China’s State Administration for Market Regulation Releases 5 Typical Cases of Trade Secret Misappropriation

Posted on Categories Case, Trade Secrets, Unfair Competition

On December 31, 2024, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released 5 Typical Cases of Trade Secret Misappropriation (五起侵犯商业秘密典型案例).  Administrative enforcement via the SAMR provides an additional mechanism to enforce intellectual property rights, although damages are not available.  Strengthening the protection of trade secrets is an important task to optimize the fair competition market environment. The State Administration for Market Regulation has continued to increase its supervision efforts, deployed special anti-unfair competition law enforcement actions for many consecutive years, …

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation Releases Typical Cases of Unfair Competition on the Internet

Posted on Categories Case, Unfair Competition

On December 29, 2024, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SMAR) released Seven Typical Cases of Unfair Competition on the Internet (七起网络不正当竞争典型案例).  In May 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation formulated and issued the Interim Provisions on Anti-Unfair Competition in the Internet and accordingly the SAMR released these cases to “effectively guide business entities to operate in accordance with the law, continue to regulate their own business behavior, and jointly create a good competitive environment.” Two of the seven …

Michael Kors Scores 5 Million RMB Damages in Beijing Trademark and Unfair Competition Case

Posted on Categories Case, Trademarks, Unfair Competition

The Beijing Haidian Court announced on December 23, 2024 that it ruled for Michael Kors against three unnamed defendants. The Court awarded 5 million RMB for trademark infringement of the MK trademark, unfair competition, and reasonable expenses.  The Court also awarded an injunction. No appeal was filed rendering the judgement final.

China’s National People’s Congress Releases Draft of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law for Comment

Posted on Categories New Law, Rule or Implementing Regulation, Unfair Competition

On December 25, 2024, the China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) released the draft Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL, 反不正当竞争法(修订草案)) for comment. From an IP perspective, the Draft updates Article 7 for newish technology. However, Artificial Intelligence is left out and might warrant a comment, e.g., to prevent LLM hallucinations that cause confusion as to a connection to others. The Draft also adds an extraterritorial Article 40 that might inadvertently snare foreign companies in edge cases.   The Draft also covers other areas …