1. Enforcement in China

2. Typical Scenarios
Foreign company with Chinese patents wishes to enforce against Chinese manufacturers competing globally
Foreign company with Chinese operations needs to enforce against a Chinese competitor
Foreign company with a breach of an agreement involving a Chinese company
Foreign company enforcing against another foreign company (either against manufacturing base or for China market)
Foreign brand holder attempting to stop counterfeits

3. Enforcement Trends
As a general rule, enforcement has increased over the past five years
Foreign companies have faired well enforcing IP rights in China – around an 85% success rate
Formation of IP courts and branches in major jurisdictions has increased speed and damages
Damages remain below par but increasing
No discovery – but courts establishing some presumptions
Costs for litigating remain very low

4. Methods of Enforcement
Traditional judicial routes (IP Court or Intermediate People’s Court)
IP administrative proceedings (Administration for Industry and Commerce and Provincial Intellectual Property Offices)
Other administrative routes: Customs, Food and Drug, Ministry of State Security
Seek assistance from USPTO attachés in China
Informal enforcement
Permanent injunction is the remedy

5. Strategy Your current enemy might be a future partner
Approach enforcement from a business perspective: what do you want and what do they want?
Disruption is key: be the fly in the ointment
Preventative medicine:
Obtain IP rights in China
Claims easy to enforce
Understand trademark subclass system in China
Chinatize your agreements
Trust but verify your business relationships
Your current enemy might be a future partner
Drafting licenses in the negative; arbitration clauses

6. Thank You