Face Saving Cultures Don’t Like to Make An Apology

Mr Piter de Weerd, editor of Boek9.nl (Dutch) Book9.nl (English), the excellent blog about intellectual property rights in the Netherlands, pointed me to the article of
Seattle Trademark Lawyer Mr Michael Atkins, who was startled about the remedies Japan’s cosmetic giant Shiseido was seeking against the Chinese users of the Shidoas trademark: damages and … an apology.

However, in ‘face saving cultures’ (which include China and Japan) it is considered a punishment to have to apologise.

Although an apology is not stated as a remedy in the Chinese Trademark Law, it is in article 46 of the Chinese Copyright Law, which shows that apologies have found their place in Chinese IP law as a remedy.

Read Mr Atkins article here.

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