Professor Xie Zengyi, Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Professor Li Lin, Professor Mo Jihong
Professor’s Nuotio visited China in December 2015. During his visit in Beijing, the Chair of the Center’s Board has signed the Extension of Collaboration Agreement with CASS, Institute of Law. The extension serves to further develop scientific cooperation and broaden the already very successful collaborative relationship.
Dean Kimmo Nuotio was invited to Beijing to speak at the International Conference on the “Rule of Law and Judicial Reform”, annually organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Institute of Law. The event was held in Beijing on 11-12 December.
During his visit in China, Dean Kimmo Nuotio attended the New Silk Road Law Schools Alliance Launch Ceremony at Law School, Xi’an Jiaotong University, in Xi’an, capital city of Shanxi Province. Faculty of Law University of Helsinki joined 8 law schools outside China, 2 law schools in Hong Kong and Taiwan, 10 in mainland China, as the founding institutions in the Launch Ceremony. The alliance aims to become a platform for the promotion of international collaboration on legal education and research.
Professor Liukkunen and Director Fan Yiming, Legislative Affairs Office of Zhangjiagang Municipal People’s Government
Professor Liukkunen received a delegation of officials from the Jiangsu province on Monday, 28th September 2015.
The delegation constituted of the Mrs Gao Hua, Deputy Inspector of the Legislative Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, the directors of the legislative affairs offices of Nanjing, Huai’an and Zhangjiagang Municipal People’s Governments – Mrs Yang Yiqun, Mr Wang Changgen, Mrs Fan Yiming, the director of the Legislative Affair Office of Siyang County People’s Government, Mr Cui Liang and the Deputy Director of the Changzhou Arbitration Commission, Mr Zhang Xiang.
Professor Liukkunen with the delegation from Jiangsu Province
Firstly, Professor Liukkunen shortly introduced the process of law drafting in Finland as well as the China Law Center, its activities and related research projects. Most of the meeting however was based on an open exchange and discussion during which the members of the delegation expressed a real interest in the Finnish law drafting process and the China Law Center.
The International Conference on Innovation and Communications Law (CICL) is a joint venture involving the University of Turku (Finland), the University of Eastern Finland, the University of Louisville (USA), Michigan State University (USA), and Drake University (USA). This international alliance seeks to explore legal issues involving intellectual property law, communications law, and other issues related to these areas or the intersection of the two. This year the Intellectual Property Research Institute, Xiamen University hosted and organised on the 6-7 July 2015 the CICL. The conference counted with the attendance and participation of prominent international and local specialists whom discussed in eight intensive sessions the latest developments concerning innovation, intellectual property law, communications law and competition law.
Dr Dhanay María Cadillo Chandler and Professor Katja Lindroos
A welcoming dinner initiated the conference on the night of the 5th of July, where all of the foreign attendants had the opportunity to have a taste of both the local flavours and the hosts’ hospitality. The conference was officially opened by the authorities of the Faculty of Law – Xiamen University, the Intellectual Property Research Institute -Xiamen University, and the Shinhwa International Intellectual Property Service – Xiamen among them Prof. Dr. Xiuqin Lin, and Prof. Dr. Peter Yu. During the opening ceremony the authorities highlighted the importance of scholarly research, given that our main goal is to learn how to deal with innovation? And also to find the challenges within the existent laws that could potentially deter or prompt innovation. These powerful words set the tone for the conference that began discussing in its first session issues related to Communication Technology and Intellectual Property. Prof. Dr. Tana Pistorius (University of South Africa) chaired this panel, where the presenters included Prof. Dr. Spyros Maniatis (Queen Mary University of London), Prof. Dr. Wushuang Huang (East China University of Political Science and Law) and Prof. Dr. Nari Lee (Hanken School of Economics).
The following session introduced issues related to Domain Names, Big Data and Intellectual Property. Lars Smith (University of Louisville) chaired this second session where Susan Corbett (Victoria University of Wellington) brought to the spotlight the importance of protecting country codes Domain names as consumers might be misled into devious gambling sites that have nothing to do with the country these sites claim to be from. Dongmei Xiao (Xiangtan University) addressed the issue of big data and the objectification of assessment of inventive step of patents. Tana Pistorius (University of South Africa) shed light on the information divide and whether we all have access to quality of information within the context of her presentation on Copyright Protection and databases or the function of trademarks and adwords or the impact of new gTLDs. The context of all presentations was summarised and discussed by Llewellyn Gibbons (University of Toledo).
