In this episode… NNN agreements are important legal tools importers should use to protect their IP. Renaud chats with Adrian about what they are and some of the common errors made with them that could leave you with an unenforceable agreement and no protection at all! First off, though, they kick off by examining the increasing Covid cases and their effect on supply chains in China as of mid-January 2022... Just hit the play button to start listening..! Listen to the episode … [Read more...]
Misguided Legal Advice Given to Startups in China: 8 Examples
We talk to hardware startup founders (on the way to bringing a new product into production) every week, and many of them have talked to a lawyer -- which is a good thing. Unfortunately, the legal advice given to startups is not always serving them well. (I am not trying to put lawyers down. Some international business lawyers are great and can think both as business people and as lawyers, but they are a small minority. The problem is, many hold a narrow perspective, don't know the limitations … [Read more...]
4 Situations When Your Product IP May Be Threatened [Podcast]
![4 Situations When Your Product IP May Be Threatened [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/4SituationsWhenYourProductIPMayBeThreatenedPodcast-1140x445.jpeg)
In this episode… "Who's looking at my product idea in order to copy it and sell it in competition with my original?" This is a question that keeps hardware startups and entrepreneurs awake at night, as they know their innovative product idea is going to be jealously viewed by copycats from all kinds of places. Actually, these copycats usually come from both within and outside of your supply chain, and they can copy you either early on in the new product launch process or after your … [Read more...]
Product Safety When Buying from China: Avoid Negligence
Dan Harris wrote an article about product safety (How to Reduce Your Foreign Manufactured Product Liability Risks) that will, hopefully, open the eyes of many people to the risks they are exposed to. I thought it particularly interesting because he went through typical questions asked of importers that resold unsafe products: To convince recalcitrant clients of the need for product liability protection for the products they are having made overseas, I sometimes send them the following … [Read more...]
New Physical Products: Patents Should Come After Market Success
We talk to a startup company developing a new physical (hardware) product at least once a week, and I'd estimate that about 25% of them try hard to secure a patent. I get it. They are afraid of being copied. They know investors and customers will like it. It looks like a wise investment. And, of course, not many lawyers will discourage a patent application, which is -- for good reason -- in their list of the best ways to protect a new product's intellectual property. However, here is … [Read more...]
Don’t Let a Chinese Supplier Circumvent You: 5 Tips
Some risks and frustrations never go away... One of them is Chinese suppliers circumventing their customers, or selling to their customer's competitors, all the while using the product knowledge they gained... from their customers. Over the weekend, I stumbled upon a good old HBR article entitled When Your Contract Manufacturer Becomes Your Competitor. It came out in 2006, but the same trends are still at work! … [Read more...]
The lack of professionalism of some Chinese suppliers
A few days ago, I was invited to speak in a seminar organized by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. The topic was "How to collect payments from Chinese suppliers". The first speaker was Javier Hernandez, a lawyer based in Beijing. From his presentation, I realized the main source risk factor is the fact that many Chinese suppliers don't follow what is considered normal business practice in the West. Here are three examples that are very, very common. Surprisingly, most … [Read more...]