Translating Contracts into Chinese Does Not a China Contract Make
Translating contracts for China does not a China contract make; you need a contract that has been written for China.
China Employee Problems Rising
China employee problems are increasing. We explain how to prevent such problems from occuring and how to nip them in the bud when they do.
China Legal Representative Liability for WFOE Actions
Legal Representatives of China WFOEs can be held personally liable, so beware. This post explains when that is most likely to happen.
China Law on the Internet is All Wrong
China law on the internet is all wrong. It is no substitute for real legal advice. This blog's disclaimer states this, albeit more formally.
How to Calculate Your China Risks
As the Chinese government continues to expand its power and get more concerned about its slowing economy and how it is viewed by its citizens, it just keeps getting tougher on foreign businesses that are not 100% abiding by its laws. China is right now in one of its perpetual crackdowns on foreign companies doing business in China. This makes now a good time for foreign companies doing business in China or with China to determine their China risks. The following questions are a good starting point for making that calculation.
Chinese Free Look Schemes to Steal your IP
Last week, I wrote about how Chinese companies use fake investment scams to trick foreign companies into turning over their IP. This post goes into additional detail regarding the China fake investment scam, but it also goes beyond it to ecompass the various IP theft scams our China lawyers have been seeing in the last couple of years.
Is Your China Contract Worthless?
Pretty much every week, at least one of our China lawyers will -- after a five minute review -- have to tell a potential client their contract is worthless. We see all kinds of worthless contracts. NDA and NNN Agreements, Manufacturing Agreements, Licensing Agreements, Distribution Agreements, Product Development Agreements, Employment Agreements. It goes on and on. And as tempted as I am to ask why these companies would think a US law contract that calls for disputes to be resolved in Boston or Des Moines would make sense in China, I always refrain from doing so, and I have seen some doozies, including the following:
Translate Your Contract For China? Not Gonna Do It
Every few months someone will write one of my law firm's China lawyers asking them to translate an already written contract for China. We always refuse, not just because we are lawyers not translators, but because doing so would be a complete waste of time because contracts that work for the United States, Europe, Australia, Canada, etc., do not work for China and putting those contracts into Chinese won't change that. Indeed, it is ridiculous to think that an American business owner could draft a contract in English and that contract would work for China.
China NNN Agreements and How to Give Them Real Teeth
As I noted in my previous post on China NNN agreements, for enforcement purposes you must make sure your China NNN agreement has teeth. To understand how enforcement works under Chinese law, we need to do a little work. The first point to realize is that the standard approach for enforcing an IP contract under the common law (this is the law in the United States and the UK and most of the British world) has no application under Chinese law. In the common law system, lawyers are mostly concerned with two issues. First, the rule that disfavors liquidated damage provisions. Second, the law/equity distinction that allows only for injunctive relief when a law (damages) remedy is not available.
How to Draft an Enforceable China Contract
If you want to greatly increase your chances of being able to enforce your contract with your Chinese counter-party company, you should do the below. You should do a lot more than this, both within and outside your contract, but I am limiting this post to just those things directly and nearly always necessary for enforcing a Chinese contract and its terms) Have a written contract. Have the written contract set out how disputes will be resolved and, more importantly, set forth the right forum for those disputes; Have Chinese be the official language of your contract if it is going to be enforced in China, which usually (but not always) makes sense; Have the written contract set out in excruciating detail what the Chinese company must do to comply with the contract; Set out the damages the Chinese company must pay if it fails to comply with the contract; Make sure the Chinese company signs and seals your contract.