In a decision released April 20, 2020, the Guangdong Higher People’s Court affirmed an award of 40 million RMB (about $5.6 million) including punitive damages to Zhuhai Gree Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, Gree) in case no. （2020）粤执复117号. The defendant, Ningbo Aosheng Trading Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Aosheng), had appealed from a ruling by the Guangdong Intermediate People’s Court of Guangzhou that it infringed CN201242223Y for an indoor air conditioner. Several factors stand out about this judgement including the relatively high …
China Releases Draft Amended Copyright Law With Punitive Damages and Digital Rights Management Articles
The National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China has recently released Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China (Draft Amendment) for comment. Of particular is the availability of punitive damages of up to five times actual damages, an exponential increase in the maximum statutory damages from 500,000 RMB to 5,000,000 RMB (about $708,000 USD), and switching the burden of proof for proving damages.
3 Chinese Online Markets Listed in 2019 Notorious Markets List
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) released their annual Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy for 2019 on April 29, 2020 and included three mainland Chinese online markets in the online market section of the list. Markets on the list are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. There is no penalty for being listed but the list has been used to encourage foreign companies and countries to crack down on piracy and …
Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances Comes into Force in China Today, April 28, 2020
The first international intellectual property treaty concluded in China and named after one of China’s cities since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the “Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances” (“Beijing Treaty”) came into effect today, April 28, 2020. Per the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), “the Treaty is designed to help audiovisual performers – television and film actors, musicians, dancers, and others – many of whom live from job to job in precarious economic circumstances. The Treaty expands …