Data Protection and Cybersecurity Developments 2023

May 9, 2023
An Exploration of Data Protection and Cybersecurity Developments in the Digital Economy Era : How China, India, Vietnam and Thailand are keeping up with digital evolution In today’s digital age, data protection and cybersecurity are becoming increasingly important world over. The Asian legal landscape, being no exception, is ushering in an enormous amount of change – with privacy laws anticipated, by the end of this year, to have grown by 25% since 2021. With the rise of technology, sensitive data is being collected and stored at an unprecedented rate, making it vulnerable to cyber-attacks. This is especially true in countries like China, India, Vietnam and Thailand that are experiencing rapid growth in their digital economies. Here, we shine a spotlight on these countries and explore the latest changes and upcoming amendments to their data protection and cybersecurity laws and regulations. China With the ever-accelerating growth of technology, comprehensive data protection and cybersecurity laws in China have become crucial. In recent years, the Chinese government has implemented a number of changes to its laws in order to protect citizens’ personal information and ensure that companies are compliant with international standards, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These changes include new regulations on data collection, storage, usage and cross-border data transfers; increased penalties for violations; and improved enforcement mechanisms. In 2021, China enacted its comprehensive data protection “rulebook”, the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) which, while neither as prescriptive nor as detailed as the GDPR, imposes strict requirements on companies that collect and use personal information, and gives individuals greater control over their own data. For example,...

The Greater China IP Updates – April 2023

April 26, 2023
TSMC Tops List of Patent Applications in Taiwan For the seventh consecutive year, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, took the top spot among patent applicants in Taiwan.  The latest figures just in are for 2022, and TSMC filed a total of 1,534 applications, which was actually a 21% drop from 2021.  All of TSMC’s patent applications were for invention patents.  Last year, the total number of invention patent applications stood at 50,242 cases, which was a 10-year high.  Of the foreign applicants, US-based semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials Inc. last year was Taiwan’s largest patent seeker, filing 881 applications comprising 847 invention patents, 2 utility model patents and 32 design patents.  Qualcomm dropped from first to second place with 763 applications, which was 10% lower than 2021.  South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics Co. took third place in the foreign applicants’ rankings with 675 applications, an increase of 30%, followed by Japan-based semiconductor supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd. with 487 applications.  Most of the foreign patent applicants were from the semiconductor, information technology and chemical industries.  Categorized by country, Japan held the top spot with 13,128 applications, the US was second with 8,517 and China third with 4,424.  Amongst local applicants, PC brand Acer was second last year with a total of 530 patent applications, which was an increase of 15%.  Third was flat panel maker AUO Corp. with 505, up 7% and ahead of smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. with 412 applications in fourth position.  It should be noted that Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. was not in the leading ranks of applicants because a...

Firms Of The Year Results 2022 China

April 19, 2023
In-House Community Firms of the Year 2022 – Top Law Firms in China Winners in ⭐bold Honourable mentions in italics Alternative Investment Funds (Including Private Equity)   ⭐ Fangda ⭐ Han Kun Law Offices ⭐ Global Law Office King & Wood Mallesons De Heng Law Offices Jingtian & Gongcheng Capital Markets   ⭐ JunHe ⭐ Global Law Offices ⭐ Han Kun Law Offices ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ Fangda ⭐ AllBright Law Offices Grandall Law Firm Zhong Lun Clifford Chance Employment   ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm ⭐ JunHe ⭐ Baohua Law Firm ⭐ AnJie Law Firm King & Wood Mallesons Antitrust/ Competition   ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ JunHe ⭐ Tian Yuan Law Firm ⭐ AnJie Law Firm ⭐ Global Law Offices Linklaters Dentons China Zhong Lun Compliance And Regulatory   ⭐ AnJie Law Firm ⭐ Fangda ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons Baker McKenzie FenXun White & Case Yuanda Winston Energy & Natural Resources   ⭐ Zhong Lun Law Firm ⭐ JunHe King & Wood Mallesons Clifford Chance Banking And Finance   ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ JunHe ⭐ AnJie Law Firm ⭐ Global Law Offices ⭐ Fangda Han Kun Law Offices Linklaters Clifford Chance Corporate And M&A   ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ Fangda ⭐ JunHe ⭐ Global Law Office ⭐ Jingtian & Gongcheng Commerce & Finance Law Offices Clifford Chance Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison White & Case Intellectual Property   ⭐ CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office ⭐ AnJie Law Firm ⭐ Fangda ⭐ AllBright Law Offices Zhong Lun Han Kun Law Offices International Arbitration   ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ Fangda ⭐ East & Concord Partners ⭐ Llinks Law Offices Zhong Lun Jingtian & Gongcheng Litigation And Dispute Resolution   ⭐ King & Wood Mallesons ⭐ JunHe ⭐ Baker McKenzie FenXun ⭐ Jingtian & Gongcheng ⭐ Llinks Law Offices Mayer...

The Greater China IP Updates – March 2023

March 22, 2023
Tax Cuts No Guarantee for Taiwan to Maintain Taiwan’s Chipmaking Lead Tax cuts passed by the Legislature in January, 2023, are just one step of many that need to be done to prepare Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturers for future competition with other companies in the chipmaking field. Lawmakers passed amendments to the Statute for Industrial Innovation offering income tax cuts of up to 50% from Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2029 for companies that meet the requirements that are engaged in work that innovates technologies domestically and occupy a critical position in international supply chains. The intention is that semiconductor manufacturers will continue to invest in Taiwan and help cement its standing as the world’s second largest semiconductor supplier. Experts at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research say that one area to expand on is wafer fabrication. Currently, Taiwan has a relatively low output of materials and equipment for wafer fabrication, which are mostly imported, and if it wants to have more control over supply chains, it must work to address that weakness. Another aspect to global competitiveness is that, as other economies such as South Korea, Japan, Europe and the U.S. pick up the pace to bolster their own positions in their respective semiconductor supply chains, it is highly likely that they will try to poach semiconductor engineers from Taiwan. Offers of competitive salaries, good social welfare terms and green cards could prove enticing for research and development personnel and executives at Taiwanese semiconductor companies. The College of Semiconductor Research sponsored by the public and private sectors is well placed to help Taiwan produce future skilled workers and...

2023: How Shall Multinationals Embrace the Changing Antitrust Landscape in China

March 22, 2023
2022 was a year full of changes for China’s antitrust regulations. First, in August, the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) welcomed its first revision 14 years after its initial implementation. Following that, the central antitrust agency and the top court successively published several draft implementing antitrust rules and draft judicial interpretations on antitrust civil litigation, all of which are expected to be finalised in 2023. With China’s reopening in late 2022, we expect that amid the increasing economic activities, these changes or updates on antitrust rules will broadly and deeply impact multinationals from day-to-day business operations to M&A activities in 2023. Therefore, we think it is important for multinationals to be timely aware of those key changes, properly adjust their compliance schemes, and be well prepared at the outset of 2023. How Should Companies with Distribution Networks Adapt to the New Rules on Vertical Restraints China’s revised AML brought significant changes to its regulatory framework for vertical restraints. In particular, it introduced the first-ever safe-harbour rule for vertical restraints and converged the long-lasting divergence on approaches against Resale Price Maintenance (RPM) between courts and agencies by setting out the rebuttable presumption of illegality rule. While it seems that these changes may ease China’s regulations on vertical restraints to some extent, it is important to bear in mind that RPM remains to be a high risk in China. Specifically, it is very challenging and burdensome for a company to rebut an illegality presumption during an investigation and relevant individuals including management teams may even bear personal liabilities if an RPM violation is found. Therefore, if a company intends to roll out RPM schemes...