Some countries with market economy do not produce products protected by intellectual property law to the same as the most developed countries do; this leads to their intellectual property law protection being considerably softer and looser. Also, the rights of the consumer are sided with to the detriment of the producer, which differs substantially from the situation in the United States of America, for instance.
One sometimes wonders at the number of disputes over intellectual property law infringements against Apple in China. After termination of iBooks and iMovie, both iTunes applications, a case against the very core of Apple, the iPhone, has been brought. The Office for the Protection of Competition in Beijing has ruled that iPhone 6 and 6S are excessively similar to 100C phone, which is produced by Chinese firm, Shenzen Baili and banned their distribution to Beijing market.
Since Apple appealed against this decision, the ruling has suspensory effect and will be reviewed by the Beijing Intellectual Property Court; should the original decision stand, however, certain types of smartphones might be prohibited to sell in Beijing and, consequently, in all China.
The area of intellectual property is actually one of the most complex legal branches; therefore, we strongly recommend that Czech investors in China should consult their a possible protection of their trademarks and other industrial rights well before introducing their products to the Chinese market, and in doing so avoid inconvenience suffered by the American company.
