Some really fantastic events lined up, from a Film Festival to the Taste of China (with contributions from shananigansblog.com).

Wish we could be there to enjoy the festivities, but happy to be able to help out from afar. If you’re in Dublin, be sure to check it out!

Decision-making is very different when it’s your own money that’s at stake, and as a result family firms tend to have a long-term commitment to jobs and local communities, which gives a significant but often under-rated stability to national economies.

This survey covers a wide array of subjects and areas of business, from the measure of which family businesses drive new products and ideas, to the role government can and should play a greater role in supporting them.

These businesses are making a substantial but under-valued contribution to stability and growth, and we believe governments could do more to offer the sort of targeted support that would make a significant difference.

The report also draws attention to the support structures available, and where often such support is inadequate for smaller businesses. On that note, ETP - our own grassroots company formed to offer SMEs the type of support in Asia often only available to larger firms – gets a mention.

In other markets there is almost no help for family businesses, and in some cases support systems exist, but are under-used, or inadequately publicised. An obvious conclusion to draw here is that family firms need to take responsibility for ensuring that they do their own homework, and make the maximum use of all the resources that are available. An example would be Enter the Panda, which is an Anglo-Irish company based in Beijing, which helps small firms start doing business in China and Asia Pacific.

Whether you are starting a new business, running a successful company, or struggling in this economic climate, this survey is worth a few minutes of your time to draw some perspective on where family businesses and SMEs fit into the world of business, and what we can all do to improve our bottom lines.

Happy reading, and wishing you and your business all the best in 2013.

We have a database of over 3500 companies worldwide reported for fraudulent, scamming behaviour and mishandling of orders. To ensure that they are not trying to contact you or are already doing business with you, simply contact us here and we can check it off this database and let you know. This is absolutely FREE, no strings.

We believe as clients and customers your faith in your supplier should be solid and all doubts cast aside. So over the last few years, we have been constantly building and updating this database, aiming to bring you the most complete blacklist available for free on the web.

Every time we have researched, performed due diligence and audited suppliers and manufacturers, they have been added to our database.

It’s not all bad! We also have an ever increasing database of factories that we have personally vetted and done business with ourselves that we know you can safely do business with. We only work with factories that adhere to international safety and quality standards, and meet our requirements for the Panda Whitelist.

At Enter the Panda, we make it our top priority that you are doing business in the safest and most reliable business environment.

Sourcing from China isn’t always black and white, but Enter the Panda is working hard to make it that way.

CHECK THE PANDA BLACKLIST FREE

Tomb Sweeping Day - 清明节 (Qīngmíng Jié)

Most Chinese companies will observe this holiday and this year it has been announced that:

Saturday 31st March and Sunday 1st April are working days

Monday 2nd April – Wednesday 4th April are public holidays

If you find contact with your suppliers, agents and manufacturers over this time is limited, this is most likely why. We’ll be working at Enter the Panda however, so feel free to contact us!

Afterwards, I also briefly visited the Tourism Ireland lunch, which was in great attendance by many locals.

It’s clear that there’s a real drive back home to make trade with China a priority, and hopefully this visit from An Taoiseach and the recent visit to Ireland by China Vice-President Xi Jinping are the first real steps towards it.

As well as supporting the Beijing GAA and Beijing Celtics clubs, this year the Irish Ball raised money for two fanastic local charities, Jinde and Care for Children. With over 740 guests at this sold out black (and green) tie event and some incredibly generous silent auction prizes from our world sponsors and friends in Ireland, we have raised a record amount this year and shown the world the charity and goodwill the Irish are famous for.

Enter the Panda is really thrilled to have taken part in this event as a Supporting Sponsor, offering our services for the design and sourcing of all the digital and print material, as well as logistical on the ground support.

Entertainment on the night included live bands flown in from Ireland, traditional Irish Céilí dancers and a local cover band. Special thanks also to our guest of honour, the Irish Ambassador to China Declan Kelleher.

Take a look at a pics of the night below and please be sure to visit the charities linked above.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, or as we say over here 爱尔兰国庆节快乐!

For many companies China is still considered to be an untapped resource, offering huge potential sales and market share. However, these companies are also wary about doing business here for a number of very good reasons.

