China tackling ‘bad faith’ trademark hoarding, squatting rules to protect IP, be more attractive to investment
- Chinese officials have proposed to update its Trademark Law in an attempt to improve intellectual property protection, especially for foreign companies and brands
- It is eager to attract foreign investment amid its slowing economy, but earlier this year, the US government said China was the top source of counterfeit products in the world
China is out to crack down on “bad faith” practices and stimulate investment with proposed changes to its Trademark Law in a latest bid to improve intellectual property protection and address the concerns of businesses.
Chinese officials have proposed to update the law this year to control trademark squatting and hoarding and other hits against big companies, with China more eager than ever to attract investment amid a cooler-than-expected economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.
Beijing also hopes, analysts said, to protect domestic companies to boost the Chinese economy that has been affected by the China-US trade war and global supply chain decoupling.
We are on our way from being a large intellectual property country to a strong intellectual property country, but we’re in between big and strong now
“We are on our way from being a large intellectual property country to a strong intellectual property country, but we’re in between big and strong now,” said He Jing, founder of the Gen Law Firm in Beijing, a former US patent lawyer who specialises in intellectual property issues.
“China will link intellectual property to national security.”
