Chinese attendees of CES consumer tech show offered free legal help in case US authorities seize their stuff

“We will cooperate with you. We have lawyers who represent us. So before you seize our products, we would like to speak with our lawyer.”

This is not a line from a Hollywood script but a sentence that Chinese attendees of the CES consumer electronics event in Las Vegas have been advised by Beijing to learn and use should they face any unexpected attempts by US police to seize their exhibits, amid ongoing tech tensions between the world’s two-biggest economies.

Beyond the one-line tip, the country’s trade watchdog is offering pro bono legal services to Chinese exhibitors on the sidelines of the annual technology gathering in Las Vegas that runs from January 7 to 10, according to a post on the homepage of China’s Ministry of Commerce.

A joint consortium including the Chinese consulate general in San Francisco and the Ministry of Commerce will open a service station inside the exhibition venue, offering free legal consultations on intellectual property-related issues.

All Chinese exhibitors are cautioned to travel with documents that can certify their IP rights and reach out to the service station immediately if caught in a dispute, according to the Friday notice. The service aims to “better defend the legitimate rights of Chinese exhibitors” and reduce possible damages as much as possible, it noted.