In Brief

Date:
Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Images: gnomeandi;
Peter Gudella (Shutterstock.com)

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

Date:
Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: robbin lee (Shutterstock.com)

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

Date:
Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Images: Michal Sanca;
Sazhnieva Oksana;
Artreef (Shutterstock.com)

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

Date:
Category: SinoInsights™

Image: Kevin Casper, San Jose Costa Rica (Publicdomainpictures.net)

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

Date:
Category: SinoInsights™

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

Date:
Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: Den Rise (Shutterstock.com)

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

Date:
Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/nature

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

Date:
Category: SINOTALKS® 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

Date:
Category: SINOTALKS® In Brief

Image: 13_Phunkod (Shutterstock.com)

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

Date:
Category: SinoInsights™

Image: Heru Purwanto, Pomelo On The Tree (Publicdomainpictures.net)

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

Date:
Category: SinoInsights™

Image: Lilla Frerichs, Indian Corn 1 (Publicdomainpictures.net)

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

Date:
Category: SinoInsights™

Image: Andrew Schmidt, Corn On The Cob (Publicdomainpictures.net)

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

Plants

Date:
Category: SinoInsights™

Image: George Hodan, Agriculture (Publicdomainpictures.net)

The Supreme People’s Court of China released Guiding Case Nos. 92, 100, and 160 to clarify fundamental issues related to the protection of rights to new plant varieties that were left unanswered by the country’s legislation and judicial interpretations.  Yet, have these three Guiding Cases essentially lost their significance, considering that their guiding principles, as analyzed in this article, have already been incorporated into the Supreme People’s Court’s latest judicial interpretation related to new plant varieties?  Dr. Mei Gechlik explains why the answer is negative and discusses related implications. Read more

Interview: Tom Tong

Date:
Category: SinoInsights™

Image: Kai Stachowiak, Background (Publicdomainpictures.net)

Tom Tong, an international partner of Locke Lord LLP, recently founded Lawmato, an app that enables lawyers to provide online consultation to consumers, including individuals and small businesses, anywhere in the world via the robust audio/video communication capacities of the app.  Apart from explaining how Lawmato has the potential to change the legal services industry, Mr. Tong draws on his more than 20 years of experience acting as liaison between U.S. and Chinese firms to share his insights about different challenges in doing deals in China and in the United States.Read more