E-Commerce In China: Is Your Familiarity Up To Standard?

2016. 12. 9

E-Commerce In China: Is Your Familiarity Up To Standard?

December 9th, 2016, marked the seminar hosted by A&Z’s Shanghai offices pertaining to Customs and IP protection in Cross Border E-Commerce. Two of A&Z’s bright professionals took centre stage: Andrew Zhang, Partner, and Alice Dong, Trainee Lawyer, who took the opportunity to showcase their knowledge to the large audience who came to inform themselves more on the issue.

Among other things, the seminar stressed the importance of Cross Border E-Commerce (CBEC) in China and the fact that it has grown, and is continuing to grow, at an alarming rate, becoming too large to ignore in light of the forecasts that CBEC in China will have tripled between 2015 and 2020.

 

Mr. Zhang was first to address the audience and shed some light on the two business models through which CBEC is able to take place; most notably the ‘Direct Purchase’ (DP) model concerning B2C transactions, and the ‘Bonded Import’ (BI) model concerning B2B2C transactions. Not only were these models picked-apart, but the various advantages and disadvantages concerned in their application were also addressed covering varying tax rates, initial capital investments, customs dealings, product categories, legal complexities, and the risks involved. Risk potentialities were also acknowledged in terms of dealing with the main government authorities related to CBEC in China, as well as how one should undergo dealing with customs officers, a hot topic among the audience who posed questions to Andrew on this exact issue. Andrew also gave an insight into the preferential FTZ policies which companies would do well to consider, and allowed for easy understanding of these complex concepts by conveying them through examples and metaphors, which were not only well received, but also applauded by the audience.

 

Following Mr. Zhang, Ms. Dong took to the podium in addressing concerns over IP protection in CBEC. Drawing on the emphasis attached to CBEC portrayed in the first half of the seminar, Ms. Dong took this opportunity to deliver her valuable opinion in addressing the concerns of businesses who are already established in, or who are looking to enter, the Chinese market, but who fear IP fraud. Ms. Dong not only covered IP infringements such as trademark, patent, copyright and their overlap considered common in Chinese business, but addressed how one should go about in detecting and dealing with them, drawing from empirical and practical examples. Ms. Dong was met with varying questions from the audience concerned with the registration of trademarks, time periods from registration to completion, and the possibilities of protection during such registration periods, all of which received the most updated and informed responses.

 

The end of the seminar was met with applause and conversation as further questions were asked, answered, and business cards exchanged. A&Z relishes opportunities to engage in and undertake such events, not only in the interest of exhibiting the high quality of insight offered by its professionals, but in the interest of informing foreign companies as to the rules and regulations relevant to their business practices, and the illustration of their rights when undertaking endeavors in China.

 

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