The People’s Court of Nanshan District of Shenzhen recently issued a ruling believed to be the first 5G criminal intellectual property law case in China. 5G is the fifth generation technology standard for cellular networks, which cellular phone companies began deploying worldwide in 2019, the planned successor to the 4G networks which provide connectivity to most current cellphones. The Court held defendants Huang Mouyu and Wang Mou guilty of trade secret theft and sentenced them to three years in jail and a 150,000 RMB fine. The …
Category: Unfair Competition
Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court OKs Parallel Imports
In a trio of cases dated May 6, 2020, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court allowed the parallel import of lightning surge protectors from Singapore into China. Parallel import is the import of a non-counterfeit product from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner. Specifically, in cases(2019)粤73民终6944号, (2019)粤73民终6975号, and (2019)粤73民终6976号 the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court held on appeal that parallel importation by Guangdong Shifu Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (广东施富电气实业有限公司) of the genuine surge protectors did not violate Chinese …
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Top 10 Intellectual Property Cases for 2019
On April 21, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court released a list of the top 10 intellectual property law cases of 2019. The cases cover patent (invention and design), trademark, copyright, unfair competition and criminal trademark law. Cases in the list were adjudicated by Courts spread over China and at different appeal levels.
New Balance Scores Chinese Unfair Competition Victory Against New Barlun
On April 16, 2020, the Shanghai Pudong New District People’s Court ruled for New Balance Trading (China) Co., Ltd. (新百伦贸易（中国）有限公司, hereinafter New Balance) against Niu Ba Lun (China) Co., Ltd. (纽巴伦（中国）有限公司, hereinafter, New Barlun), awarding 10.8 million RMB (about $1.53 million USD) for unfair competition.