In the domain name section, I discussed a sample letter received by some U.S. companies from someone in China who pretends to register the U.S. companies'''' China (cn) domain name(and maybe their variations) on behalf of others and was trying to have the U.S. company to contact the letter receiver.　Though troublesome, the damage from such usurpation is typically small, particularly as compared to what can happen if someone hijacks those foreign companies''''　trade name or trademark in China.　I have seen this happens countless times, mostly to American companies, who are unfamiliar with the "first to file" requirement in China, as opposed to the U.S. "first to use" systems.

　　Though the foreign media loves to publish stories deriding China''''s intellectual property protection, those articles nearly always neglect to mention that in most instances involving trademarks, the fault lies with the foreign company, not with Chinese enforcement. The reality is that many foreign companies fail to register their trademarks in China and thus have no real right to complain about any infringement there. To expect protection, foreign companies must register their trademarks in China and the prudent company does this before going in.

　　There are actually a number of people in China who make a living by usurping foreign trademarks and then selling a license to that trademark to the original foreign license holder.　Once one comes to grip with the fact that China, like most of the rest of the world is a "first to file" country, one can understand how easy this usurpation is, and also, how easy it is to prevent it.

　　The fact that the foreign company are manufacturing its product in China just for export does not in any way minimize the need for it to protect its trademark.　Once someone registers that trademark in China, they have the power to stop the foreign company''''s goods at the border and prevent them from leaving China (customs protection).　 We are aware of companies having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their trademark "back" and to get their goods flowing out of China again.