Within the framework of “New Innovation Model and Intellectual Property” the third session took place under the supervision of Spyros Maniatis (Queen Maty University). In this session Geertrui Van Overwalle (K.U.Leuven) discussed in the context of her presentation ‘Open innovation in agriculture and new modes of sharing IP’ how collaborative licensing models i.e. Syngenta –Licensing platform might present with an alternative to promote a cost effective solution for companies to innovate in the field of agriculture. Following the need to foster innovation, Yahong Li (University of Hong Kong) discusses copyrights and creativity challenges. Xiaoqing Feng (China University of Political Science and Law) brought to the spotlight how new technologies are challenging the current intellectual property framework, thus calling upon efficient law reforms. Guobin Cui (Tsinghua University) has the duty to put in context all four presentations.
The first day of conference closed with the fourth session addressing Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Technology and intellectual property where Geertrui Van Overwalle was the chair. With a thought provocative presentation Martin Adelman (George Washington University) contested the existence of patent tickets on the one hand, and on the other addressed the current misconception in the U.S.A about second medical uses patents which raised the question on how to encourage innovation on known compounds when second use patents are not necessarily granted. Katja Lindroos (University of Eastern Finland) assessed the issue of intellectual property, biotechnology and food where the goal is to find where the IP system clashes with food safety laws arguing that innovation and market entry could be jeopardized by the clash of these two systems. Mei-Hsin Wang (National Yunlin University of Science and Technology) discussed how strategic management on green technology IP rights has fostered innovation and cost savings throughout the use of alliances. Said alliances seems to work for the green tech sector however its applicability have not been proven or put to test on other sectors. Lucas Osborn (Campbell University) explained how weaker patents might help fostering innovation and development in the sector of 3D printing. Arguing how technology helps lowering the price of innovation i.e. DNA sequencing has dramatically lowers its prices. However, the speaker recognised the need to test further the hypothesis given that other industries i.e. Pharma, is heavily dependant on patents. Dhanay Cadillo Chandler (Univeristy of Helsinki) had the duty to summarise and comment on these presentations.
On Tuesday 7th, the conference continued with four more sessions on pressing intellectual property and technology issues. The fifth session on 3D Printing and Intellectual Property was chaired by Peter Yu (Texas A&M University) began with Nari Lee’s (Hanken School of Economics) presentation about 3D Printing and IP and communication law where limitations and exceptions on the IP law in terms of copyrights were assessed. Among the issues discussed within the frame of this presentation was the fact that 3D printers per se are not as controversial as the objects printed since these could infringe i.e. trademarks. The session continued with Phoebe Li (University of Sussex) analysing the impact of 3D printing for the medical industry. This presentation pointed out the importance of 3D printing to reduce the cost of medical ‘treatment or solutions’ i.e. tissue or parts. Even when 3D printed prosthetic could alleviate a patient’s need it also raises the question of liability in case of malfunction or if damage occurs while using the aforementioned prosthetic. Nonetheless as an invention medical 3D printing seems to present an avenue for innovation. This panel was discussed and commented by Xiaoqing Feng (China University of Political Science and Law).
FRAND and intellectual property licensing was analysed within the context of the sixth session and chaired by Nari Lee (Hanken School of Economics), where John Crossed (University of Louisville) discussed the meaning of what is “fair” in FRAND licensing. Arguing that if the meaning of far is taken out of its literal context could become problematic. Even when monopoly laws bring limitations and licensing the effect on the market is a definitive indicator of such interpretation. Yang Li (Shenzhen University) brought to the spotlight the importance in differentiating a patent hold-up from a FRAND hold up within the context of his presentation on FRAND hold-up and its solutions. Xiuqin Lin (Xiamen University) raised the importance of standardisation within the frame of her presentation ‘Interpretation of FRAND: A Chinese perspective’. Kan He (Hanken School of Economics) presented the session’s summary addressed important questions to the speakers.
John Cross (University of Louisville) chaired the seventh session on ‘New perspectives on intellectual property’. In this panel consumer protection was at the centre of the discussion since Huijia Xie (South China University of Technology) highlighted its importance within the context of copyright law. Later on Huijuan Dong (Xiamen University) pointed out the value of regulating TPM for consumers. In the realm of consumer protection Ann Bartow (University of New Hampshire) depicted on how college mascots, which are their trademarks, are at the same time male dominated, thus, discriminating female athletes. The discussion showed that trademark law in the U.S.A sufficient to prevent gender discrimination. Sussan Corbett (Victoria University of Wellington) brought together the three presentations with interesting comments.
