The intellectual property is protected in China through a series of international treaties and by the provisions of the national law. The country is a member of the World Trade Organisation and investors in China will enjoy a certain degree of protection for their property rights. The State Intellectual Property Office is the patent office of the country, which is responsible for implementing the Intellectual Property Law and receiving applications for patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Our law firm in China can help you with intellectual property protection by helping you register your design, ideas or products for doing business in China.
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The intellectual property (IP) refers in most casesto a number of inventions, designs or creations which are produced by a business and the respective company uses them as assets. In China, the intellectual property means:
• copyright: for songs, literary works or other artistic works;
• patents: for commercial inventions;
• designs: for drawings, architectural designs etc.;
• trademarks: signs, logos, words, sounds, combinations of colors and others that help differentiate a company in China from its competitors.
China has distinct laws in place for patents, trademarks or copyright. The Anti-unfair Competition Law provides some degree of protection for unregistered trademarks. Regardless of the types of IP you need protection for, our attorneys in China can help you submit the necessary applications to ensure that they are protected.
In order to make full use of their intellectual property rights and to make sure that they are the only ones using them, companies operating in China should register these rights. Counterfeit or infringement cases can be solved either through an administrative action or through civil litigation. Negotiation and mediation are two legal practices which can be used in cases where the property rights have been infringed. By doing this, you can avoid going to court.
Any person, local or from overseas, with activities protected by the Intellectual Property Law in China and whose rights have been infringed can solve the dispute in the people’s court in China by receiving operative judicial protection immediately. Furthermore, the people’s court will only consider the legislation in this matter and will act independently, without being subject to any public or administrative organization in China.
The infringement cases in China are issued with complete attention to the facts and with the criterion provided by the Copyright Law. One should know that, if the infringement of the intellectual property rights is severe and considered a serious offence, the people’s court in China has the power to enforce punishments like penalties or imprisonment, according to the rules and regulations in this matter.
Please consider that for a litigation process in China, suitable legal representation is mandatory, therefore do not hesitate to talk to your Chinese attorneys.
The administrative departments for industry and commerce in China have the responsibility of preserving the economic order and can also make several investigations in varied areas to see if the intellectual property rights are respected. The administrative offices of China’s intellectual property rights entities are meant to protect the rights and interests of companies and individuals regarding the trademark in China in a fair manner. Numerous foreign entrepreneurs with activities in China consider the intellectual property rights protection a must on the highly developed market in the country, where authorities should involve even more by successfully enforcing the law in each case of infringement.
One of our lawyers in China can give you more information about how to legally protect your intellectual property and how you can solve any legal disputes that may arise, so please feel free to contact us.