Legal Information

01 2026-10

Can judgments made by mainland courts be enforced in Hong Kong?

The civil and commercial judgments that have taken effect on the mainland will not automatically take effect in Hong Kong. They must be registered and recognized by the Court of First Instance of the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the mutual recognition arrangement for judgments between the two places that took effect from January 2024, before they can...

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01 2026-10

What should I do if my cross-border e-commerce payment account is frozen?

If an account is frozen, first identify the entity responsible for the freeze: if it's a bank or payment institution, you can submit materials to appeal against the risk control decision. If it's a public security organ involved in fraud-related freezes, you must cooperate with the investigation and provide transaction receipts. If it's a court-ordered preservation, you can apply for a review or p...

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01 2026-10

How is the quality objection period of a sales contract calculated?

During the quality objection period, the agreed inspection period shall be checked first. If there is no agreement, the buyer shall notify the seller within a reasonable period of time, with a maximum of 2 years from the date of receipt of the goods. For products with a quality warranty period, the warranty period shall apply. If the buyer fails to notify the seller, it shall be deemed that the qu...

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01 2026-10

Can the penalty for breach of contract, which is obviously higher than the actual losses, be reduced?

If the penalty for breach of contract is excessively higher than the actual losses, the party may request a reduction: According to Article 585 of the Civil Code, the penalty shall be determined based on the actual losses, taking into account the performance of the contract and the degree of fault, and the party concerned shall actively propose this request.

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01 2026-10

Are the exemption clauses in the standard form contracts valid?

The disclaimer is not necessarily effective: According to Article 496 of the Civil Code, the obligation to provide sufficient warnings and explanations must be fulfilled. Articles 497 and 506 stipulate that disclaimers are invalid in circumstances such as excluding the other party's main rights, and disclaimers of personal injury are also invalid.

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01 2026-10

How to distinguish between contract fraud and contract disputes?

Distinguish whether there is an illegal possession purpose: contract disputes are civil disputes, and contract fraud is subject to prosecution in accordance with Article 224 of the Criminal Law. The standard for initiating a prosecution is generally more than 20,000 yuan, and the case should be transferred to the public security organ for investigation if it involves a crime.

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01 2026-10

Can a party to a reservation contract claim compensation if the other party fails to fulfill their obligations?

If a party to the reservation contract fails to fulfill its obligations under the contract, it may, in accordance with Article 495 of the Civil Code, request to assume breach of contract liability, claim to continue negotiations or compensation for loss of reliance interests; if a deposit has been agreed upon, the penalty for the deposit may also be applied.

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01 2026-10

Can the breaching party sue to terminate the contract?

In principle, the right to rescind the contract belongs to the party that fulfills the contract. When the contract reaches an impasse, according to Article 580 Paragraph 2 of the Civil Code and Article 48 of the Nine Civil Cases Interpretation, the party in breach of contract may request to terminate the contract, but the liability for breach of contract will not be exempted thereby.

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01 2026-10

How to distinguish between claims of a change in circumstances and those of force majeure?

Force majeure refers to an objective situation that is unforeseeable, unavoidable, and insurmountable, which may partially or fully exempt a party from liability. A change in circumstances refers to a significant change in the basic conditions of the contract that results in a manifestly unfair outcome, requiring prior consultation before requesting a modification or termination of the contract.

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01 2026-10

What should I do if the guarantee contract does not stipulate the guarantee method?

Where the guarantee contract does not stipulate or the stipulation is unclear, the guarantor shall bear liability in accordance with Article 686 of the Civil Code as a general guarantee, and the guarantor shall enjoy the right of prior defense; where the guarantee period is not stipulated, it shall generally be six months from the date of expiration of the performance period of the principal oblig...

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01 2026-10

Will a registered trademark be revoked if it is not used for three consecutive years?

If a registered trademark is not used for three consecutive years without a valid reason, any unit or individual may apply for its revocation. According to Article 49 Paragraph 2 of the Trademark Law, the trademark owner must submit evidence of use within two months after receiving the notice, and if they disagree with the decision, they may request a review within 15 days.

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01 2026-10

How to protect one's rights against counterfeiting of an appearance design patent?

If the design of a product is plagiarized, the owner can file a complaint to have it removed from the market, initiate administrative investigations, or file a lawsuit. According to Article 71 of the Patent Law, the compensation range is between 30,000 yuan and 5 million yuan. For serious intentional infringements, punitive damages of 1 to 5 times the actual damages may be imposed.

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01 2026-10

How to recover a domain name that has been maliciously squatted?

If a domain name is preemptively registered by others, the owner can initiate a domain name dispute resolution process or file a lawsuit to reclaim it. If the owner can prove four conditions - prior rights, potential confusion, lack of legitimate interests, and malicious registration - the court may order the transfer of the domain name.

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01 2026-10

Is there any legal risk in using open-source software commercially?

It's not necessarily illegal to commercialize open-source software, but violating the license terms constitutes infringement. The GPL and AGPL require that derivative works be open-source, and releasing the software commercially without making it open-source may result in being ordered to stop using it and pay compensation.

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01 2026-10

Who is responsible for infringing others' trademark rights during live-streaming sales?

Selling infringing products during live-streaming sales is a violation of the law. The merchant is primarily responsible, the live streamer who knows or should have known about the infringement bears joint and several liability, and the platform that fails to fulfill its review obligations shall bear corresponding responsibilities. For claims, the punitive damages can be claimed in accordance with...

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