Why “Gu Ailing” Trademarks Are Declared as Invalid?

By Wang Haichuan

With Beijing Winter Olympic Games going on well, some people are planning to take advantage of successful athletes to gain enormous profits. On 14 February 2022 China National Intellectual Property Administration made the Announcement of Legally Fighting Malicious Rush Registration of Bing Dundun, Gu Ailing, Etc. Trademarks, arousing wide concerns, which states that a few businesses and individuals maliciously applied hot words related to the Winter Olympics such as the mascot for 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and athletes’ names, illegally used reputation of the Olympics and the Olympic Committee and infringed others’ names and legal rights in order to gain illegal profits....................More

Could Shares Held by Huang Xiaoming Be Divided to Angela Baby after Divorce?

By Gao Hongyue

Huang Xiaoming and Angela Baby recently announced that they decided to split up peacefully. Huang Xiaoming is a good investor in the entertainment industry. According to business information available on the internet, he held shares in movie, investment, catering, etc. industries, including good quality businesses such as Mingjia Capital. When their marriage broke up, could Angela Baby divide and have part of the shares held by Huang Xiaoming? Pleas read this article. For convenience, in this article shares in companies limited by shares and limited companies and interests in partnerships are all called “shares”........................More

1.Interpretation of Several Issues Connected with Application of General Principles of Civil Code

Promulgated by Supreme People’s Court

Promulgation date: 25 February 2022

Implementation date: 1 March 2022

Document number: L.I.[2022] 6

The Legal Interpretation of the general principles part mainly addresses three issues. First, the transition between Civil Code and old laws. After Civil Code was taken into action, the Provisions of Civil Law, the General Principles of Civil Law, the Contract Law, etc. are abolished with relevant legal interpretations such as the Instructions on the Provisions of Civil Law, the Legal Interpretation I of Contract Law, the Legal Interpretation II of Contract Law being abolished by the Supreme People’s Court. Many clauses in these legal interpretations are consistent with Civil Code and helpful for the work of judicial authorities and need to be retained and integrated to avoid law application problems during the transition, adversely affecting the implementation of Civil Code. Second, a collection of experiences and insights in legal practices acquired by courts over aong period of time. Civil Code was made by codification with many clauses sourced from its counterparts. Chinese courts have abundant experience in the application of these clauses to civil cases. These clauses need to be incorporated into it to ensure all cases are decided fairly. Third, in response to law application issues that call for clarification after the Provisions of Civil Law was taken into action. The majority of the General Principles of Civil Code come from the General Principles of Civil Law, which was in force for over four years, in which Chinese courts accumulated rich practical experience and put forward some law application issues to be addressed.

(Source: SPC Website)

https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu-xiangqing-347221.html

2.Decision to Modify the Interpretation of Several Issues Connected with Law Application inCriminal Cases of Illegal Money Collection by the Supreme People’s Court

Promulgated by Supreme People’s Court

Promulgation date: 24 February 2022

Implementation date: 1 March 2022

Document number: L.I.[2022] 5

The original version of the Interpretation consists of nine articles and the amended version fifteen articles, focusing on conviction and sentences of criminals committing illegal collection of public savings and fund raising fraud, further improving criteria for identification of illegal collection of public savings based on its characteristic elements and illegal money collection based on behavior and clarifying the amount of penalties for illegal collection of public savings and fund raising fraud, punishment rules on competition between illegal collection of public savings, fund raising fraud and the crime of organizing and leading pyramid sale and conviction and sentences of group criminals committing illegal collection of public savings and fund raising fraud, etc.

