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CHINESE DESKIP Wisely is aware of Chinese rapid growth in the last decades. We can offer our professional legal services in Intellectual Property law for Chinese, European and Latin American clients. We are advising for our individual and business clients for many years.
IP Wisely, Chinese Desk advises businesses which are seeking advice to extend protection of their intellectual property in Spain, Europe, Latin America and China. IP Wisely law firm is located in Barcelona, Mexico city and Beijing and is one of the quickest growing IP law firm originally based in Spain. IP Wisely consists of qualified professionals from Europe, Latin America and China. We have outstanding experience in IP field of law and many opportunities to collaborate in all continents. |
OVERVIEW: CHINESE - EUROPEAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW |
According to the fact that both the European Union and China are members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and party to international agreements such as the Paris Convention, Berne Convention, and TRIPS Agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights). It means that the basic regulations are the same.
Talking about China, we have to specified the territory. It is related to the fact that Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are different jurisdictions. In general, in China only registration of Intellectual Property rights can give protection. Although it is possible to enforce IP rights without previous registration in Europe. The fact that in China the IP rights are protected from the date of registration in comparison to Europe where it is the date of filing the application. In Chinese IP system, invention patent, utility models and design patents can be registered at the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO). Trademarks can be registered at the China Trademark Office (CTMO). It is not mandatory but registration of copyrights can be done at the China Copyright Protection Center (CCPC). In Europe, IP rights can be enforce without registration. On the date of filling the application to obtain protection of IP rights is given conditional protection. In every EU Member states IP rights can be registered separately. Additionally, patents can be registered at the European Patent Office, trademarks can be registered at European Intellectual Property Office (Alicante, Spain) and copyrights do not required registration. TRADEMARKS China China allow to register trademark of words, graphics, a combinatory of it, color combination, 3D marks and sounds but registration of scent is impossible. It is commonly recommended that the trademark is translated into Chinese to obtain better protection. It means that it will be obliged to obtain two registrations: one in Chinese characters and second in Western scripts. Every applicant can choose the following ways to show the trademark:
Specific for Chinese trademark registration system is that China uses Nice Classification with 45 classes with additional division for subclasses. Europe As types of marks can be recognized sounds, scent, voice. Translation is not required in Europe. The proceeding to obtain registration of EU trademark takes usually 6 to 9 months. Nice Classification is used without any subclasses. PATENTS China In Mainland China, the patent system include: invention patents, utility models and design patents. Usually, registration process takes about 1 year for utility patents and valid for 10 years and from 3 to 5 years for intention patent which are valid for 20 years. For application for patent which were made outside of China, the applicant has to apply for a confidentiality examination (the State Intellectual Property Office). The most popular kind of patents in China are utility models. Europe There is no unitary patent system in European Union (but it is expected in 2017). Every country set up its own regulations. European systems do not required mandatory confidentiality examination. Similarly like in China, utility models are more popular. DESIGN RIGHTS China In contrast to European Union IP law protection system, in China design rights are included in patent system. Only registered designs are protected and the protection is granted for 10 years (25 yrs in EU). Europe The designs regulations in Europe are quite specific because designs can be protected as an unregistered design or as a registered design. Unregistered design has 3-years protection from the date it was made available to the public. This option does not need registration. If the protection is required for more than 3 years, the registration has to be granted. It is very useful solution for e.g. fashion industry. COPYRIGHTS China Chinese regulation related to copyright is very exceptional because as in only a few countries in the world, in China copyright is protected from the date of creation and registration is recommended to prove the ownership. The copyright Protection Center in China is responsible for registration of copyrights. Europe The same like in China, copyright is protected from the date of creation. In general, in Europe is not necessary to register the right to obtain protection. Only few countries required proof of ownership. TRADE SECRETS China In China, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law set the rules of the trade secrets protection. Trade secrets can be protected only when are undisclosed to the public, witch competitive edge and are protected by physical, technological and contractual measures. Chinese market becomes very interesting for entrepreneurs from Europe and the above information can be very useful. Europe In every country in Europe, protection of trade secrets is regulated differently. In the effect, it is necessary to check which regulation is crucial in every specific case. If you need more information about IP law in China please do not hesitate to contact us. Our Chinese Desk can offer you very comprehensive professional legal services in any aspect of Chinese-European IP laws. |
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According to the facts that China is enormous economy with great opportunities for European businesses who more often have plans to set up their businesses in China but also with risks to create ideal place to produce and distribute counterfeits from China around the world. We may offer our legal advice in issues related to business law. IP Wisely may assist you in the following issues e.g.:
Are you setting up your business in Europe or China? Are you thinking about IP law strategy? Are you already running your business in Europe or China? Do you need legal advice related to Intellectual Property? Do not hesitate to contact us if you have question related to the above. Contact: china.desk@ipwisely.com |