Paolo Beconcini

Firm/Organization: Squire Patton Boggs
Blogs: Global IP & Technology Law Blog

Latest Articles

Recent cases of trademark theft involving Chinese employees of US companies and China’s ever rampant phenomenon of trademark squatting have emerged as very critical areas of dispute between China and several Western countries. On April 23, 2019, two new sets of regulations were adopted by China’s State Council addressing these concerns. Both introduce more effective legal tools to protect foreign IP assets in China. One set  enables the Chinese trademark office to do more preventive…
The beginning of 2019 brought about two important changes to trademark filing and prosecution proceedings in China. These changes will impact all brand owners. Update of the China Goods and Service Classification Effective January 1, 2019, the China Trademark Office (CTMO) has adopted a new 2019 version of the classification table. Goods and service specifications have been updated, and new ones have been added. The 2019 version of the China classification table has incorporated goods…
The Beijing IP Court has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals concerning rejection and invalidation of trademarks in China. To initiate an appeal to this Court, foreign companies must provide a notarized and legalized power of attorney and a legalized certificate of good standing of the foreign company. Until recently, it was an accepted practice to have the Chairperson of the Board sign such documents. But recent cases show that the practice of the Beijing IP Court…
In China, to succeed in an intellectual property (IP) infringement lawsuit, it is beneficial to have the case heard in a court that specializes in IP disputes (e.g., the IP courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou). Securing a court that is away from the domicile of the infringer may also be beneficial, as it will reduce the risk of the court being influenced by local factors, and and the unknown legal environment will force the…
As part of larger institutional reorganization schemes, the Chinese government has recently issued a draft statute for the reform of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO). SIPO, until now an agency subordinated to the executive branch (i.e. the State Council), will be organized under a newly created super agency in charge of IP and product quality and safety. Among the goals of the reform are administrative simplification and increased efficiency in handling IP related matters,…