I long ago created an arbitrary rule saying that I would not put a blog onto our blogroll until it had been around for at least three months. I instituted this rule after raving about a brand new blog, putting it on the blogroll, and then having it never put out another post. So never… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: February 2010
Chinese Drywall Litigation And Why Seizing Assets Is Very Different From Seizing Ships. With Apologies To Scott Weinstein For Something I Never Said.
Posted in Legal NewsA few months ago, I spoke in New Orleans at a Chinese Drywall Conference. I was introduced as the person who would explain whether it would be possible to sue and collect from the Chinese companies involved in providing the drywall that may eventually cost between USD$15 and $25 billion to fix. I began my… Continue Reading
China Trademarks. Where Your Name Is An Image. Think Like A Chinese Consumer.
Posted in Legal NewsUntil a few years ago, English language trademarks were relatively easy to secure in China. We would figure out the right trademark category or categories under China’s trademarking system, we would pick the right classes within the category(ies), and then we would get approval from the China Trademark Office to file the particular trademark. Then… Continue Reading
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Wants You. Even If You Are In China.
Posted in Legal NewsThe other day, I instructed a client of mine from doing something I was pretty certain would violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). When I told him that what he was proposing would almost certainly be illegal, he assured me that in the country in which he would do this, this sort of thing… Continue Reading
Berkeley Asia Business Conference: Glass Ceilings, Clint Eastwood, Nice People, And Vietnam Over China.
Posted in EventsWhen I was in college, I would need to take a bus across a number of Midwestern states to get home for many of the breaks. I hated it with such a passion that upon graduation, I promised myself I would never again take a bus for more than an hour again and I lived… Continue Reading
China’s Hummer “Purchase.” Yeah, We Bad. We Bad.
Posted in China BusinessI hate to gloat (that’s a lie, I really love to) but I cannot resist mentioning that way back in September, 2009, we came out and, in our post entitled, “Our First China Hummer Post. Our Silence Said It All,” we emphatically stated that the Hummer deal would never go through: Which brings me to… Continue Reading
Why Non Disclosures (NDAs) Alone Are Not Enough For China, Part II. At Least Make It Enforceable.
Posted in Basics of China Business Law, Legal NewsThis is part II of our series on what are commonly referred to as non disclosure agreements or NDAs. In Part I, “Why Non Disclosures (NDAs) Alone Are Not Enough For China,” we talked about how many companies are using inadequate, off the shelf American NDAs in China. Those agreements are inadequate for three primary… Continue Reading
The Basics On China Retail — Creating Your Own Customers Is The Key.
Posted in China BusinessAs China moves from being the “factory to the world” to a growth engine for the world, the number of foreign businesses wanting to sell into and in China is rapidly increasing. Product companies are just as likely to ask me about selling their product in China as to ask how to make it there…. Continue Reading
Why Non Disclosures (NDAs) Alone Are Not Enough For China.
Posted in Basics of China Business LawThe other day, I did a post on why Non-Disclosure Agreements are so often critical for those doing business with China. Within a few hours of that post, entitled, “China Non Disclosure Agreements (NDA). A Really Good Thing,” my co-blogger, Steve Dickinson, was pointing out how if we were going to talk about non disclosure… Continue Reading
China Outsourcing 101. The Legal Basics.
Posted in Basics of China Business LawThis latest recession has only caused even more small and medium sized businesses to look to cut costs by outsourcing their product manufacturing to China. Unfortunately, many of these companies now engaging in OEM (original equipment manufacturing) outsourcing to China are failing to take some or all of the minimal legal steps necessary to protect… Continue Reading
Up Close And Personal With A Chinese “Investment Factory.”
Posted in Recommended ReadingI have been to factories in China that look like they could be in Denmark. They appear safe and clean, and their workers appear to be wearing the latest safety equipment. I have also been to “factories” in China that are really nothing more than a small room with people assembling things. And I have… Continue Reading
How To Violate Chinese Law And Get Away With It. Don’t Even Go There.
Posted in Legal NewsCNN has an article on how business for Virtual Private Network (VPN) software companies is booming these days, thanks largely to China and Iran. The article is entitled, “Cashing in on Internet Censorship,” and it discusses how foreign companies are profiting from software that allows circumvention of government internet controls. The article quotes co-blogger Steve… Continue Reading
China-US Spying, Killing Terrorists In Dubai, And Computer Hacking. Like It’s A Big Deal.
