Major acts in recent days (07-10-22)

Challenges in developing IP

Sun Zhengyu, China's ambassador to the World Trade Organization, said intellectual property (IP) protection is key to development, but it is even more complicated for developing nations, so it is understandable that they may face more challenges.

He made the remarks on October 9 at the South Center International Symposium: Examining IP Enforcement from a Development Perspective in Geneva, the Xinhua News Agency reports.

He also made several suggestions, including making IP a part of the national long-term strategy, achieving a balance between IP protection and public interests, protecting IPs while maintaining fair competition and reforming the current international IP protection regime.

The symposium was the first such event on IP protection among developing nations.

Inventions showcased

More than 800 research organizations, universities and enterprises showcased more than 3,000 inventions and patented technologies at the 17th National Invention Fair in Langfang, Hebei Province on October 13, SIPO said.

A total of 1,085 projects won awards at the fair designed to promote innovation in China.

Zhejiang exhibition in Japan



Zhejiang Province took 48 time-honored brands to an exhibition in Japan, including silk, artifacts, traditional Chinese medicines, tea and items related to commerce.

The exhibition, which opened on October 11 and includes a total of 3,000 products, aims to introduce Chinese brands to the Japanese people and then extend their reputation to other parts of the world.

Japan is also a country where Chinese time-honored brands have major trademark disputes as a result of Japanese firms registering those brands for commercial gain.

Hi-tech fair

Innovation and IP protection became two highlights of the China Hi-Tech Fair, which was held from October 12 to 17 in Shenzhen, SIPO said on its website.

The organizers said 633 exhibitors had their own IPs and 74 percent of them own patents. Another 149 companies have their own trademarks and 16 exhibitors provided information on their copyrights.

The companies also received certificates for their IPs from organizers as proof of innovation capability and quality. It was the second time organizers awarded such certificates.

The Shenzhen government, the Ministry of Commerce and SIPO also worked together to exert stricter enforcement of IP protection for exhibitors,

China Hi-Tech Fair is the nation's largest exhibition for hi-technology and innovation, and was held for the ninth time.

Legal software action plan

The Guangzhou government has established a working group to promote the use of legal software among enterprises in the city, the website of Guangzhou Evening News said on October 12.

The multi-departmental agency has developed an action plan that urges government departments to educate and prompt companies to turn to legal software.

Large enterprises will be the priority in the first stage of the effort, which then will expand to include small and medium-sized companies.

Flower power

Farmers in Dongbuzi Village in Xianyang city, Shaanxi Province have benefited from branded flowers.

Sales of branded flowers now generate 1.2 million yuan a year for farmers in the village.

Many farmers have started to establish their own brands for the flowers they plant to protect their commercial interests.

Ultraman umbrage



On September 27, the Japanese shoemaker Yen Valley Ltd and a shoemaker in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province reached a settlement on a copyright and trademark lawsuit over Altman.

In March 2007, Yen Valley Ltd accused the Taizhou-based shoe producer of infringement on its trademarks of Altman and Ultraman. After they reached a settlement in July, the defendant admitted its violations, paid 60,000 yuan for economic losses, and promised that no more infringing products will be sold.

Yet on July 23, 2007, the plaintiff found that the infringing products were still on sale in a market in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. It then requested the court to order the defendant to stop manufacturing immediately and pay a compensation of 220,000 yuan.

A second settlement was reached that required the defendant to pay 40,000 yuan. As part of the settlement, the plaintiff allowed the defendant to sell its original production printed with Altman and Ultraman likenesses within one year.

Blu-ray disc standards

China Hualu Group, a State-owned laser disc company, has applied to the Blu-ray Disc Association to include China's DRA audio and AVS visual standards into the international Blu-ray disc standard, the China Business News said.

Yin Songhe, vice-president of Hualu, said Chinese companies can use the two standards to negotiate for cross-licensing from other disc patent holders.

The Blu-ray Disc Association formed a working group to evaluate proposals from Hualu. The Chinese market, with its sheer size, attracted the association, which has been working to get support from China.

Growing copyright transfers

A delegation from China signed agreements to transfer 1,928 copyrights at the Frankfurt Book Fair, which ended on October 13, the Xinhua News Agency reports. It was three times the number that Chinese companies contracted for at the same fair two years ago.

Chinese publishing houses are showing increasingly avid interest in the fair, as illustrated by a doubling floor space at the exhibition in the past two years to 600 sq m. The number of exhibitors has increased from eight in 2005 to 32 this year.

The Olympics Games in Beijing next August was a theme of the Chinese delegation that attracted foreign companies to talk about importing books.

Dispute over GPS map



A court in Haidian District ruled recently that two companies affiliated with Acorn International, a NASDAQ-listed TV marketing company and the GPS (global positioning system) map software developer Careland must pay 500,000 yuan in compensation to Beijing-based Navinfo for unfair competition and infringement on its copyright.

In a suit filed in July, the plaintiff accused that GPS software, developed by Careland and sold by two affiliated companies of Acorn International copied its GPS map without licensing.

The court supported the claims from Navinfo. Careland said it would appeal.