How To Protect Your IP Internationally: The Extreme Basics

Home | China Law Blog | How To Protect Your IP Internationally: The Extreme Basics I recently spoke with an in-house IP lawyer at a high-tech hardware client that does business all over the world, mostly in emerging market countries with weak intellectual property rights and protections, including China. When it comes to protecting their IP, this company employs what he calls a "Swiss Army Knife approach," meaning they do "everything and anything" they can do. Specifically: Don't do business with bad people or bad companies, who are far more likely to try to steal your IP. Research those with whom you may do business. He noted that the "less impressive the legal system, the more impressive must be your due diligence." 100%. Register "anything and everything" that makes sense to register and do so in every country in which it makes sense to do so. Do not reveal to anyone what does not need to be revealed. This includes to employees. And get confidentiality and trade secret and non-disclosure agreements in place protecting what is revealed. As they say in the government to wave off pesky questions, "that's need to know." Constantly update the technology so that when someone does copy it, they are copying an older version. Educate your customers on how to distinguish between the older and newer versions and why they should prefer the newer better versions over the older versions. To this I would add educating your consumer on why it makes sense to avoid counterfeits in the first place, and make it easy for consumers to determine if a product is genuine or not (without, of course, revealing sensitive design information that would make counterfeiters work easier). Act aggressively at the first sign of an IP or trade secret violation. He said he "could not even count the number of times his company had nipped a problem in the bud by having acted quickly." See Cease and Desist Letters to Stop International Counterfeiting. Guanxi. His word, not mine. He said that in addition to all of the above, one of the most important things is having good relationships with your employees and your customers and the governments in the countries in which you operate because having this create "karma" (again, his word, not mine) that helps to protect you. I like it, not least because it so closely matches my own Five Tips for Protecting Your IP from China. What do you think? Check Out Our China Law Services Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn E-mail Comment Fred Rocafort Fred leads Harris Sliwoski’s intellectual property practice and is the coordinator of the firm’s international team. Much of Fred’s practice consists of helping cannabis businesses protect their brands. He also works with entrepreneurs and companies entering the Web3 space, a new frontier for IP law. Prior to joining Harris Sliwoski, Fred worked overseas for more than a decade, in both government and private sector roles. Fred is a regular contributor to the award-winning China Law Blog and Canna Law Blog. Fred began his career overseas as a U.S. consular officer in Guangzhou, China, where he advocated for fairer treatment of American companies and citizens in China and for stronger intellectual property rights enforcement. After entering the private sector, Fred worked at a Shanghai law firm as a foreign legal advisor and later joined one of the oldest American law firms in China, helping foreign companies navigate the Chinese legal environment. He also led the legal team at a Hong Kong-based brand protection consultancy, spending most of his time out in the field, protecting clients against counterfeiters and fraudsters in Greater China, Southeast Asia and Latin America. In addition to his IP work, as a native Spanish speaker, Fred works closely with different Harris Sliwoski teams on Latin America and Spain matters. Fred also provides advice to cannabis industry participants and other businesses on import and export transactions. Fred is an ardent supporter of FC Barcelona—and would be even in the absence of Catalan forebears who immigrated to Puerto Rico in the mid-1800s. Harris Sliwoski Attorney Read more posts [email protected] Read More Intellectual Property (IP), International Business Related Posts September 15, 2026 Your AI-Drafted China Contract Says It Needs a Lawyer. Listen to It. September 11, 2026 Forensic Accountants in China Business Litigation: How True Numbers Can Tell the Wrong Story September 4, 2026 China NNN Agreement or Trademark Registration? You Usually Need Both September 1, 2026 AI Didn't Replace Lawyers. It Gave Us the 48-Page Contract. August 27, 2026 Do I Need a China NNN Agreement or a China Manufacturing Agreement? 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