(Source: SPC)

https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu-xiangqing-346901.html

3.Arrangements for Mutual Acceptance and Enforcement of Decisions on Civil Marriage and Family Cases Between Courts in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Promulgated by Supreme People’s Court

Promulgation date: 15 February 2022

Implementation date: 15 February 2022

Document number: L.I.[2022] 5

The Arrangements actualizes wider and closer support within “one country” by including family and marriage cases in both areas and divorces by agreement in the scope of mutual acceptance and enforcement which covers matters of property besides matters of identity, establishes closer connections between laws and legal rules of the two areas in “different systems” by integrating the term “ownership” used by legal authorities in the Chinese mainland and the term “transfer” in orders issued by Hong Kong authorities to actively connect legal expressions in the areas, replacing the term “effective decision” for “final decision” and respecting as much as possible the definition of “effective decision” in laws of the place of the decision making court based on the legal principle of mutual respect, and reflects the common belief of legal professionals in the two areas that they work for the people’s welfare by including the examination rules in the best interests of young people, etc.. (Source: SPC Website)

https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu-xiangqing-345641.html

4.Interpretation of Several Issues Connected with Law Application in Legal Compensation CasesInvolving Enforcement

Promulgated by Supreme People’s Court

Promulgation date: 9 February 2022

Document number: L.I.[2022] 3

The main content of the Interpretation is legal compensation case filing criteria, connections between legal compensation procedures and remedy administration and monitoring procedures, legal compensation responsibility, legal compensation scope and criteria, etc. According to the Interpretation, if a court enforces a judgement, ruling or other valid legal instrument by taking inappropriate enforcement measures such as property investigation, control, assignment, delivery, allocation, etc. or inappropriate mandatory measures such as fines, detainment, etc. in a way that infringes legal rights of and causes damage to a citizen, legal person or group, this Interpretation  should apply if the victim asks for compensation pursuant to Article 38 of the National Compensation Law. The Interpretation states that the court should legally accept the request for damages that the citizen, legal person or group believes arise from one f eleven inappropriate enforcement actions, including “enforcement of an invalid legal instrument or beyond the amount or scope decided by a valid legal instrument”. (Source: SPC Website)

https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu-xiangqing-345161.html

5.Notice of a One-Year Extension of the Campaign to Review the Necessity to Take People in Custody

Promulgated by Supreme People’s Procuratorate

Promulgation date: 18 February 2022

The Supreme People’s Procuratorate decided to arrange for and conduct the half-a-year campaign to review the necessity to take people in custody for the extended period of time from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2022. All cases involving people taken in custody, non only three key cases will be reviewed.

SPP changed the campaign coverage from three key cases, including cases for which the legal sentence is less than three years, criminal cases connected with the running of a private business and cases filed at request to all cases involving a person taken in custody. The campaign requires public prosecution officers review the necessity to arrest or take a person into custody, extension of the investigation or detainment period or renewal of the investigation or detainment period in strict accordance with legal arrest, continued detainment, renewal and need-to-be-taken-in custody criteria. People who may and may not be arrested should not be arrested. People who may and may not be taken into custody should not be taken into custody. People who may and may not be given an extended period should not be given the extended period. If the recommencement of investigation or detainment period criteria are not met, a rectification request should be filed. If a person meets the arrest or detainment criteria, needs to be taken into custody and if not being taken in custody, would be dangerous to the society, the decision to take them  into custody should be legally made. Substantive review of how dangerous to the society, extension of the detainment period and re-commencement of the filing and review process should be promoted. (Source: SPP Website)

https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/xwfbh/wsfbt/202202/t20220218_544918.shtml#1

6.Corporate Data Compliance Guide

Promulgated by the People’s Procuratorate of Yangpu District, Shanghai

Promulgation date: 7 February 2022

Implementation date: 7 February 2022

The People’s Procuratorate of Yangpu District, Shanghai, the Information Service Industry Association of Shanghai, the Panel of Experts of Shanghai in Data Compliance and Security Industry Development, the Industrial and Commercial Union of Yangpu District worked together to formulate and publish the first Corporate Data Compliance Guide in Shanghai. The Guide consists of 38 articles in six chapters based on compliance structure and risk identification and handling approaches, advising businesses strengthen data compliance management from aspects of data compliance management system, data risk identification, evaluation and handling, data compliance operation and support, etc. The Guide encourages businesses to set up a data compliance management department or integrate data compliance management functions with existing corporate compliance management system and advises legal department not to perform compliance management functions. (Source: SHYDPP Website)

http://www.shyangpu.jcy.gov.cn/ypjc/jcdt/79471.jhtml

Picture of the month: 

Photographer: Lawyer Pan Liyun

Caption: Baihaba Village, Xinjiang