The last session of the conference ‘Cross-border Intellectual Property Protection and Government Regulation’ chaired by Katja Lindroos (University of Eastern Finland) encompassed a variety of issues not only related to IP but also technology. Liguo Zhang (University of Helsinki) addressed the Importance of the Qualcomm decision and its implications for the Chinese context, for instance the lack of definition of early abuse constitutes a dilemma since this might fall within the scope of anti-monopoly law. Alexandra George (University of South Wales) drew attention on the issue of new avenues fro cross border protection and enforcement of IP rights. With her presentation ‘Globalising jurisdiction: new developments in cross-territorial protection of intellectual property’ portrayed the possibility to use extradition laws to enforce intellectual property protection could be a viable option given that litigating the same case in several jurisdictions is extremely costly. On a more technology minded presentation Lars Smith (University of Louisville) depicted on how U.S.A has began or aimed at regulating Bitcoin despite the fact that it is not really currency or a bank. The session closed with V.C. Vivekanandan (NALSAR University of Law) presentation on the ‘Battle of the Broadcasting Treaty’. For this panel Martin Adelman (George Washington University) presented comments and initiated the final discussion of the conference.
The closing ceremony was in the hands of Xiuqin Lin, Katja Lindroos, Peter Yo and John Cross whom warmly welcome the participants to next year’s conference in Finland. The conference was co-organized by Drake University, Michigan State University, School of Law Xiamen University, Office of Social Science Xiamen University, Office of International Exchange and Cooperation, State Intellectual Property Training (Fujian) Base and also sponsored by Shinhwa International Intellectual Property Service.
“Climate Law in Finland and China: Outlines of European and Chinese climate change mitigation and energy efficiency regulation” Jenny Rontu, Sara Kymenvaara, Ari Ekroos (Eds.), Aalto University publication series Science + Technology 6/2015.
This book aims to present an outline of climate change legislation and policy in both Finland and China. The focus is predominantly on policy and legislation concerning mitigation of climate change. Although climate legislation is extensive and it is developing fast, this volume covers its most important parts and is definitely a unique and up-to-date comparison of climate change policy and legislation in China.
The publication is divided into five parts: overall view of climate change policy and legislation in China and Finland, emission trading schemes, renewable energy policy and legislation, energy efficiency regulation, and carbon capture and storage regulation.
Professor Qin Tianbao and Professor Ari Ekroos at the Climate Law Seminar held on 10 June 2015
The book has been presented during the project’s closing seminar on 10th June 2015. The seminar brought once again together the Finnish and Chinese researchers composing the research team, as well as scholars and practitioners working in the field of environmental law. The in-depth discussion was a continuation of the previous seminars and workshop held in Wuhan, Helsinki, Tallinn and Kaifeng. Although the project came to an end, all participants consider the importance of furthering comparative research in the field of climate law.
Opening of the doctoral seminar with keynote speakers: Prof. Ditlev Tamm, Prof. Pia Letto-Vanamo, Prof. Kimmo Nuotio, Prof. Sun and Prof. Wang
Professor Kimmo Nuotio led a delegation of doctoral students, from all Finnish law faculties. First, they attended a two days Sino-Nordic doctoral seminar
in Shanghai, co-organized with Fudan University Law School and with the support of the Nordic Center. Both Finnish and Chinese young scholars gave presentations based on their their broader doctoral research. All participants were very enthusiastic aboutthe opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from each other, therefore the discussion continue beyond the lecture venue to the dinner tables filled with Chinese cuisine specialties.
Some of the doctoral researchers: Kristof Petretei, Tuomas Tiittala, Daniel Acquah, Ekpemi Ekhabafe, Timo Enroth, Niko Soininen, Hanna Lukkari, Anna Petretei and Beata Mäihäniemi
The discussions and exchange between the young generation of scholars have been of a high academic level and set strong foundation for comparative studies. Therefore, it the idea of continuing such seminars was warmly welcomed. The Danish Forum of Chinese Law and Chinese Legal Culture offered to organize the next Sino-Nordic Doctoral Seminar in 2016.
LCW graduate school covers all fields of legal studies, from various branches of positive law to general jurisprudential studies. Each doctoral student will get acquainted with the europeanisation and the globalisation of law. In 2009 call the emphasis is on comparative law. However, the topic or the approach of the doctoral thesis is not expected to connect tightly with these issues. LCW provides the doctoral students with a systematic 4-year research training programme. All three Finnish Faculties of Law as well as other legal university institutes and departments in Finland take part in the graduate school.
This title provides a comprehensive and critical study of China’s corporate law regime, as Prof. Shen examines the latest 2013 amendments to the PRC Company Law. Many consider this amendment to be a milestone in China’s quest for an eventual consolidation of one single corporate law regime, applicable to both domestic entities and foreign invested enterprises.
The book is now available for consultation at the Kaisa-talo Library, where the China Law Center collection is located.
Professor Ulla Liukkunen receives the book from Professor Shen Wei
Professor Shen Wei is the KoGuan Chair Professor of Law and Special Oriental Scholar Professor of Law at Shanghai Jiao Tong University KoGuan Law School. Professor Shen’s current research interests include international investment law, corporate governance, financial regulation, and international commercial arbitration.
