"While this partial victory may offer protection for some names and marks associated with well-known personalities, the difficulties faced by Michael Jordan in this litigation marathon also highlight the importance of pro-active registration and enforcement. One wonders whether Michael Jordan would have had an easier match-up if he took action before QIAODAN Sports gained its own reputation."

"Several aspects of the decision are worth noting. First, as loyalty rebates is not listed as a specific type of abusive conduct under the 2007 Anti-monopoly Law, this is the first time the SAIC referred to the "catch-all" clause under Article 17 of the 2007 Anti-monopoly Law. The analysis generally mirrors international practice, though the SAIC’s approach is different in that it focused on the specific characteristics and conditions of the relevant market when analysing Tetra Pak’s rebate schemes. Second, the decision provides guidance on the methods for calculating fines. The fine imposed amounted to 7% of Tetra Pak’s sales revenue in mainland China (the "relevant market"), which is consistent with the approach adopted by the NDRC. Third, the SAIC clarified the meaning of "preceding year". The fine was calculated based on the revenue in 2011, which was the year preceding the initiation of the investigation."

"The proposed amendments to the civil code are less important for their substance. In many cases, they reflect legal requirements already adopted in other laws or regulations. But the amendments do reflect an on-going project to codify these requirements as fundamental requirements of Chinese civil law. For that reason, the amendments are notable for data privacy and other practitioners."

"This draft continues China’s trend toward gradually liberalising its foreign investment regime by removing or relaxing market entry barriers in 31 industries, including manufacturing, rail transportation and mining. Most notably, however, the draft appears to be a hybrid of the traditional catalogue and the new negative list for foreign investment. For example, although it retains the "positive list" format found in the traditional catalogue, it also contains a "negative list" comprised of restrictive measures and prohibited industries."

"The provisions are widely applauded by practitioners and are expected to have a huge and positive impact on cases involving independent guarantees, which have been controversial due to certain provisions in the 1995 Security Law. The provisions acknowledge and respect common business practices, as independent guarantees have been widely used in domestic and cross-border transactions in recent years. They will also increase the credibility and acceptance of independent guarantees issued by Chinese financial institutions in cross border transactions, facilitating the efforts of Chinese enterprises to expand abroad."

"During the pilot programme, the policy and implementation method may change from time to time and from city to city. For an initial assessment of a foreigner’s work permit eligibility, the current basic criteria of at least a bachelor’s degree and two years of relevant post-graduate work experience still apply. However, if a foreigner does not meet the basic criteria or is over the statutory retirement age, the foreigner may try to rely on other factors (such as annual salary amount, professional qualification, years of related work experience and working hours) to see whether they are qualified through another work permit category or under the score-based system."