On September 11, 2024, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) published a set of Typical Cases on Anti-Monopoly and Anti-Unfair Competition (反垄断和反不正当竞争典型案例目录). Two of the cases directly involve intellectual property including the “New Energy Vehicle Chassis” trade secret case discussed here in which 640 million RMB was awarded (but is unlikely to be collected) and a Schneider Electric trademark infringement case in which the Jiangsu Provincial High People’s Court awarded Schneider 40 million RMB. China, while not a common law jurisdiction, …
Category: Trade Secrets
640 Million RMB Awarded in China Trade Secret Case
Update: Per Michael Ma, the plaintiff is Geely Holding Group and the defendant is WM Motor. Note that WM Motor is reportedly bankrupt so collection is unlikely. In what is believed to be a record high in intellectual property damage awards, and easily exceeding the previous record of 201.54 million RMB in a trade secret case, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) awarded over 640 million RMB in a new energy vehicle trade secret misappropriation case. In decision (2023)最高法知民终1590号 released June …
Conviction Under China’s Version of the Economic Espionage Act for Theft of Trade Secrets
On April 26, 2024, the Shanghai Pudong Court released the “Typical cases of intellectual property judicial services provided by the Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court to ensure high-quality development of new productivity” (上海市浦东新区人民法院知识产权司法服务保障新质生产力高质量发展典型案例), which included a criminal case involving a newer provision of the Chinese Criminal Law that is somewhat analogous to the U.S. Economic Espionage Act. This is believed to be the first case in Shanghai under this provision and may be related to last year’s police raids …
USTR Releases 2024 Special 301 Report on IP Protection – China Remains on the Priority Watch List
On April 25, 2024, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released its 2024 Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights. China remains on the priority watch list with the USTR stating: there remain many serious concerns regarding IP protection and enforcement in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In 2023, the pace of reforms in the PRC remained slow. Stakeholders continue to raise …