Tianjin Intellectual Property Office has released financial aid policies and will start accepting aid applications from September 3, according to the website of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).
Companies and organizations, as well as individuals, applying for invention or utility patents, or patents in overseas markets, are eligible. Food and pharmaceutical companies as well as the youth can also apply for financing help.
Available funds for domestic patents range from 150 yuan to 1,600 yuan each, based on the significance of inventions. Applications in overseas markets can receive 5,000 yuan.
A company can receive a maximum of 200,000 yuan. The limit for individuals is 3,000 yuan.
Publicity campaign on buses
The Beijing Intellectual Property Office started an educational program for intellectual property education using city buses on August 8, the day on which the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games began.
The office put advertisements in and on 351 buses to publicize an infringement reporting hotline as well as to reinforce the importance of respecting trademarks.
The campaign will last for three months. Buses are the most widely used public transport in Beijing, carrying 12 million passengers a day.
English-speaking professionals
English-speaking Intellectual property professionals have been hotly pursued in Shanghai, with some law firms paying 40,000 yuan a month to those who are qualified, the National Business Daily reported on August 15.
Sources with Shanghai Intellectual Property Service Center were reported saying that with increasing international exchanges and the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010, intellectual property lawyers with a good command of English and strong technical background are in dire shortage.
Printing houses warned
The General Administration of Press and Publication, the Ministry of Public Security, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Information Industry have issued a joint circular requiring that printing houses using the Internet to attract clients pay due attention to copyrights.
With the popularity of the Internet in China, many printing houses now use the Web to get customers, but some printing firms have ignored their responsibility of checking the legality of the content of printed material, the circular said.
The four agencies note the government supports and encourages printing houses and customers doing business through the Internet, but sets requirements on qualifications of printing firms and warns them to be aware of copyright protection.
Action on illegal trademarks
Administrations in industry and commerce investigated 18,973 cases of illegal trademarks in the first half of this year, 0.43 percent more than in the same period last year.
A total 3,515 cases involving foreign parties were investigated, 1.53 percent higher than the same period the previous year, while 15,458 cases involved domestic companies, 0.18 percent higher than the first half of 2006. The administrations confiscated goods and issued sanctions worth 162 million yuan, 11.97 percent more than the same period last year.
Trademark infringement cases rose by 3 percent to 15,959, while other illegal cases fell by 11.33 percent to 3,014.
The administrations also launched several campaigns to stop infringement on internationally famous domestic and foreign trademarks and logos of the Olympic Games and the World Expo.
Internet piracy crackdown
The National Copyright Administration, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Information Industry have begun a three-month campaign to stop online piracy.
The three agencies said the effort will include closure of illegal websites, investigation into illegal downloading of movies, music, software and books, and checks on Internet cafes to stop illegal downloading.
They will increase coordination and share information together to provide technical, judicial and administrative support to each other.
Liquor maker has 76 patents
Tuopai, one of the most famous Chinese liquor brands, has filed 102 patent applications, 76 of which were granted.
The Shehong, Sichuan-based liquor maker also has 12 invention patents and 964 trademarks, including one well-known brand and three famous brands.
With the help of technology, the company saw its assets grow by 2,000 times and production capacity rise by over 300 times from 1979 to 2006.
Fuzhou: Software blacklist
Companies using pirated software will be put on a blacklist and publicized in the media, the Fuzhou municipal government said on August 14, according to Southeast Express newspaper.
The city has selected the first group of 21 pilot companies that will be using all legitimate general software, including operating systems, office applications and anti-virus software, by the end of this year.
Gao Qiping, director of the copyright administration of the city, said the second batch of pilot companies will be selected soon.
He said the city has received about 60 complaints from copyright owners about illegal software use, with one local company required to pay 18 million yuan in compensation.
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