China’s Supreme Court’s Ten Typical technological IP cases (2020) covered both traditional and emerging technology fields and issued the first-ever “anti-suit injunction”. On 26 Feb. 2021, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released 10 typical cases in respect of technological intellectual property rights in 2020 at the press conference on the second anniversary of the establishment of its Intellectual Property Tribunal. The ten typical cases involve disputes over patents, computer software, know-how and integrated circuit…

  China’s new judicial interpretation (2021) of Criminal Procedure Law provides for the trial and judicial assistance for foreign-related criminal cases. In 2018, China promulgated the newly revised Criminal Procedure Law, with only two provisions (Arts 17, 18) concerning crimes committed by foreigners. On 26 Jan. 2021, the Supreme People’s Court promulgated the Interpretation on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China(the “Judicial Interpretation”), which specifically sets out the…

If a company appoints its director and enters into an agreement with the director with respect to such appointment and his/her rights and duties thereunder, can disputes arising from such agreement be subject to arbitration in accordance with the arbitration clause? The Answer is NO. In accordance with a final judgment rendered by the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court in Tang v. Beijing XX Decoration Technology Company (2019), the agreement, at least the part of…

On 26 Mar. 2021, the Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) held a press conference and promulgated the Opinions of the SPC on Peoples Courts’ Providing Judicial Services and Guarantees on the Opening-up of the Comprehensive Demonstration Zone and Development of the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone for China’s Services Sector in Beijing (the Opinions, 最高人民法院关于人民法院为北京市国家服务业扩大开放综合示范区、中国（北京）自由贸易试验区建设提供司法服务和保障的意见). The Opinions, consisting of 26 articles in six parts, specifies how courts may provide services and guarantees for the development of the aforesaid Demonstration Zone and…

The Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) recently promulgated the Interpretation of the SPC on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Hearing of State Compensation Cases to Determine Damages for Mental Distress (the Interpretation, 最高人民法院关于审理国家赔偿案件确定精神损害赔偿责任适用法律若干问题的解释), which took effect as of April 1, 2021. The Interpretation is applicable to the circumstance where a citizen files an application for state compensation on the ground that his/her personal right is infringed and claims damages for mental distress in accordance with Article 35 of…

China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) on Mar. 24 released a circular, the Plan for the Special Campaign against Malicious Trademark Registration (the Plan, 打击商标恶意抢注行为专项行动方案) on its official website, deciding to launch a special campaign to crack down on malicious trademark registration as of Mar. 2021. The Plan makes it clear that the special campaign focuses on cracking down on the misconducts such as malicious trademark registration, the attempt to gain improper profits, which disturb the order of trademark registration administration and cause relatively adverse social influence arising therefrom. The…

Empricial studies in Chengdu Courts show that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a widespread shift to online litigation, which has been unexpectedly popular among judges and litigants. Empricial studies in Chengdu Courts show that the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a widespread shift to online litigation, to which judges and litigants appear to have quickly adapted. However, it remains to be seen whether online litigation will continue to gain great acceptance in the post-pandemic era. See our…