Posted in China BusinessI was not going to write about it, but based on my three email rule, I am. My rule says if three people email me on a topic, I write about it, especially if the emails begins with something along the lines of “I’m surprised you’ve remained silent on….” So I am writing about the… Continue Reading
China As Mother Of All Black Swans. I Dunno.
Posted in Recommended ReadingThere seem to be two schools of thoughts regarding China’s economy. One school says everything is fine, China is different, and we should expect 10% GDP growth for the foreseeable future. Hakuna Matata. Then there are those who say China’s economy is a bubble and a meltdown is coming. Soon. Some of these people have… Continue Reading
Google Buzz As China Play. Is Google REALLY Raising The Stakes?
Posted in China BusinessFor many reasons, we have so far pretty much stayed away from the Google-China kerfuffle. The most important reason for our not writing about it is that we simply do not see ourselves as having anything new or noteworthy to add to the debate. That has not really changed in that about all I am… Continue Reading
China Non Disclosure Agreements (NDA). A Really Good Thing.
Posted in Basics of China Business LawSomeone over on the China Law Blog Linkedin Group just posed a question about using non disclosure agreements (NDAs) in China. My first thought was to refer them over to one of our posts on the subject, but then I realized we have not really written anything on them since 2006. That is far too… Continue Reading
Giving China Due Diligence Its Due, Part II. Don’t Be A Sucker.
Posted in China BusinessI could tell you story after story that would cause your toes to curl. And I will. Some of these are composites, but all are true: 1. Sixty year old Illinois farmer contacts us to tell us that his 22 year old (absolutely unbelievably gorgeous “girlfriend” — I saw the pictures) is being told by… Continue Reading
Is China Finally Ready To Revalue The Yuan?
Posted in China BusinessOne of the things I (and many others) are always saying is that China is ultra-paranoid about its economic growth. The Chinese government knows/believes it must have growth of at least eight percent a year to keep its job engine running and it knows/believes it must keep its job engine running to keep its populace… Continue Reading
Excellent China Blogs Gone AWOL. Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
Posted in Recommended ReadingJust cleaned up my feed reader, which meant deleting blogs that no longer post and deleting blogs that no longer interest me. I use Feed Demon as my blog reader (I know Feed Demon is somewhat antiquated, but I have been using it since forever and I like it) and one of the things it… Continue Reading
Does China Beat India For Sourcing, Hands Down?
Posted in China BusinessYesterday, we did a recommended reading post on a China Sourcing Blog post comparing India and China for sourcing, using statistics to do so. We very quickly received a comment from Joel Waldbaum making very clear that sourcing product from China is far superior and far cheaper than sourcing product (or really anything) from India:… Continue Reading
China Versus India For Sourcing. Tell Me Who Do You Love
Posted in Recommended ReadingThe China Sourcing Blog has an interesting post, entitled, “China and India: A Comparison in Sourcing Potential,” on the similarities and differences between China and India when it comes to product sourcing: There are many similarities between China and India in today’s global-economic climate. Both have over one billion citizens, both have experienced resilient growth… Continue Reading
Yes Virginia, There Is IP Protection In China.
Posted in Legal NewsA couple weeks ago, I did a post entitled, No IP Enforcement In China. That Cannot Be True, in which I talked about how it is just not true that Chinese courts will not enforce a foreign company’s intellectual property rights against a Chinese defendant. I then discussed a recent high profile and high damage… Continue Reading
Berkeley Asia Business Conference. February 20, 2010.
Posted in EventsI am going to be on a panel at the upcoming Berkeley Asia Business Conference 2010, taking place on February 20, at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, 2220 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley CA. The theme of this years conference is “Asia: Shifting the Global Center of Gravity,” and the discussion will center… Continue Reading
Happy New Year China In A Culturally Sensitive Way. Please Don’t Gung Hey Fat Choy It!
Posted in China BusinessRegular readers know that we seldom write about Chinese etiquette/cultural mores, figuring the real key is treating people with respect and just doing business. For examples of this view, check out our posts, entitled, China Cultural Awareness: Going Beyond Not Being An Asshole and Chinese Cultural Awareness Simplified: Don’t Be An Asshole. And we also… Continue Reading
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