Best Practice for Administrative Enforcement against
Ex-Licensed Suppliers for Trade Mark Infringement
Managing original equipment manufacturing (‘OEM')
suppliers by brand owners is not an easy process. Typically,
contract supply agreements support more control over the production
than license agreements do, with the latter generally more
permissive. For example, licenses are used in the electronic
components industry, whereas supplier agreements are often used for
car parts. Careful management of OEM suppliers and licensees is
needed, not only under the contract but also through physical and
business processes (such as auditing and inspections). Key risks
that an OEM manufacturer might expose the licensor to include
unauthorised overproduction in breach of an agreement and/or
continuing production well after authorisation is terminated. This
article shares best practices on how brand owners can use the China
Administrative IP enforcement system to deal with such
