Correspondence: Sharon R. Barner, Foley & Lardner LLP, Suite 2201, Jin Mao Tower, 88 Century Boulevard, Shanghai 200121, China

¹is a partner in Foley & Lardner's Intellectual Property Litigation and International Practices and chair of the firm's Asia Practice. She is also a member of the firm's Life Sciences, Entertainment & Media and Automotive Industry Teams. She works with the firm's clients on IP strategy, counselling and litigation, cross-border M&A-related IP, international technology transfer, licensing and portfolio management. Ms Sun received her LLM degree from the George Washington University Law School and earned her LLB degree from Peking University, with honours.

²is a partner with Foley and chair of the firm's Intellectual Property Department. Ms Barner is also a member of the firm's Management Committee and was the former chair of the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice. In addition to her membership in the IP Litigation and International Practices, Ms Barner is a member of the Automotive and Food Industry Teams.

³is a partner in the international law firm of Foley & Lardner while continuing his teaching affiliation with the George Washington University Law School, where he was director of the Intellectual Property Law Program and professor of law. Professor Wegner regularly operates in Japan, working with the firm's Tokyo office. A member of the firm's Intellectual Property Department, Professor Wegner crafts strategies for multinational patent enforcement and management based upon current intelligence on global intellectual property law and practice as well as a cutting edge understanding of trends in patent case law.

Received 7 November 2008; Revised 7 November 2008; Published online 20 January 2009.

Abstract

The protection of intellectual property (IP) involved with manufactured goods comprises many aspects: Without even touching upon patents, these aspects include trade secrets and trademark protection, both very important in the classic protection of a pioneer manufacturer's product line and reputation. Yet it is well known that in China, Western companies have had challenges using trade secrets to safeguard IP. Trademark protection also has weaknesses, particularly as competitors often use Chinese marks that are very similar to the trademark – a situation that is difficult to control with typical trademark remedies. The China 10-Point Patent Checklist (Checklist) provides only starting points or guidelines for technology-based outsourcing operations – including biotechnology companies – doing business in China. The Checklist does not address comprehensive enforcement strategies such as deciding where to bring an action: in the United States (or Japan, Germany or another applicable importing country) under Western laws and Western patents, in China itself or in both countries.