Blockchain Patentability Through The Lens Of A Recent PTAB Decision

Photo of Yunlai ZhaPhoto of Will ChenBy Yunlai Zha and Will Chen on Posted in Blockchain, Intellectual Property

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Blockchain patent applications may be divided into two types: underlying technologies of blockchain, such as consensus methods, security, etc., and applications of blockchain in, e.g., fintech, legal, and other industries. In patent examination, the first type, because it recites underlying technology improvement, rarely elicits subject matter rejections. The second type, applications of blockchain, are often found to be directed to an abstract idea. This article analyzes a recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision in a blockchain patent application and explores drafting and prosecution strategies to anticipate subject matter scrutiny. Continue Reading

New Export Control Law: China Strengthens its Regulatory “Great Wall”

Photo of Michael ZhangPhoto of Yookyung MoonBy Michael Zhang and Yookyung Moon on Posted in Global Trade

Year 2020 definitely is a milestone year for China in building up and strengthening its regulatory legislation in the field of international trade.  Following the Regulations on Unreliable Entity List (“UEL”), the Export Control Law came out on October 17 and will come into effect on December 1, 2020.  Obviously, this Export Control Law of the PRC (“Export Control Law”) is one of the most important bricks to China’s regulatory Great Wall in the ongoing trade war to protect its key national security and interests.

Here is our quick bird’s-eye view of this new Export Control Law and some preliminary thoughts on its possible impact to the future cross-border transactions and multinationals’ China operations. Continue Reading

Huya DouYu Merger is a Sign of Things to Come in Esports M&A

Photo of Ethan AronsonBy Ethan Aronson on Posted in Coronavirus

The streaming landscape has experienced its second major shakeup this year with Huya’s merger with DouYu on October 12, 2020. Huya and DouYu are China’s largest streaming platforms, averaging 169 million and 165 million monthly users respectively, and will combined be worth around $11 Billion USD. The merger positions the new entity as the largest esports platform in China, and makes it the de facto destination for esports eyeballs in the region. Continue Reading

Certainties and Uncertainties Under China’s New Unreliable Entity List

Photo of Michael ZhangPhoto of Reid WhittenBy Michael Zhang and Reid Whitten on Posted in Global Trade

On September 19, 2020, China took a new strategic position in its ongoing trade confrontation with the United States. The Ministry of Commerce of the PRC (“MOFCOM”) issued Regulations on Unreliable Entity List (“UEL”) and drew wide public attention to the beginning of the PRC government’s retaliation against the Trump Administration’s recent restrictions on Chinese entities including Huawei, TikTok and WeChat. It is notable that MOFCOM deliberated with more than a year of internal discussion before implementing the UEL. Continue Reading

How the New Presidential Proclamation Regarding Non-Immigrant Visas Affects Your Company

Photo of Greg BerkPhoto of Jonathan E. MeyerBy Greg Berk and Jonathan E. Meyer on Posted in Labor Law

Presidential Proclamation

On June 22, 2020, the White House announced an extension and expansion of Proclamation 10014, which was originally announced on April 22, 2020 and restricted the issuance of and entry on immigrant visas.  The new visa ban expands the restrictions to certain non-immigrant categories. Continue Reading

Huawei Whack-A-Mole: The U.S. Takes Another Swing at the Chinese Semiconductor Industry

Photo of Reid WhittenPhoto of Curtis DombekPhoto of J. Scott MaberryBy Reid Whitten, Curtis Dombek and J. Scott Maberry on Posted in Global Trade

On Tuesday, May 19, the U.S. Commerce Department published a regulation (effective May 15, 2020) that prohibits sale to Huawei of a microchip made to a Huawei specification, made outside the United States with non-U.S. materials, sent from a foreign country, by a foreign person.

To quote the philosopher, hol’ up.

How is that even possible? Continue Reading

Coming to America…to Wait Out the Coronavirus — Visa & Immigration Considerations

Photo of Greg BerkBy Greg Berk on Posted in Coronavirus, Labor Law, Other

With the growing concern about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19” or “coronavirus”) some foreign nationals who live outside the U.S. have decided to fly to the U.S. and wait out the crisis.  This article discusses the related visa and immigration issues, and what U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires to admit someone into the U.S.

Coronavirus
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Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Vitamin C and the Future of U.S. Antitrust Enforcement Against Chinese Companies *

Photo of Michael W. ScarboroughPhoto of Leo CaseriaPhoto of Dylan BallardPhoto of Helen EckertPhoto of Joy O. SiuBy Michael W. Scarborough, Leo Caseria, Dylan Ballard, Helen Eckert and Joy O. Siu on Posted in Antitrust

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Over the last three decades, government antitrust enforcers and private plaintiffs in the United States have increasingly sought to apply U.S. antitrust laws to conduct by foreign businesses that is deemed to have effects on the U.S. economy. Many of these foreign businesses have been located in Asia:  since the 1990s there have been waves of U.S. criminal prosecutions and civil cases alleging anticompetitive conspiracies between Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese sellers and manufacturers.  For most of this time, however, companies in mainland China—despite being the largest exporters of goods to the United States, first in Asia and now in the entire world—have rarely been targeted for U.S. antitrust enforcement. Continue Reading

Antitrust Claims Against Telescope Manufacturer Ningbo Sunny Dismissed and Shot into Space

Photo of Leo CaseriaBy Leo Caseria on Posted in Antitrust

针对望远镜制造商宁波舜宇的反垄断诉讼驳回

On September 28, 2017, Judge Edward Davila dismissed an antitrust complaint filed by Optronic Technologies, Inc. (dba Orion) against Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co., Ltd., Sunny Optics, Inc. and Meade Instruments Corp.  The case is Optronic Technologies, Inc. v. Ningbo Sunny Electronic Co., Ltd., Case No. 5:16-cv-06370-EJD (N.D. Cal.). Defendants are represented by Leo Caseria and Mike Scarborough of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. Continue Reading

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