Guide to IPR Protection in China for the Cosmetics Industry

The cosmetics industry in China has been rapidly growing, and at the same time, intellectual property (IP) infringement in the sector continues to be prevalent – despite recent campaigns and targeted efforts of the Chinese government. Particularly, due to their popularity and high quality, overseas cosmetics brands are usually “the hard-hit areas” of counterfeiting. The infringement acts are mainly trade mark and outer packaging imitation, and customers consequently confuse the authentic and counterfeit products, leading to loss of sales, reputation and oftentimes product liability issues. It is therefore important for EU SMEs active in cosmetics industry to establish a stable IP strategy for China.