The main purpose of the Convention of Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (commonly known as the “Hague Convention”) is to simplify international transfer of documents and require no further diplomatic or consular legalization. From November 7,2023, the convention will enter into force in China. The following changes may occur when foreign companies engage in IP litigation in China:
- Simplify the entrustment procedure: when foreign IP owner bring civil or administrative IP litigation in China, they no longer need to apply for consular authentication of their ID (e.g., passport, business license) and POA. To U.S. companies suing in China, for example, if the companies signed a POA to send to the Chinese courts, the past generally need U.S. notary public, state certification, UD federal government certification, as well as the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. certification, which is time-consuming and costly. After the Convention came into force, the U.S. company only needs two steps: a) notarized by a notary public (if any), or get an original document, or a certified copy from the authorities; b) certified by the Secretary of State, or the U.S. Department of State certified (for documents issued by the federal court or the federal government).
- Simplified procedures for the authentication of evidence arised in foreign countries: if the evidence was arised abroad, no diplomatic or consular legalization required, and the process is the same as above.
See guidelines at:https://www.usnotarycenter.com/post/post12
Apostille in China will be in the form of a sticker with a silvered seal of the State emblem.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China is the competent authority for the Apostille under the Convention and issues Apostille for public documents issued within its territory (mainly refers to notarial certificate issued by the notary offices in mainland China). Entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the Foreign Affairs Offices of provincial governments may issue Apostille within their administrative regions.
Enquiry website: http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/zggmcg/fjzms/
Verification website: http://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/