Protecting Privacy In China

Today, privacy is one of the most hotly debated topics worldwide. The book aims to balance the development of personal rights in a country that has historically valued collective rights over those of the individual. The protection of privacy is not an issue that has been emphasised during the rapid development of economic laws in China. However, the accompanying development of greater government-based regulation of these laws’ implementation has led to greater invasions of personal privacy. This study attempts to provide a way forward for China to address the ever-increasing concerns about the protection of privacy and puts forward a legislative model for protection. This is achieved after a thorough analysis of the threats to privacy protection in China, a critical evaluation of the level of current privacy protection in China, and an analysis of the privacy laws in a series of developed nations based on common law and civil law.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical guide to privacy and data protection law in China covers every aspect of the subject, including the protection of private life as a fundamental – constitutional – right, the application of international and/or regional conventions protecting the right to privacy, privacy rights in the context of electronic communications or at the workplace, and the protection of individuals regarding the processing of personal data relating to them. Following a general introduction about the country, the monograph assembles its information and guidance in two parts: (1) protection of privacy, including national case law regarding the protection of this fundamental right, specific legislation on the confidentiality of interpersonal communications, and sector-specific rules regarding privacy protection, such as privacy rights of employees, patients, consumers or celebrities; (2) personal data protection, including not only general rules on data quality, legitimate processing, data retention, data subject rights, security and accountability, but also specific provisions regarding the processing of health data or other sensitive personal information, further processing for research purposes, exemptions for law enforcement or national security purposes, and rules regarding liabilities, sanctions and redress.

For business investors in China, the legal handling of trade secrets is often crucial. However, initiatives are often complicated by a patchwork trade secrets protection system – pieced together haphazardly over the last two decades and drawing on disparate elements of competition law, contract law, employment law, and criminal law – that diverges in significant ways from global standards and corresponding regimes in other countries. Now at last interested parties can benefit richly from a thorough and practical approach to the subject. This detailed analysis of China’s trade secrets law provides in-depth information and guidance on such important factors as the following: the current framework of China’s trade secrets law, its past development and its ongoing trends; legal comparison of China’s trade secrets law with various international, regional, and national schemes; what constitutes trade secrets infringement in China and what remedies are available; and the legal interaction in China between employment relations and trade secrets protection. The author pays close attention to judicial practice and precedent in the areas of civil remedies, criminal punishment, and administrative penalties. She also offers insightful proposals formulated to align China’s trade secrets law more efficiently with prevailing global standards and generally improve the mechanisms for its implementation. Corporate counsel and international lawyers concerned with intellectual property rights or labour law in China will greatly appreciate the knowledgeable guidance this book affords. They will gain a deeply informed perspective that allows them to avoid infringement, to battle it effectively if occasion arises, and to plan dispute resolution strategies for contingencies involving trade secrets protection in China.

Protecting China's Interests Overseas provides a fascinating and new window into Chinese foreign and security policymaking. In particular, it shows how the management of non-traditional security issues abroad led to the emergence of China's strategy to defend its interests overseas. This book comes at a critical time, as China has just inaugurated its first overseas military base in Djibouti, thereby establishing a long-term military presence outside Asia. Based on a large number of Chinese primary sources, the book examines how the main actors involved in the making and implementation of Chinese foreign policy understood the problem of protecting the assets and lives of Chinese companies and nationals abroad, especially in North Africa and the Middle East, and interacted with each other depending on their priorities, preferences, and organizational interests. As the different chapters explore various aspects and dynamics within the Chinese foreign and security policy machine, the analysis concludes that the emergence of China's strategy to defend its interests overseas was, to a large extent, crisis-driven. The evacuation of 36,000 Chinese nationals from Libya in 2011 was a critical moment in this process. Henceforth, significant efforts were made to strengthen the capabilities of and coordination between the different agencies under the control of the Chinese leadership, especially the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Consistently, China's military presence abroad expanded and evolved over the years to stabilize the regions where the country's human and economic presence is most significant, and to neutralize the non-traditional security threats against it. However, Chinese policymakers still face important challenges and complex dilemmas on the path to formulate a sustainable policy towards this very difficult issue. Protecting China's Interests Overseas also offers an opportunity to rethink how we study and understand Chinese foreign policymaking.

