Seminar highlights on China Litigation and Food Law, by Nicola Aporti

Nicola Aporti, Foreign Counsel

Head of Food Regulatory and Corporate

e.naporti@hfgip.com

p. +86 136 3662 7540

LITIGATION

• Litigation procedures in China are efficient and very fast. A first-instance decision is usually issued within 6 months from the beginning of the trial, up to 10 months if one of the parties is a foreign company. Same for second-degree decisions.

• Enforcement of commercial litigations can be anticipated at the beginning of the litigation, provided that the petitioner gives a guarantee. This eases enforcement of final decisions.

• IP litigations are based on the condition precedent that IP rights have actually been acquired in China. Make sure you have protected your IP in China!

• Courts in China have very high requirements for evidence – stricter than in many western jurisdictions: only original contracts/documents can be used; company chops are necessary to engage companies; emails and electronic communications need to be notarized in order to prove facts; clear traceability is necessary throughout the whole obligation chain.

• Sound internal compliance (clear contracts and delivery notes, original documents, complete records, etc…) is key to getting the most out of litigations in China. Is this the case for your company?

FOOD LAW

• The new food safety law and soon-to-be implemented regulations are re-shaping the food regulatory in China;

• China Food and Drug Assocation (CFDA) finally becomes the leading authority in food safety regulation;

• One food license will replace the current three food licenses (food production, food distribution and food service);

• On-line platforms will bear liabilities if they do not implement real-name registration of food e-vendors;

• Food supplements and health food using ingredients included in a special catalogue will NOT need to be registered with CFDA (saving around 1.5-2 years in time);

• Baby formula and special medical use food need to be registered with CFDA;

• Advertising of food products will become more strictly regulated. Advertisers bear joint liability with food traders and producers for breach of advertising regulation;

• Mislabeling – as long as it does not affect food safety – will no longer be punished with 10-fold damages in favor of the consumer.

• Did you miss out on one of 7 seminars in Italy that Nicola Aporti was speaking at recently?