The Seminar took place on Tuesday 24.2.2015 at 9:00. A number of experts on China, Chinese Law and Sino-Finnish cooperation discussed in the Parliament Little Auditorium.
In the fall 2014, the China Law Center collection has been established as a separate section at the Kaisa-talo library in Helsinki. Ms. Liu Ying, a student in the International Business Law master program at the Faculty of Law (University of Helsinki), said that this collection has been already very helpful in her studies. As she is undertaking a comparative research on the identification of the relevant market in EU and Chinese competition law, she has found relevant textbooks that helped her to understand the legal background for her master thesis. She was surprised to find in Finland books that she used for her law studies in China and she would have never imagine that she could have such an easy access to Chinese legal materials thousands of kilometers away from home. Additionally, ‘the collection counts not only textbooks written by leading Chinese professors, but there is also the most famous Chinese legal novel Mutui Zhengyi’ Ms. Liu said.
Ms. Liu Ying often consults the China Law Center collection while working on her master thesis.
The collection is based on book donations made by CASS Institute of Law and the CASS Law Library as well as Peking University Law School and Fudan University Law School. It offers about 400 titles on specific fields of Chinese law as well as contributions on the methodology of comparative legal research, in both Chinese and English. The books can be consulted only at the Kaisa-talo library, but researchers and students from Member Institutions can freely request inter-library loans. As we seek to keep the collection growing we regularly exchange materials with partners in China. We invite you therefore to browse the Helka catalogue by using the collection call number “hc 4. krs oikeustiede china law center collection” to find the available titles.
In autumn 2014 the capital of China, Beijing, was hit by a series events related to Finland and organized by Team Finland. Pure Finland events will present several aspects of Finland: its dynamic consumer brands; attractive options for tourists, investors and students; latest scientific and technological innovations; unique cultural creations and many others.
The University of Helsinki has been invited, as one of the main partners, to organize a Pure Finland event that promoted the higher education and research. The Science in Dialogue event was jointly hosted by Peking University and the University of Helsinki on the 26th of November 2014.
The event aimed to find solutions to global challenges by joining the efforts of both Finnish and Chinese scholars. Leading researchers from both universities shared their views and inspiration on the following key topics: rule of law, cleaner air for all and the future of learning.
As the event focused also on legal research and education, the Center has been naturally invited to actively contribute. Although, the main topics were criminal law, environmental law and labor law, the results and achievements of other already existing research projects, carried out jointly by Finnish and Chinese scholars, were made visible.
The full program of the Science in Dialogue event can be download here.
For the full program of all Pure Finland events, we invite you to visit their website.
Professor Chen Su, Deputy Director of CASS Institute of Law, and Professor Ulla Liukkunen, the Director of the Center met in Beijing on 25 November 2014. They discussed the future of their joint research project on employee participation as well as possible ways to deepen the existing cooperation with the Center. The emphasis was put on the diversified expertise of the two institutions. The strength of the Center lies in the particular profiles of each of its Member Institutions, which can contribute in different and complementary ways to the cooperation. CASS, on the other hand, carries out research in all fields of social science, which is easily accessible to the Institute of Law. Both Professors hope therefore to advance a broader research agenda covering more fields of law and a multidisciplinary approach.
Furthermore, Professors Chen and Liukkunen agreed that diversity and novelty cannot be limited to the substance of the cooperation only. Indeed, in terms of its form, the cooperation could be taken further and go beyond those already well-established as the bilateral seminars, common publications and joint research projects. One possibility could be to create a long-term staff exchange program that will allow researchers to immerse into the Finnish and Chinese legal cultures.
Professor Ulla Liukkunen and Director Chen Su at the CASS Institute in Beijing on25 November 2014.
Professors Chen and Liukkkunen, as leaders of a joint research project, discussed as well their forthcoming joint publication (2015) and future activities. An important part of the discussion evolved around the upcoming international research seminar, to be held in Helsinki in May 2015, which will bring together company law and employee participation. It was discussed as well that the closing seminar of the project could be held in Beijing in 2016.
Director Chen Su met also a delegation of Finnish criminal law lawyers, led by Professor Kimmo Nuotio. The delegation was invited by Prof. Liu Renwen to take part in a mini seminar, during which Professor Nuotio and Assistant Professor Sakari Melander spoke on terrorism.
University of Helsinki
During his visit in China, Dean Kimmo Nuotio attended the New Silk Road Law Schools Alliance Launch Ceremony at Law School, Xi’an Jiaotong University, in Xi’an, capital city of Shanxi Province. Faculty of Law University of Helsinki joined 8 law schools outside China, 2 law schools in Hong Kong and Taiwan, 10 in mainland China, as the founding institutions in the Launch Ceremony. The alliance aims to become a platform for the promotion of international collaboration on legal education and research.
