NORDIC CHINA LAW WEEK 2018: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN CHINESE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

On 18 April 2018, Professor Jin Haijun of Renmin University Law School gave a guest lecture in the University of Helsinki on the ‘Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law’.

The event was part of Nordic China Law Week 2018 (17 – 23 April), organized by the Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki, with the support of the Confucius Institute and Chinese Studies of the University of Helsinki.

Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University Law School) delivering a guest lecture on Chinese intellectual property law during Nordic China Law Week 2018 at the University of Helsinki.

The guest lecture was hosted and moderated by Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center.

After briefly outlining the historical evolution of intellectual property (IP) law in China, Professor Jin discussed a number of leading cases and disputes, including Michael Jordan v. China TRAB and Qiaodan Sports Co., Ltd and Xian Xidian Jietong Wireless Communication Co., Ltd (IWNComm) v SONY mobile communication products (China) Co. Ltd. (Beijing Intellectual Property Court, 22 March 2017).

Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Finnish China Law Center, introduced guest speaker Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University) at the Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki on 18 April 2018

Professor Jin also explored recent reforms of Chinese IP law, including: specialized IP Courts in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou (2014); over 20 other IP tribunals around China; a piloted guiding case system in the Beijing IP Court (in practice reflecting the principle of precedent and stare decisis in common law jurisdictions); and the possibility of a uniform appellate IP court.

Reforms of IP administrative authorities in China have also been undertaken within the broader context of significant adjustments of central state institutions and functions in March 2018. Responsibility for patent, trademark and geographical indication matters lies with the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO). The Chinese Copyright Office is under the Publicity Department of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Administrative enforcement of IP cases is now under the responsibility of State Administration of Market Supervision and Management.

Professor Jin Haijun (Renmin University) discussing changes made to China’s administration of IP law in March 2018 during Nordic China Law Week 2018 (17 – 23 April) in Helsinki, Finland

During his presentation and subsequent group discussion, Professor Jin drew upon his background in private practice, his LL.M degrees and doctorate in law. Professor Jin has also worked in a variety of foreign institutions, including as a visiting professor at the University of Frankfurt am Main and the University of Washington, and as a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and the Max-Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law in Munich.

Professor Jin also presented on Chinese IP law and private law theory during the China Law Research Workshop, held at the University of Helsinki on 19 April 2018.

This guest lecture was one of many events organized during Nordic China Law Week 2018 (17 – 23 April). Other events included:

Tuesday 17 April: Trade Governance of the Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements

Wednesday 18 April: How Important is China’s Constitution in the Chinese Legal System?

Thursday 19 April: China Law Research Workshop

Friday 20 April: Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting

Monday 23 April: Information Session on Online Chinese Legal Research

Monday 23 April: Seminar: What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives

Nordic China Law Week 2018: 17 – 23 April

The Finnish Center of Chinese Law and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki are proudly co-hosting Nordic China Law Week 2018.

‘Nordic China Law Week 2018 will be held 17 – 23 April and will feature an exciting array speakers and contributors from China and the Nordic region’, says Professor Ulla Liukkunen, Director of the Center.

‘This reflects ever-deepening interest in Chinese law in the Nordic academic, and broader public, arena’.

‘In addition, Nordic China Law Week 2018 is being held in response to strong and growing interest in Chinese law and the Chinese legal system from the private and non-profit sectors’, Professor Liukkunen says.

‘In light of corporate demand, including from local SMEs and startups, Nordic China Law Week 2018 will include many events on Chinese business and corporate law, including Chinese intellectual property law’.

Professor Liukkunen says the Center is particularly thankful for the contribution and involvement of scholars from across the Center’s 10 member institutions.

Nordic China Law Week 2018 will include a day-long China Law Workshop, the first-ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting, a half-day seminar on contemporary people management in China (special guest speaker: Peter Vesterbacka of Angry Birds and Slush fame), a short-form seminar on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as well as guest lectures on Chinese constitutional and intellectual property law.

The Week is targeted at lawyers, those in business (including entrepreneurs), people working in governments or international organizations, academics, students, those working in NGOs /civil society and anyone with an interest in learning about Chinese law and legal culture.

All events are free and open to the public, with the exception of the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting (aimed at senior scholars from education and research institutions in the Nordic region, though junior academics, including doctoral candidates, are welcome to join). The host of the Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting will be Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Helsinki.

