Proof for Signatory's Authority to Sign Documents for Lodging IP Lawsuits in Beijing Courts

Proof for Signatory’s Authority to Sign Documents for Lodging Intellectual Property Lawsuits by Foreign Parties in Beijing Courts

With increasing of cross-border investments and transactions, the number of intellectual property related lawsuits with parties from overseas have been increased in China in the recent decades.

Pursuant to the "Civil Procedure Law" and other laws, while lodging a lawsuit (also arbitration cases) foreign parties need to submit a number of documents including a signed Power of Attorney notarized by a notary public in the country/State where such documents be obtained/should be signed, certified by competent government agency of that country/State, and authenticated/legalized by Chinese embassies and consulates in that country/Sate.

Due to the company registration systems differ in various countries, what documents and how to prove the signatory has the authority to sign the afore-said document for lodging the lawsuits shall be based on the laws of the country/State where the company being registered. How to certify the authorization to sign the said documents of the overseas parties according to requirements of Chinese courts has become one of the issues that plagued foreign-related intellectual property lawyers in recent years.

In order to solve this issue, with great support of the leaders of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court and the Beijing Lawyers Association, the Trademark Division of the Beijing Lawyers Association organized and compiled the "Guidelines for Lawyers to Prove the Authorization to Sign Documents for Lodging a Lawsuit for Foreign-related Intellectual Property Rights in Beijing" (“Guideline”), which was officially announced at the events of Beijing Bar Association’s 4.26 World Intellectual Property Day on April 24, 2021.

As intellectual property lawyers, more or less, we all encountered similar issues in practice, the Guideline will be of great help in practice.