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Trademarks are used to distinguish the goods and services from different trademark owners. Trademarks are unique names, symbols, or logos which have distinctive characteristics.

Trademarks are categorized into product marks, service marks, certification marks and collective marks. And the elements that can combine a trademark include (Chinese) characters, figures, letters of the alphabet, sound, colour combinations, 3-dimensional symbol and their combinations according to the Article 8 of China Trademark Law. A trademark seeking registration shall be so distinctive as to...

On November 14th, 2018 the Beijing Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce issued the largest trademark infringement case decided by the Beijing Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce in the past twenty years – the trademark infringement of the “Onitsuka Tiger” branded ASICS sneakers, with a fine of 55.87 million RMB.

ASICS is a Japanese limited corporation which has registered many trademarks , including those with the word “tiger”. In December of 2017, the Fengtai Branch of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce,...

Recently China set up an Intellectual Property Tribunal within the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) to serve as a national IP appellate court.[1] The appeals court opened for business at January 1st, 2019 , two months after plans to launch it were revealed. I t will oversee disputes on patents , plant varieties and computer software , among other areas, but not trademark or trade secrets . The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress is reviewing a draft proposal that paves the way for the Supreme People’s Court to hear appeals also in Shanghai and...

The results of the latest AHK Business Confidence Survey (BCS) shows, that hiring qualified employees is still considered as one of the top challenges among German companies in China .

An inefficient hiring process going along with questionable individual judgements often ends up in the hiring of a not qualified or unsuitable employee. This will most likely increase your staff turnover, will cause in higher personnel cost and might also have a negative impact on the organizational performance. Therefore it is important to be aware of the typical...

In August 2018, China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) was renamed the National Intellectual Property Administration ( CNIPA ). It was reorganized under the new government body the State Administration for Market Regulation ( SAMR ).

SAMR was formed by the incorporation of several and currently separated administrative bodies. The following agencies or functions will be integrated under SAMR:

the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) (to be dismantled); the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) (to be...

We are pleased to present you our new brochure “China law and business guide, Version 2.0"

The main objective of our guide is to provide you with an overview of the current situation of the Chinese economic and legal market. Against this background, we have re-listed and supplemented our successful guide for our clients.

We do not pretend to provide all the answers in the guide, but we believe our new handbook will guide you solve problems, like how to set up a company in China, how to deal with labour law disputes , how to stay with your company complient and how to design...

On 07th December the SwissCham hosted their traditional Swiss night in the Hilton Hotel Beijing.

One of the main goals of this evening is to organize for the SwissCham members the perfect evening to celebrate the end of the year in a warm and relaxing atmosphere. The evening included a keynot speech by Adam Dunnett, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the European Chamber of Commerce in China .

It was a good opportunity to mingling with old and new friends of the Swiss community. Here Starke Managing Counsel Daniel Albrecht with Adam Dunnett .

Yesterday our Managing Counsel Daniel Albrecht was invited to the Embassy of Spain in Beijing to honor the 10. anniversary of the company of our good friend Paloma Sanchez in China.

Thank you for the great night and nice conversations to the new Spanish Ambassador to China Rafael Dezcallar. Our Spanish friends really know how to celebrate and to create a fantastic atmosphere.

The number of lying job candidates is very high, according to a US study from 2017 85 % of job candidates try to make their application enhance through untruthful dates and facts about their business career and education. Especially in China lying about the educational level in favor for a better occupational outlook is a big topic, that’s worth talking about.

Of course we like to hire people with impressive professional experience, a wide-ranging education and different skills. But what if those people with this perfect resume are lying?
If they are uncomfortable with...

Yesterday our Managing Counsel Daniel Albrecht took part at the anual ILF Alumni meeting in Beijing . The Institute of Law and Finance is a center for academic excellence in teaching and research in the fields of law and finance. It was established in 2002 as a foundation of the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Germany, with the support of many prominent institutions such as leading commercial banks, international law firms and regulatory authorities.

The ILF also provides a policy platform in the legislative process by offering forums for discussions and exchanges between...