Peter Rabbit and IP Protection of Fictional Characters in China
INTRODUCTION In late September of last year, Beijing's No 1 Intermediate People's Court heard a case involving the Chinese Press using pictures of Beatrix Potter's fictional character, Peter Rabbit, on books. The British company Frederick Warne Co. Ltd. alleged infringement upon their trademark of Peter Rabbit illustrations, which was registered in 1994 (a decision has not yet been reached in the case). The rights attached to a fictional character can generally be referred to as 'property ...Read the rest of this entry »
Outsourcing in China
Many small and medium sized companies that engage in OEM manufacturing/outsourcing in China fail to take the steps necessary to protect themselves. When problems arise, they can do little or nothing to protect themselves because they have no legal basis for protection. The fact is that outsourcing disputes must be resolved in China, under the Chinese legal system. The Chinese legal system has improved greatly over the past ten years and taking a few basic legal steps can greatly reduce your ...Read the rest of this entry »