Professor Pia Letto-Vanamo, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, will host the first-ever Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting during Nordic China Law Week 2018.

The Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, thank University of Helsinki Chinese Studies and the Confucius Institute at the University of Helsinki for their support for Nordic China Law Week 2018.

Program of events

Further details of each event in Nordic China Law Week 2018, as well as links to register where relevant, can be found in the following event pages on the website of the Finnish China Law Center:

Tuesday 17 April: Trade Governance of the Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Logic and Institutional Arrangements

Wednesday 18 April: Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law

Wednesday 18 April: How Important is China’s Constitution in the Chinese Legal System?

Thursday 19 April: China Law Research Workshop

Friday 20 April: Nordic China Law Scholars Meeting

Monday 23 April: Information Session on Online Chinese Legal Research

Monday 23 April: Seminar: What People Management Practices Work Best in China Today? Cultural and Legal Perspectives

Further questions and media inquiries

Please contact Stuart Mooney, Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

Guest lecture: Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law: JIN Haijun, Renmin Law School: 18 April 2018

In connection with Nordic China Law Week 2018 (17 – 23 April), the Finnish China Law Center and Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki are pleased to extend an invitation to a public lecture:

Latest Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law’

The guest lecture will be given at 10:15 – 11:45 on Wednesday 18 April 2018 in the Meeting Room of the Faculty of Law (P545), 5th floor of the Porthania Building (Yliopistonkatu 3, Helsinki).

The event is being organized in collaboration with, and with the support of, the Confucius Institute at the University of Helsinki.

About Professor Jin

JIN Haijun is Professor of Law in the Law School of Renmin University. He joined as a member of faculty after receiving his doctorate in Renmin Law School in 2001. Prior to this, Professor Jin practiced law in a private law firm for two years after he obtained his LL.B degree from the Southwest University of Political Science and Law and passed the Chinese Bar Exam in 1993. He has two other LL.M degrees, from Renmin University and the University of Washington in Seattle.

Over the last decade, Professor Jin has studied and worked in a variety of foreign institutions, including as a visiting professor at the University of Frankfurt am Main and the University of Washington, and as a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and the Max-Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law in Munich.

Professor Jin’s research covers various aspects of intellectual property legal theory and practice, including broad issues such as IP as private rights and IP and social development, and specific issues such as copyright fair use, trademark consumer surveys and compulsory patent licenses.

Professor Jin, Remnin University Law School.

Further information

This event is free and open to the public. No prior registration is required.

Please direct questions about the event to the Coordinator of the Finnish China Law Center, Stuart Mooney, at stuart.mooney (at) helsinki.fi.

IPR University Center event: Recent Developments in Chinese IP Law

On 22 March 2018, the IPR University Center, a joint institute of six Finnish universities hosted by Finnish China Law Center member institution Hanken School of Economics, held a seminar on ‘Recent Developments in Chinese Intellectual Property Law’.

Professor Li Mingde, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Photo credit: http://www.iolaw.org.cn)

Professor Li, from the Intellectual Property Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), is a leading expert on IP law. In his presentation he discussed the latest developments in the reform of Chinese copyright law as well as recent developments in other fields of IP. The experience from the specialized IP Courts and the background of the recently established new IP Courts in Shenzhen and Xi’an was also addressed. Finally, Professor Li discussed the reform of the administration on IP-related issues, including the changes of the role of the Chinese SIPO.

Professor Li’s many publications include Governance of Intellectual Property Rights in China and Europe (Elgar 2016), which he edited with Professor Nari Lee (Hanken School of Economics) and Professor Niklas Bruun (Hanken School of Economics / University of Helsinki).

Professor Li was, with Professor Nari Lee and Professor Niklas Bruun, a leader of the research project Legal Transplant For Innovation and Creativity – A Sino-Finnish Comparative Study on the Governance of Intellectual Property Rights’ (TranSIP), a comparative law research project that undertook collaborative research in academic institutes in China and Finland. Details of this collaboration can be found in the Finnish China Law Center’s Report on its First Four Years.

During his trip to Finland, Professor Li also acted as the opponent in the presentation of a doctoral thesis by University of Helsinki Doctoral Candidate, ZHAO Yajie on Friday 23 March.

 

Logo of the IPR University Center (Picture credit: https://www.iprinfo.com/)