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How To Protect Your IP In China

By Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson

Danny Friedmann of IP Dragon has a great post up at the Duncan Bucknell IP blog. The post is entitled, "How to prevent and act upon intellectual property rights infringements in China" and it very nicely sets out exactly how to accomplish that. Friedmann states that intellectual property infringement is prevalent in China "and a challenge for every company in every industry" but those companies that "take adequate precautionary measures," "anticipate infringements," and "aggressively enforce their rights ... can substantially minimise their risks and damages." Danny is absolutely right. Friedmann advocates the following: 1. "Be prepared." 2. "Do your homework." Know the people with whom you are doing business. Get them to sign a "confidentiality agreement [non disclosure agreement, or NDA] beforeyou hand over any sensitive business information." Make sure your contract is clear on who owns what IP rights. "If a potential business partner refuses to sign the contract, find another business partner." 3. "No registration equals no right." With the exception of copyrights, if you do not register your IP in China, you almost certainly have no IP protection. 4. "To trust is nice, to control better." Know what is going on with your IP in China at all times and use "several anti-counterfeit technologies." 5. "Be ready to enforce." The post then describes the various enforcement options, including administrative, civil and criminal, and where to go for additional information. A very good post and a must read for anyone interested in protecting their IP in or from China.

Full post as published by China Law Blog on June 08, 2008 (boomark / email).