A few months ago, the general counsel of a company for whom we had done some China work asked me to spend a few minutes alerting her to the “typical” legal issues American companies face when they do business with China. She wanted a legal checklist to give to the executives at her company so that they would know when they need to contact her so she can contact us.
I gave her the following:
Nearly every company that does business with China needs to face and resolve the following four issues:
1. Is my company operating in China legally? Is my company able to operate as a foreign company or must it form a Chinese entity to comply with Chinese law?
2. Is my company’s intellectual property in China going to be protected? Should I register my company’s intellectual property in China so as to give it protection in China? Should I require the Chinese companies with whom my company does business sign contracts mandating they protect my company’s trade secrets/confidential information?
3. Does my company need to hire employees in China and, if so, what sorts of agreements does it need with them?
4. What should I put in my company’s China contracts? In what language should they be? In particular, how should my company’s contracts with Chinese companies provide for resolution of any future disputes so as to provide it with the most protection?
What do you think?