The possibility of trademark infringement is one very big reason.

Spot the Difference

Over the years, I’ve seen various trademark infringement cases in China. Some of these include:

1. Joint Venture (JV) between a Chinese company and a ‘foreign company’ breaks down and the Chinese company walks away with all the trademarks. This was probably registered/owned by the Chinese JV party and only at the breakdown does it appear how important ownership of this is. Albeit an old story, Danone vs Wahaha stands as an amazing insight in to the complexities of trademark ownership and infringement in JV’s.
   (See: Danone vs Wahaha)
2. Trademark squatting – 3rd party companies/individuals that are keeping an eye out for products they think will enter the Chinese market and trademarking the names/possible names/future names/logos, etc and then using this to extort money.
   (See: Reuters Article)
3. Competing companies with similar logo colour schemes and sounding names, seemingly hijacking an established international brand to launch their own business.
   (See: Starbucks vs XingBaKe)
4. Traditional infringement claims – Companies identifying brands they feel infringe on their own trademark, but it is ruled this is not the case. China works on a first come, first served basis with regards to trademarks.
   (See: Dell vs DeEr)

If you haven’t covered all your bases, you may find yourself in your own trademark infringement situation. The entity that owns the trademark can take you to court and attempt to stop you from selling that product/brand under that name in that location. If they are successful in their bid to stop you selling under that name, this will add weight to their case in other jurisdictions.

In a Shenzhen Mall

This may lead to a snowball effect that you will not be able to stop. If you don’t own the trademark rights to your product’s name, fighting a trademark infringement case in China (and almost anywhere else) will most likely prove to be fruitless and a waste of time and money. Of the several options to consider when resolving this issue, the most commonly sought solutions are; offer to purchase the trademark or enter into an agreement to ‘satisfy’ the trademark owner.

There appears over the last few years to have been a massive increase in trademark applications and registrations. This is understandable with the unprecedented situation in China and to put it into perspective, in 1983 there were just over 20,000 newly registered trademarks. In 2004 there were 588,000 and in 2010 there were over a million newly registered trademarks.

The Apple v Proview case, even if it didn’t start as a trademark infringement situation, shines light onto the fact that people and companies can benefit massively if they own the trademark to any product and will probably be perceived as a way to ‘easy’ money.

Our advice would be to seek out a professional legal trademark specialist in China to make sure you have your bases covered and at least to find out who owns what already!

Teabucks anyone?

Like this article? You might want to check out:
Apple vs Proview: A Slice of the Pie
Fake/Unlicensed Body Shop in Fujian, China
Fake Toni & Guy Salon in Downtown Beijing, China

What can we learn from the Apple vs Proview ongoing case?

Mmm... smells expensive.

In the early 2000’s Apple hired a company, Proview Taiwan, to purchase the trademarks for several product names in the Asia area, including in mainland China. I am told the agreement between Apple and Proview Taiwan for this work wasn’t well worded and contained some room for interpretation (some have called this sloppy legal work and poor due diligence).

Proview purchased the trademarks for iPad (amongst other names) on behalf of Apple, sold them to Apple and everyone moved on. Fast-forward a few years and pretty much out of the blue (although there has been rumours of this case for some time) an entity called Proview Shenzhen brings to light that they own the iPad trademark in mainland China and Apple is committing trademark infringement by selling iPad’s under that name. Proview Shenzhen takes Apple to court in Shenzhen and wins, paving the way for further trademark infringement cases against Apple all across the country.

The crux of the issue here appears to be that in the original agreement it wasn’t clear who owned the Chinese mainland trademark for the name “iPad”. The trademark infringement win in Shenzhen for Proview allowed the removal of iPads from retail sales outlets there. In my opinion, if Apple want to continue selling iPad’s in China and to stop a further plethora of trademark infringement cases coming their way, they should be considering an ongoing agreement with Proview Shenzhen or attempt to purchase the trademark all out. Apple could fight it on the grounds of a breach of the initial contract but whichever way you slice it, this is going to be quite costly for Apple. Costly in the way that you or I wouldn’t be able to afford in probably a hundred lifetimes! Great timing for the launch of the iPad3 next month, eh?

