Major acts in recent days (08-01-07)

Law enforcement forum

The First China Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Forum, sponsored by the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), was held in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Xing Shengcai, head of the discipline inspection group of SIPO, said China is establishing a mechanism to protect IP rights that is promoted by the government, driven by agencies and implemented by enterprises.

Experts at the forum suggested several approaches to further strengthen coordination, as well as joint investigation and research, reporting and sharing criminal information, supervising the handling of major IP crimes, further training and international communication in law enforcement.

Agricultural patents

Though the Patent Law has been in place for over 20 years, Chinese agriculture-related enterprises are still weak in patent awareness, with half of the patent applicants coming from individuals and the number of commercial applications far below the international level, according to statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office.

For example, pesticide production in China ranks second in the world following the United States, but from 1985 when Chinese Patent Law came into effect until the end of last October, among 6,752 domestic patent applications, individual applications accounted for 45 percent, universities and scientific institutions accounted for 37 percent and only 18 percent were from enterprises.

Observers say the primary reason why agricultural-related enterprises have low patent awareness is that entrenched management lacks competitive consciousness, and entrepreneurs have not fully realized the role played by patents in market competition.

New IP commission

Representatives of 80 enterprises in Shanghai Pudong recently attended a ceremony and symposium on IP practices held in Zhang Jiang Hi-Tech Zone to inaugurate an IP People's IP Mediation Commission. Seven IP lawyers in Shanghai will serve as members of the board.

Pudong is a center of foreign investment and has many hi-tech enterprises, so representatives said there is a higher expectation for IPR protection. As a test area, Pudong will explore new ways to enforce IPR protection.

The commission provides another forum to resolve IPR disputes in addition to judicial, administrative and negotiated settlements.

Software for magnetic lab

The Ministry of Science and Technology said Chinese and Belgian scientists are cooperating in developing computer software for designing a high-pulse magnetic field lab in China.

The Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, and Belgium's University of Leuven are working on the software. The patent is shared by both Chinese and Belgian scientists.

The software is used for designing a large European-funded high-pulse magnetic field experimental facility, or DeNUF, the ministry said on its website.

Many developed countries have high-pulse magnetic field laboratories for finding new features of existing materials or making new materials. One of the leading labs is at the US Department of Energy site in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

In 2003, the Ministry of Education provided funding to build China's first high-pulse magnetic field facility at the Wuhan-based university. Current research at the lab is sponsored by both the Chinese and Belgian governments, the website said.

Paint infringements

The Hong Kong High Court recently announced a verdict on trademark infringement by 14 Hong Kong-registered companies, requiring them to stop using the words "Nippon Paint" or "Nippon". The verdict on two other companies will be announced soon.

Nippon Paint (China) Co Ltd has seen growing unauthorized use of its brand and trademark by companies whose names contain words such as Nippon or Nippon Paint, which it believes misleads and defrauds consumers.

Nippon Paint enjoys high popularity among Chinese customers due to its noted quality.

Top brands

Top brands are playing a bigger role in driving healthy development of the Chinese economy, according to the 2007 report on China's top brand strategy.

Published in December by several government agencies, the report notes that governments at all levels offer favorable policies to support and guide enterprises to develop their own brands.

Top brands empower enterprises to build up their core competitive edge and help China optimize its industrial structure.

In 2007, 1,382 enterprises applied for the title of top brand in 1,468 products. In the past seven years, 1,957 products have been recognized as China top brands.

Focus on IPR protection

Chinese enterprises are paying more attention to the IPR protection, according to an ad hoc survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China on innovation status of industrial enterprises in the country.

From 2004 to 2006, among all industrial enterprises above a designated size, 24.4 percent had their trademarks registered and 8.8 percent filed patent applications. By the end of 2006, 34.8 percent of industrial enterprises in the group had self-owned brands.

Compared with small- and medium-sized companies, large enterprises are more active in applying for patents and developing their own brands, the survey found. The Chinese government has released multiple policies to encourage them to increase innovation and develop their own intellectual property rights.