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trade mark registration

First case in China penalising bad faith trade mark registration

The Fujian Higher People’s Court issued a judgment on 27 September 2021 awarding Emerson Electric Co (“Emerson”), a US company damages in the amount of RMB1.6 million payable by the defendants (two affiliated Xiamen companies, the main shareholder of the Xiamen companies and the trade mark agent) in China for having registered Emerson’s trade marks […]
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CEDB released a public consultation paper on updating Hong Kong’s copyright regime on 24 November

By Benjamin Choi, Managing Director The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong just released on 24 November 2021 a public consultation paper on updating Hong Kong’s copyright regime.  This is brilliant news to copyright owners and fingers crossed with the passage of the new legislation!  If you may wonder the meaning […]
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billboard trademark

Brand valuation in Hong Kong – top tips from the front line

By Benjamin Choi, Managing Director As a leading commercial hub, Hong Kong is often viewed by foreign brand owners as an ideal gateway into Asia. However, local conditions – from the worth placed on family-run business to the impact of sky-high rents – are often under-estimated or misunderstood. Analysis of successful home-grown brands and some not-so-successful […]
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Hong Kong Trade Mark Practice

Hong Kong Trade Mark Practice Goes International

By Benjamin Choi, Managing Director Hong Kong is expecting the launch of the International Registration (IR) of Trade Marks under the WIPO Madrid System by tentatively end of 2022 or early 2023. This will be in addition to the long established and territorial based trade mark registration system, whereby trade mark owners domiciled or incorporated in […]
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benjamin choi wtr1000 2021

OLN IP’s Benjamin Choi Ranked in 2021 WTR 1000

Congratulations to Benjamin Choi, Managing Director of OLN IP, who is a ‘Ranked Individual’ in the Silver Tier for Prosecution & Strategy in 2021 World Trademark Review 1000 – the world’s leading trade mark professionals. Benjamin Choi recently joined our legal and business solutions platform as Managing Director of OLN IP Services (OLN IP), a […]
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trade mark review china

Trade Mark Reviews in China – Some Encouraging Successes

By Benjamin Choi and Angel Luo  The general principles in determining whether a trade mark can be registered in China are to a large extent the same as in most other countries, considering China is also one of many jurisdictions in the WIPO Madrid International Registration system. Indistinctive or descriptive marks which fail to achieve registration in […]
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EU trademark law

Wearing Red Soles has a Price

By Patricia Bodalo Distinction, that was the key. The day Louboutin took his assistant’s nail polish in 1993 and painted the sole of the shoe he was making, he was telling the entire world, or at least the European Union, that shoes with red soles must be Louboutin’s. In 2021, the French shoe designer is […]
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