able to locate the actual opinion of

The Supreme People's Court's 2-18-08 Judicial Explanation on Trademarks, Enterprise Names, and Other Prior Existing Rights

2008-02-20T16:40:00.000-08:00

(The following is my attempt at translating the SPC's latest Judicial Explanation regarding the issues/conflicts between registered trademarks, enterprise names and other prior existing rights. If I have mis-interpreted any part of the Judicial Explanation, please kindly point out in your comments. Thanks! In addition, I will write a following post on the impact of this Judicial Interpretation.)

Smart China Exit Strategy: Leave but Don’t Burn Your Bridges

2008-02-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

China Law Blog (the “CLB”) has just come out with an excellent post regarding how investors should deal with the changing investment circumstances/environment in China. Most fittingly, CLB titled its post as “China Changes. Don't Over-React. Don't Under-React.” To substantiate its argument, CLB borrows some pearls of wisdom from the China Business Blog, which recently posits the following on

Low-Budget, High-Yield Legal Aid in Xi’an

2008-02-13T06:03:00.000-08:00

After I enrolled in law school, I began to notice what amazing services that legal aid offices in American cities offer to the indigents. They operate on a small budget, yet manage to give their all to their clients’ causes. As the good folks at the Dallas Bar Association put it, Pro Bono work is like “billable hours for your soul.” It turns out that lawyers in my home turf of Shaanxi Province

The Call of the Home

2008-02-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

(Foreword--China Business Law Blog strives to focus on matters only related to Chinese Law, but the following post is an exception due to the unique weather circumstances in China right now. This post is dedicated to all the migrant workers, either at home already or still on the road.) The coldest winter of half a century has so far claimed at least 60 people. It has caused billions of dollars

Mag Train, or Mega Pain?

2008-01-29T16:10:00.000-08:00

While most of China is paralyzed by one of the coldest winters of nearly half a century, including the South, and Southwest, the citizens of one district in Shanghai is engaged in a potentially flammable protest against the Shanghai government. As reported by western media (NYTimes, and Washington Post) and in China (Chinese only), some citizens are waging their "battle" against the city

Woe to Assumptions!

2008-01-23T19:40:00.000-08:00

"Assumption and Expectation ~ Two cousin brothers responsible for most of the chaos in the world." An anonymous blogger behind the FOARP kindly pointed out a technical error in one of my previous posts: Microsoft Falls One Step Behind in Protecting “Windows” . Here is the comment that this reader left: Mate, there is no such thing as CTPO, there is CTMO (the trademark office) and SIPO (the state

WTO Guru

2008-01-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday (January 15, 2008), a special visitor spoke in my International Business Transactions class at SMU Law School. His background and speech are so interesting that they warrant a special post here. Hon. James Bacchus was the guest speaker. If you haven’t heard of him, he served two terms on the appellate body of the WTO. The following is an excerpt of his bio: He was a founding Member,

Microsoft Falls One Step Behind in Protecting “Windows”

2008-01-10T22:08:00.000-08:00

China Trademark Office (CTMO) dealt another blow to American software giant Microsoft in January 2008. Reportedly (here and here), it rejected Microsoft’s opposition of the registration of a trademark “Windows”by a Ningbo eye glass company. The company successfully registered “视窗” (“Shi Chuang”, which means windows of vision) in 2001, and it later tried to register “Windows” in 2003 for glasses (

“Regulationism”

2008-01-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

My apologies to lexicographers, linguists, and English teachers out there for coining the word “regulationism.” But I couldn’t help it after seeing so many regulations that come into my China New Law alerts on a daily basis. To me, regulationsim means a tendency by a government(s) to resort to administrative regulations to solve social issues that might otherwise be resolved through alternative

Death Penalty by Lethal Injection: Humane or Inhumane?

2008-01-06T11:57:00.001-08:00

As reported below by the New York Times, China plans to replace execution by shooting in the head with lethal injection, thus providing a more “humane” method of capital punishment. China plans to expand the use of lethal injection to replace the current method of execution, a shot to the back of the head, the newspaper China Daily quoted Jiang Xingchang, vice president of the Supreme People’s

Migrant Workers Self Help: Extreme Edition

2008-01-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

A group of workers camped around a fancy Audi, surrounding it in order to force the owner of the car to pay wages owed to them (h/t China Digital Times). The picture speaks volumes about the social condition that Chinese migrant workers endure—overworked, underpaid, unappreciated, and at times violated. What is more, it epitomizes a social phenomenon where a class of people who are unaware of (

2007 Review: A Year of Hard Hitting Legislations

2007-12-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

As 2007 winds down to its last hours, Chinese lawmakers have made this year one of hard hitting legislations. Within this year, multiple pieces of significant laws and regulations came into being, impacting many facets of the Chinese society. This post aims to highlight a few legislations with huge influence on foreign investments. 1. Regulations on the Administration of Commercial Franchise (