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Image: Peter Griffin, Scaffolding
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Since 2020, mainland China has stepped up its legal measures to better tackle the problem concerning fake safety certification documents. Understanding these efforts should reassure those handling a fire in Hong Kong, which killed at least 160 residents of a housing complex, that their commitment to pursue accountability without reservation is matched by a similar commitment on the part of the mainland Chinese authorities.

Image: icon0 com, Morning Sunlight Mekong River
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In early December, hundreds of leading scientists and entrepreneurs from around the world attended a forum held in Yunnan, a province located in southwest China, to discuss artificial intelligence, life sciences, and many other topics having a great and increasing impact on our lives. Why was such an important forum not organized in Shenzhen or Hangzhou but rather in an inland province that is better known for its rich cultural heritage? The answer lies in the unique role Yunnan played during the Second World War and its strategic importance to China today.

Image: Mohamed Mahmoud Hassan, Installment, Car, Bank, Percentage
(Publicomainpictures.net)

Judicial protection of intellectual property (“IP”) rights in China has been perceived to be limited because, among other problems, the amounts of damages awarded by Chinese courts in IP infringement cases have historically been small. However, this state of affairs may be changing, as China’s Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) rendered a landmark judgment in a case involving large-scale infringement of trade secrets, allowing the victims to receive an amount equivalent to almost USD 90 million as compensation. As analyzed by Nathan Harpainter and David Zhao, Co-Managing Editors of SINOTALKS®, the innovative approach taken by the SPC to calculate the damages in the landmark case is essentially based on the concept of “unjust enrichment”. The steps followed by the SPC to do the calculation are helpful but inadequate. To help China develop its jurisprudence in this important area, the two co-authors discuss related U.S. experiences.

Image: Petr Kratochvil, American Flag And City Buildings (Publicdomainpictures.net)

On March 6, 2025, Dr. Mei Gechlik, Founder & CEO of SINOTALKS^® gave a talk about China’s Guiding Cases and related topics to a group of attorneys at the U.S. Department of Commerce to deepen their understanding of China’s court system and latest developments.