China uses a first to file system with regards trademarks, so understand that this seems to have nothing to do with the nuances of Chinese trademark law and more to do with an initial breach of contract between Apple and Proview. However, it helps raise questions for businesses interested in entering the ever changing and confusing landscape that is the Chinese Market.

I think no matter how big or small your company is it is always worth being extra careful when bringing your product to the masses in China. Make sure the basics are down before you begin. When you register your trademark in China, make sure you own it. If you are developing new products that may potentially make their way into China, make sure they are trademarked too. If you can’t afford to trademark in a new market such as China or don’t think its viable, then it’s worth to stop and think again.

Our advice would be to seek out a professional legal trademark specialist in China to make sure you have your bases covered and at least to find out who owns what already!

Sent from my iPad

Update 21-2-2012
Watch out for the trademark infringement ruling in Shanghai tomorrow, Wednesday 22-2-12 – The result could mean quite a lot!

Update 21-2-2012
I tried to post this link in my Weibo (twitter ripoff) and it seems that the term ‘Proview’ has been blocked from posts and searches!

Like this article? You might want to check out:
Trademarks in China: How hard can it be?
Fake/Unlicensed Body Shop in Fujian, China
Fake Toni & Guy Salon in Downtown Beijing, China

Up and up and up!

Some of you may not have heard about the GRI from 1^st March 2012 from almost all shipping carriers yet. But you will likely feel the pinch when you notice shipping prices for containers almost doubling after 1^st of March.

Here is what is happening and what we’re being told:

Where & What?

The increases will be applied as follows:

Origin Range: From All Asian ports (including Japan, South East Asia, Colombo and Bangladesh)

Destination Range: To all Northern European ports (including UK & Ireland and the full range from Portugal to Russia) to West Med, Adriatic, East Med, Black Sea and North Africa.

Cargo: Dry cargo, OOG’s, Paying empties, Break-bulk and Reefer cargo.

Why?

While some carriers aren’t even offering an explanation for this price hike, others are using a variety of differing excuses. The most common the reasons being offered are:

1. A fuel surcharge - Increasing fuel prices which truthfully account for between 30-50% of this rate increase in most cases.
2. 2011 adverse weather conditions causing extended periods of port closures and therefore the carriers loss of revenue.
3. A shift in the balance of the rate of containers heading westward and eastward, storage and canal charge changes.
4. 2011 saw an unprecedented decrease in container shipping rates that has been reported as unsustainable for these carriers coming into 2012.

It’s terrible to think that these carriers can switch and change rates so significantly in such a turbulent and sensitive time for European and Asian trade. Most companies have already made their 2012 projections based on last year’s shipping rates and for the most part make concessions for minor rate changes.

However, as you will see below, the rate change is huge and will ultimately be passed on to the consumer or final buyer. This is not ideal for imports to Europe at all, and this will be even more damaging for SME’s who haven’t recognized this change yet!

Mine is fourth row, third from the left, please!

How Much?

We’ve summarised the rate increases from the following companies below. These figures are the increase on top of the existing rates which lie at about USD 700/teu. All told, it is about double the current rate level!

• K Line – USD 725/teu
• Hapag – USD 750/teu
• Maersk – USD 775/teu
• MOL – USD 750/teu
• CMA – USD 750 teu

Note: TEU is short for Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit which means a 20ft container. A 40ft container is 2TEU or FEU (Forty-Foot Equivalent Unit). As the above rate increases are based on a 20ft container, if you are preparing to ship a 40ft container after 1^st March, prepare also to double that increase!

Toying with the careful balance of shipping rates

Be Prepared!

It goes without saying that these rate hikes affect LCL shipping too, causing potential strife for all the SMEs and young companies looking East for their goods. Shop around and make sure you are getting the best competitive prices!

Please be aware the rates will be changing from month to month as usual, but this significant rate hike takes the new base line up a big step. These rates will apply for all freight on board from 1^st March.

If you have any questions or need extra information please let us know.

(Thanks to Ciaran McCann for providing supporting information)

You most likely won’t find this on the shelves at your local Carphone Warehouse.

Apparently Nokia is being designed by Apple in California.