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Trademark Infringement: Will UK companies infringe on Chinese trademarks in the process of importing


There are some situations where a UK company will place an order to a Chinese company asking the Chinese company to manufacture OEMs for the UK company, and thereafter ship same to the UK. What happens if the UK brand is similar or identical to that of an existing Chinese brand, will there be infringement?


There is no clear answer and each matter will be judged on its own merits.


However, non- infringement defence might be claimed if the following points are met:


1. All products are exported to overseas markets and none of them are sold in China. 2. The UK company has a registered trademark which was registered before the order was made. 3. The manufacturer had fulfilled its reasonable review obligations of the OEM Entrustment Contract, the Enterprise Qualification Document of the client, etc. 4. There is no other malicious intent.

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