Month: December 2022

This is yet another blog post about 50 Cent a/k/a Curtis Jackson. This time, he “happened to be in the proximity” of the defendant’s cosmetic surgery clinic. Doing what, exactly? The opinion doesn’t say. While he was fortuitously in the neighborhood, “At Kogan’s request, Jackson posed for, and took, a picture with Kogan in front of a backdrop stamped with the words ‘PERFECTION MED SPA’ throughout.”

50 Cent says he thought Kogan wanted the photo for “her own private enjoyment.” Ha! MedSpa has 300k+ Instagram followers and Kogan has 100k+ herself, so you better believe that photo was going online. MedSpa posted it to Instagram with the following text:

Thank you @50cent for stopping by the number one med spa @bh_perfection_medspa [ ] [ ] #50cent #bhperfectionmedspa #perfectionmedspa #medspa #celeb #vip #facial #laser”

Kogan made a similar post to her account:

MedSpa and Kogan published the photo other times

This case involves St. Francis High School, a Catholic high school in Mountain View located just a few steps away from my home. In the wake of George Floyd’s death during the early pandemic days, racial tensions were high and people were angry. One SFHS student found on Spotify, and then publicized on social media, a photo of three peers that appeared to be in blackface, which the uploader said was evidence of racism at SFHS. The depicted students’ moms claim the students were wearing facemasks of green acne medicine, but what they were actually doing proves inconsequential. In the high-tension environment, the SHFS principal told the students they were not welcome at SFHS, so they “voluntarily” withdrew.

Meanwhile, Labana, a mom of another SFHS student, said that she was “ready for shame the kids and their parents.” Working with another parent, HJ, she helped organize a protest

Despite (or in many cases because of) the increasing difficulties foreign companies face in doing business in China, there remains nearly as much interest in China joint ventures as ever. Our China lawyers have also seen a recent uptick in companies needing help with failed and failing joint ventures, which is to be expected as COVID in China is moving into a considerably riskier phase and as China’s economy continues to decline. This post is intended to provide you with pretty much all the information you should know to navigate China’s joint venture minefields.

What Is a China Joint Venture?

A China joint venture is a business agreement where a foreign investor and at least one Chinese company combine for a specific purpose. That purpose can be anything from completing a new project to breaking into the Chinese market.

There are two types of China joint ventures:

1. Equity joint venture

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear a trademark infringement case arising under the Lanham Act that has huge implications for manufacturers and sellers of products based outside the U.S. The case is Hetronic International, Inc. v. Hetronic Germany GMBH, et al. The case arises from a $114 million judgment for an industrial remote-control maker in a trademark dispute with its former European distributor. The question before the court is when a U.S. company may recover damages for trademark infringement based on foreign sales. This ramifications for international business are massive if the court allows U.S. companies to see trademark damages for the sales of products outside its borders.

U.S. company enters distribution and licensing agreements with European companies

The plaintiff, Hetronic, is a U.S. Company that manufactures radio remote controls used to operate heavy-duty construction equipment (e.g. cranes). Hetronic sells its products and services in over forty-five

Crypto trademarks are a no-go in China. In line with the country’s prohibitions on cryptocurrencies, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will not register trademarks that describe crypto goods and/or services. Brands in the crypto space must be mindful of this reality when crafting brand and intellectual property rights protection strategies for China.

China banned cryptocurrencies in 2021. Consequently, applications to register trademarks that describe crypto goods and/or services are being rejected by CNIPA. At first glance, these rejections would appear to be consistent with China’s Trademark Law. Article 10(i)(7) prohibits the registration of trademarks “detrimental to socialist morality or customs, or having other unhealthy influences.” Interestingly, however, CNIPA does not always cite Article 10(i)(7) when rejecting crypto trademark applications.

In the case of one application rejected on both crypto and descriptiveness grounds, CNIPA did not cite Article 10(i)(7), but did cite the Trademark Law’s prohibition against descriptive marks.