In Brief

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Three decades ago, China’s decision to develop a “socialist market economy” helped bolster foreign investors’ confidence. Today, if China shows similar determination to bring about positive changes in crucial areas, foreign investors will have strong reasons for feeling optimistic about the Chinese market. One crucial area is the regulation of China’s stock market. China does have regulatory tools to combat irregularities in the stock market. Have these tools been used well? Read more

In Brief

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Amid foreign businesses’ growing concerns about COVID restrictions, China’s five-year intellectual property plan may help instill confidence. If implemented well, the plan will help China establish a strong intellectual property protection mechanism that will facilitate the country’s post-COVID economic recovery. How can the plan be implemented well?Read more

In Brief

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Justice delayed is justice denied. The prompt delivery of judgments is particularly important in cases involving infringement of intellectual property rights, where holders of these rights need to minimize their losses by stopping the infringement swiftly. China does offer a solution. How does it work? Read more

In Brief

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The highest court in a province in China recently ordered a retrial of a dispute because lower-level courts handling the dispute failed to discuss in their reasoning a relevant Guiding Case cited by a party as similar to the dispute. This ruling is expected to bring about positive changes to the judicial practice of using Guiding Cases in that province. Why? Will this ruling be a game changer for the rest of the country?Read more

SinoInsights

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How can the development of China’s Case Guidance System promote the country’s judicial protection of intellectual property rights, helping achieve the goals set forth in the Plan for the Judicial Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in People’s Courts (2021-2025)?Read more

In Brief

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In early 2022 (a special year that marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China–South Korea diplomatic relations), China released a Typical Case to highlight the country’s recognition and enforcement of a South Korean judgment. Why now? What messages does this send to courts inside and outside China?Read more

Guiding Case 115

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In December 2019, the Supreme People’s Court of China released Guiding Case No. 115. Four months later, in April 2020, the second-instance judgment upon which this Guiding Case is based was selected by the Supreme People’s Court as one of the “Top 10 Intellectual Property Cases of Chinese Courts in 2019”. Why is this case so important? It is all related to the concepts of “act preservation” and “functional features” of inventions.Read more

In Brief

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The worsening food crisis around the world has made the China–Laos Railway, which opened in December 2021, even more important to China. Has China taken steps to help Laos so that the latter can manage related legal risks better? From China’s perspective, helping Laos maximize its benefits from this USD 6 billion railway project while minimizing the risks involved will strengthen the two countries’ relations and bode well for China’s presence in that region.Read more

In Brief

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The Ukraine crisis is a major blow to a world that has already been hit hard by the pandemic and economic setbacks. Businesses struggling to stay afloat should ask: where are the much-needed opportunities amid the current global crises?Read more

In Brief

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Sazhnieva Oksana;
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What should celebrities do to protect their names in China? Why does Alibaba need to take some remedial measures to avoid further scrutiny from authorities?Read more

Guiding Case 109

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In February 2019, the Supreme People’s Court of China released Guiding Case No. 109 and five other Guiding Cases to illustrate how Chinese courts handled issues related to the country’s Belt and Road Initiative.  Guiding Case No. 109 specifically shows the Supreme People’s Court’s firm adherence to legal rules and principles that protect the value of the “payment on demand” system of independent guarantees.Read more

Interview Patrick Dransfield

Patrick Dransfield, Principal of Clearway Communications and Co-Founder of the Managing Partners’ Club, explains in this interview why he has had success in forging strong relationships with private practitioners and in-house counsels at various corporations across Asia, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom.  In addition, he shares his thoughts about where the legal industries in emerging markets are heading.Read more

In Brief

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Apart from China’s Guiding Cases, legal practitioners, business executives, and other stakeholders must not forget about Typical Cases, another category of representative cases that the Supreme People’s Court of China can release to guide Chinese courts’ adjudication. What are Typical Cases? Why are they significant?Read more

In Brief

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2022 marks the 15th anniversary of the issuance of the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China. In late November 2021, China’s solicitation of public comments on its proposed amendment to this law came to an end. Apart from the prospect of seeing a new version of this important national law, what judicial developments related to this law will likely occur in 2022?Read more

In Brief

What is China’s policy goal regarding the application of artificial intelligence to adjudication?  This piece of SINOTALKS.COM In Brief tells you the answer and explains why Guiding Cases are important to the accomplishment of this goal.Read more

In Brief

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Only a few days after the launch of SINOTALKS.COM, Dr. Mei Gechlik began publishing a biweekly newsletter titled SINOTALKS.COM In Brief. The goal for this newsletter is to demystify Chinese law and policy so that readers will be able to craft evidence-based strategies for their China-related issues.Read more

Guiding Case 160

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Guiding Case No. 160 addresses a fundamental issue: when rights to a new plant variety are granted, what falls within the scope of protection?  According to China’s legislation, propagation materials of the plant for which variety rights have been granted are clearly protected.  Yet, what are “propagation materials”?  Unfortunately, no definition can be found in China’s legislation.  Guiding Case No. 160 fills the legal gap by setting the criteria for such determination.Read more

Guiding Case 100

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Before the release of Guiding Case No. 100, the Supreme People’s Court of China released Guiding Case No. 92 to establish this principle: in a case involving infringement of rights to a new plant variety, when the related DNA fingerprinting test result cannot provide a clear answer, the allegedly infringing party, i.e., the defendant, has the burden to prove that the allegedly infringing plant is different from the plant for which variety rights have been granted.  Guiding Case No. 100 shows what the defendant can do to meet this burden of proof.Read more

Guiding Case 92

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Guiding Case No. 92 provides guidance on an important issue frequently encountered in cases involving infringement of rights to new plant varieties: how to determine whether two plants are of the same variety, when the related DNA fingerprinting test result cannot provide a clear answer.  According to this Guiding Case, when this happens, the allegedly infringing party, i.e., the defendant, has the burden to prove that the allegedly infringing plant is different from the plant for which variety rights have been granted.  How did the court justify the shifting of the burden to the defendant?Read more