Durch Maarten Roos

Die anhaltende weite Verbreitung des Fälschens in China ist nicht nur ein Problem Gesetz, aber eins auch von Durchführung. Während Gesetze und Regelungen Chinas an die Vereinbarung über handeln-in Verbindung stehende Aspekte der Rechte am geistigen Eigentum (REISEN) und anderer weit geltender internationaler Grundregeln sich anpassen, bestimmte Teile der Schutzeinheit Chinas erfolgloses geprüft haben. Allgemeine Beispiele sind die hohen Standards, damit kriminelle Verbindlichkeit der Fälscher, die hohe Belastung des Beweises, zum der schlechten Glaube Ausrichtungen zu prüfen und die Schwierigkeit Beschädigungen in den Zivilverfahren prüft. Einerseits ist es reichlich frei, daß die Polizei, die Verwaltungsbehörden und die Gerichte häufig die Betriebsmittel, das Wissen oder die Ermittlung ermangeln, um Verletzungen effektiv zu bekämpfen.

Chinas eigene fortfahrende Entwicklung und in geringerem Ausmass internationaler Druck, führen stufenweise zu Verbesserungen auf den oben genannten Ausgaben, aber dieses ist nicht Prozeßinhaber eines einzelne geistigen Eigentums (IP) kann beeinflussen. Inhaber können jedoch sichergehen, daß sie die ausschließlichen Rechte zu ihrem IP in China unter chinesischem Gesetz haben und daß die beste Entscheidung schnell an getroffen werden kann, ob man Maßnahmen gegen eine wahrgenommene Verletzung ergreift. Solcher Schutz, normalerweise billiges und selten zeitraubend, ist das grundlegendste Element zur Strategie IP einer Organisation.

Kennzeichnen des IP Managers

Jede Organisation sollte jemand zu den beigeordneten IP Interessen ernennen. Whether it is an IP specialist, lawyer or manager, at least one person needs to maintain a clear perspective on the organization’s IP interests and rights, collect information on potential infringements, and be able to respond immediately in case of need.

Responding quickly and decisively to potential IP infringements is often a crucial part of the success of an IP enforcement action. Therefore the most effective IP Managers are people with authority, who are able to reach decision makers quickly. They build communication channels with sales persons and others in the organization to learn of infringements. And they ensure that a law firm is retained to support enforcement actions at short notice, with a valid Power of Attorney and relevant IP registration certificates in place.

Identifying your IP Portfolio

IP rights gain value during the course of one’s business. A regular review of an organization’s intellectual property to identify which are sufficiently valuable to protect will prevent an organization from being caught off-guard.

Logical moments to conduct such an IP audit are when a foreign company enters a new market or when it establishes a subsidiary. Thus foreign companies investing in China should make an IP review part of their due diligence. Furthermore, as China is a fast-developing market place, a yearly review is recommended. During this review, the IP manager should identify the old and new IP that the organization (and perhaps its affiliates) owns in China, and whether the corresponding rights are registered (in case of trademarks and patents). If not, then the IP manager should be able to proceed with registration at short notice.

Among the IP that should be reviewed are:

(1) Brand names, either developed by the organization or its affiliates abroad, or even those that have developed in the market – e.g. a Chinese version of an existing international mark;
(2) Domain names which correspond to the trade name and/or above brand names (especially those ending with .com, .cn and .com.cn);
(3) Patents, which are technical inventions developed by the organization or its affiliates abroad;
(4) Specific designs of industrial products which are distinctive and may be easily copied
(5) Copyrights, such as software, catalogues, webpages and articles; and
(6) Trade secrets, undisclosed technologies, confidential business information and other sensitive data to which the organization has rights through contractual obligations of employees or commercial counterparts.

All the above can be protected under Chinese law. However trademarks and domain names must be registered before another party does so, and for a patent filing to be granted the technique or design must be either novel (not publicized elsewhere before the filing date), or must be applied for within a certain period after the corresponding foreign application. This makes the timing of such applications crucial.

Registered trademarks, copyrights and designs may also be recorded with the Chinese customs authorities. As a consequence, if customs finds goods that are infringing on recorded rights, it will notify the owner immediately so that the latter can take action. If they know of a shipment of counterfeits, owners of recorded rights may also notify customs directly.

Maarten Roos, Wang Jing & Co

This is the first part of the article Protection vs. Enforcement. Next week we will publish the second part.