Law

What does the new draft Personal Information Protection Law mean to international financial institutions asks Yang Xun of LLinks Law Offices China recently issued the draft Personal Information Protection Law (the “PI Law”), which, if adopted, will be the first comprehensive high-level legislation on personal information protections in China. It details the rules for collection, storage, processing, and disposal of personal information, clarifies a number of controversial issues such as security …

Businesses that sell goods into the UK will need a United Kingdom Conformity Assessment (UKCA) Mark from 1 January 2021 The United Kingdom formally left the European Union on January 31, 2020 and the year-long transition period that allowed continuity of rules and regulations ends on December 31, 2020. This includes the rules surrounding the conformity of marking and assessment of products. Although the UK and EU are attempting to …

Trademark and design rights in the EU are changing, so it’s essential to ensure your IP rights are protected in a changed European Union, write Deborah Maxwell and Cameron Malone-Brown of Potter Clarkson LLP From 31 December 2020, registered EU trademarks (EUTM) and Community design rights (RCD) will no longer be valid in the UK. The UKIPO will create equivalent UK ‘cloned’ rights. All pending and future EUTMs and RCDs …

China’s signing of the UN’s International Settlement Agreement will not only benefit international businesses, but might also lead to domestic legal reforms, write Peter Corne and Matthew Erie Last year, China signed the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, known as the Singapore Mediation Convention. This was a momentous event in the development of the cross-border dispute resolution industry and provides China with an opportunity to develop a dispute …

Hasbro, Mattel and eOne Family brands reveal their experiences of licensing IP in China and explain how they effectively protected their IP rights to CBBC‘s Iris Hu On a stroll through Beijing’s buzzing Tai Koo Li mall, you don’t have to look for long to spot familiar cartoon characters on the T-shirts in window displays, or well-known paintings printed on to the latest covetable tote bag. Of course these cartoon …

Aidan Southall of law firm Potter Clarkson explains how companies can continue to protect their IP and trade secrets at a time when more employees than ever are working remotely The Covid-19 crisis has undoubtedly changed the way businesses operate for good. Nowhere is this more evident than in the shift towards remote working, which is clearly here to stay. In this rapidly changing commercial environment, businesses will need to …

David Hershkorn and Jennifer Maxwell-Harris of lawfirm Joelson explain what the new Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa rules mean The UK government recently announced the introduction of the new Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa (BN(O) visa), which will allow British Nationals (Overseas) citizens and their immediate dependants (even if their immediate dependants are non-BNO citizens) to reside and work or study in the UK, with a pathway to …

China has used carved seals known as chops, seals or stamps, for centuries. Whilst they have been replaced by signatures in the west, whoever holds the ‘company chops’ holds the keys to the company, writes Fabio Stella of Hawksford Unlike most of the rest of the world, the use of carved seals (or chops) is still part of the business environment in China, owing to a longstanding tradition with its …

Companies are facing significant operational, financial, and strategic challenges due to the COVID-19 outbreak, although the spread of the virus has slowed down and the situation appears to be stabilising in different regions around the world. As countries restart their economies, businesses need to evaluate the risk of infection and effectively manage their liquidity to survive this difficult period, writes Ines Liu Such times of economic turmoil, however, are when …

Following the release of China’s new draft energy law, Ben Wetherall of ICIS – a market intelligence company providing independent analysis to the world’s biggest international oil and gas companies – gives his take and explains what it means for China’s gas sector. China’s draft energy law is really a consolidation of lots of other things that were already in place or that had already been developed. So for example, …