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Reports that General Motors (GM) Daewoo Auto & Technology Company, the Korean subsidiary of GM, is suing Chery, alleging the QQ model is a copy of the Spark. Daewoo's contention that Chery Automobile Company, located in China, stole its trade secrets to make the QQ; Honda's lawsuit against Shuanghuan Automobile Company; Problems in China concerning intellectual property rights violations; Global ambitions of Chery.

This article reports that trade mark owners in China could be more effective in their legal battles if they incorporate the law on passing off into their litigation strategy. In China, the most common forms of passing off are imitating another's trade name, trade mark or trade dress. Such actions come under the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. Article 2 of the law, says that an act of unfair competition shall mean an act by a business operator against this law to injure the legal interest of a competitor and to cause harm to the social and economic order. While types of unfair competition are clearly listed in other parts of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, Article 2 attempts to cover other types of unfair competition not yet identified by legislators. INSETS: Hoya Kabushiki Kaisha et al, Shanghai High People's..;Shanghai Harbour Restaurant Co Ltd, Shanghai High People's..;Jiangsu Aitefu Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Supreme Court of PRC...

Xiaodong Ren and Xiaojun Liu of Beijing Kangrui Law Firm explain the techniques that legal teams can take during the evidence collection stages of IP disputes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on issues concerning resolving disputes between trade name rights and trademark rights in China. Trade names and trademarks are registered with separate administrative authorities under different registration systems making it difficult for the respective administrative systems to cross check. The Chinese Trademark Law, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and the judicial Interpretation provide enforcement proceedings and remedies on such disputes.

The article reports on the crack down on copycat architects in China. Foreign architects have discovered that their designs and their company names are being copied in the country. Australia-based design firm Woodhead International filed a law suit against its former local partner, 5+1 Werkhart International, on the basis of unfair competition. Woodhead alleges that Liu Li, head of 5+1, used its name to win commissions, then diverted these projects to a separate company.

An interview with lawyer Nate Bush of O'Melveny & Myers law firm is presented. Topics include the enforcement actions of Chinese business competition regulators Ministry of Commerce, National Development and Reform Commission, and State Administration For Industry & Commerce. Also discussed are the key changes in competition legislation, the lawsuit involving technology firm Qualcomm Inc., and cases related to abuse of dominant market position.

A recent rare heavy penalty and sentence for infringement of Babyzen's strollers suggests a higher penalty trend in China. A new amendment to its Anti-unfair Competition Law comes into effect next month, which has increased the maximum statutory compensation available [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the Annual Report on Intellectual Property Cases of the Supreme People's Court of China in 2011. It says that a total of 420 different types of intellectual property cases were accepted by the Intellectual Property Division of the Supreme People's Court. It also notes that the characteristics of the competition and intellectual property cases include patent and trademark administrative cases, the percentage of commercial mark cases, and the unfair competition cases.

Discusses how Chinese companies have become more aggressive, and more successful, at defending themselves in U.S. courts. Reversal of antidumping tariffs imposed on five Chinese apple juice producers; Role of U.S. lawyers in China's determination to fight back; Background on the apple juice case; How, with many Chinese companies dependent on exports, fighting dumping charges can be a matter of survival; Ways that China uses the rules to its own advantage.

The article reports on the launch by the U.S. and the European Union of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) case accusing China of unfair trade for slapping export taxes on key raw materials. Coking coal, bauxite and magnesium are some of the raw materials covered by China's tax restrictions. According to U.S. trade representative Ron Kirk, Chinese measures restricting exports seem to be part of an industrial policy intended to provide competitive advantages for the Chinese industries.