Intellectual property law and practice in China has changed dramatically since the first edition of this influential book published in 2005. Today, judicial and administrative application of law plays a major role, and accordingly this entirely rewritten new edition draws on an abundance of court and administrative decisions clarifying how the law is applied. In a thorough and systematic manner, the authors clearly demonstrate the sophisticated level of legal certainty available for domestic and foreign entities doing business in China, including the adaptation of the legal framework to new technologies, broadened scope of protected subject matter, improved quality of filings, and significant enhancement of enforcement not only with regard to remedies but also to procedural aspects. Providing comprehensive coverage of all aspects of intellectual property protection in China – including analysis of IP-related provisions of China’s new Civil Code – the book emphasizes issues of concern to foreign traders and investors such as the following: copyright law and software protection; protection of trademarks, including Chinese character and Roman script trademarks, well-known marks and bad faith applications; technology transfer; enforcement of trade secret and patent protection; criminal liability for infringement; unfair competition and antitrust law; role of the binding interpretations of the Supreme People’s Court; administrative regulations that supplement the laws; co-operation with administrative authorities; protection of geographical indications; protection of trade names; domain name dispute resolution; special patent-related laws protecting such areas as plant varieties, integrated circuit layout designs,; and relevant provisions of the distinct laws of Hong Kong and Macao. Full descriptions of the competencies of China’s IP-related institutions are included with detailed attention to procedural matters. Brief historical notes in each chapter feature the most significant changes in each amendment of law and regulation. Because in China the laws are supplemented and interpreted by numerous guidelines and circulars issued by ministries or courts, the up-to-date knowledge and awareness provided in this new edition is essential for all companies investing in China or considering such investment, as well as for practitioners counselling their clients on strategies. In addition, officials and policymakers involved in trade or other relations with China will benefit from a comprehensive update of what the current law is and a critical view of what the challenges are. “...the 2021 IPLCN is a recommended read for those who seek a well-written English textbook which covers the main principles of Chinese IP Law. Clearly outlined, it is probably one of the best of its kind on the market. Its existence is welcome and necessary in the current era, where languages are still obstacles.” By Tian Lu, Book Review for The IP Kitten, September 2021.

This open access book describes the most important legal sources and principles of data privacy and data protection in China, Germany and the United States. The authors collected privacy statements from more than 400 crowdsourcing platforms, which allowed them to empirically evaluate their data privacy and data protection practices. The book compares the practices in the three countries and develops empirically-grounded policy recommendations. A profound analysis on workers ́ privacy in new forms of work in China, Germany, and the United States. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Däubler, University of Bremen This is a comprehensive and timely book for legal and business scholars as well as practitioners, especially with the increasingly important role of raw data in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Professor Mingfeng Lin, Georgia Institute of Technology

This book illustrates the role that Private Security Companies (PSC) with ‘Chinese characteristics’ play in protecting people and property associated with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The revival of the ancient Silk Road economic “belt,” combined with the 21st Century sea lanes of communication known as the “road,” is intended to enhance global connectivity and increase commercial activity. However, the socio-political risks associated with Chinese outbound direct investments are often overlooked. Terrorism, separatism, kidnapping and other risks are mostly new to Chinese companies, some of which are operating abroad for the first time. Economic globalization and the transnational exploitation of natural resources have increased the need for Chinese-owned PSCs in spite of the disdain for the profession of “a lance for hire.” Due to peculiar geo-strategic and geo-economic features, the “belt” from Central Asia to Pakistan and the “road” from the Somali coast to the Strait of Malacca are characterized by a high level of insecurity. This book’s focus on how the state’s monopoly of force privatization can play a significant role in protecting the New Silk Road will be of interest to policymakers, journalists, and academics.