The Florida State College of Law Research Center Blog

Chinese E-Commerce 2008

An article on selling products in China titled Chinese E-Commerce 2008: An Introduction and How to for US SMEs by Lisa Conklin has been posted on the internet. A hat tip to the China Law Blog.  Here's an excerpt from the article:

An antitrust law came into effect this year but legal experts expect it will often be pointless to try to enforce non CCP-supported cases with it in the short to mid term. One reason is because of the large number of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which want to avoid more massive layoffs and ensuing social unrest. The other reason is because of strong local protectionism. Local CCP member income and status can depend on the success of local firms.

Read the article here.

Posted by Jon Lutz

Danone v. Wahaha lawsuit

China Business Law Blog has an interesting post on the Danone v. Wahala lawsuit.  Here's an excerpt:

.... In 1996, the two parties signed a trademark agreement, transferring the “Wahaha” trademark from the Wahaha Co. to the then newly formed joint venture.  However, the Trademark Office of China disapproved this transfer.  So in the eyes of Chinese law, the transfer was never consummated, and there was no deal to speak of in terms of an IP transfer.

In 1999, the parties got creative about the trademark “transfer.” Instead of calling it a “transfer,” they signed another agreement, titling it “Trademark Use Agreement.”  And of course, this deal was done under the table, irrespective of Chinese law.  Things went along smoothly and well for seven years, until 2006 when Danone found that it was not getting all the money that it should, and that its Chinese partner was competing against the JV.  To end all the “trickery,” Danone decided to buy out the Chinese partner, Zong Qinghou, but only to be rejected.

Read the whole post here.

Posted by Jon Lutz

Lawsuit filed by Human Rights USA against Yahoo - Jailed Chinese Journalist joins lawsuit

In April of 2007 the World Organization for Human Rights USA filed a law suit against Yahoo for complicity in sharing identification information of internet users with Chinese authorities.  Two Chinese journalists are serving 10 year prison sentences for publishing material that government authorities considered subversive. 

The case is filed in the US. District Court California Northern District: Civil Docket # 407-cv-02151-CW
Read the complaint here.
Good overviews of the case can be found here and here.

Posted by Jon Lutz

Beijing's Bankruptcy Laws

The Wall Street Journal Online, October 17, 2006, has an interesting article on China's new bankruptcy law titled, Beijing's Bankruptcy Law.

Enacted in August by China's legislature, the National People's Congress, it comes into force next June 1. A formal corporate-bankruptcy procedure will be created, with administrators appointed by judges, not the government, as was the case under the old law. Creditors go to the front of the queue for payment, ahead of employees. Creditor committees get a strong role in supervising the bankruptcy process, which means that professionals -- perhaps including foreign lawyers and accountants -- will be running the process, rather than Communist Party officials.

Read the entire article here.

Read an account of the new bankruptcy law from China View here.

Posted by Jon Lutz