Writes May Hao, an attorney, the distributorship in China for US companies is a complex issue. She gives two examples. One is a US company whose trademark was registered by a Chinese sub-distributor. The other is a Chinese distributor who complains that a US company, which has authorized it to use the US company's name to sell the products in China, now asks the Chinese distributor to stop using the US company's name. Ms. Hao points out that every company should be sensitive to its business decision because different business decisions may have vastly different legal ramifications. If a company is not well equipped to handle complicated legal issues in China, they should seek legal advice as early as possible in order to reduce and control the potential risks. For the full text of her article, click here.
Ms. Hao is the founder of the MayGlobe Law firm,. She received her master of laws degree from China University of Political Science & Law in Beijing in 1988 and JD degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1993. Before setting up MayGlobe Law Firm in June 2002, she practiced law with three leading US law firms -- White & Case, Baker & McKenzie, and Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw -- in New York, Hong Kong and Chicago for about nine years. She was lead counsel in many highly sophisticated domestic and cross-border business transactions. The MayGlobe Law Firm in Chicago provides legal services to US companies doing business in China and Chinese companies doing business in the United States.