CHINA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW NEWSLETTER
Vol. 2 , No. 12 - September 18, 2001
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- Enforcement Actions in Guangdong
- Chinese, Japanese and South Korean Patent Office Chiefs Agree to Cooperate
- First List of "China's Top Brand" Announced
- Federation Teams up with Consulting Firm in the Crusade Against Piracy
Enforcement Actions in Guangdong
The recent crackdown by local customs and industrial and commercial administrations on trademark violations this year in south China's Guangdong Province has showed positive results.
From January to July, Guangdong customs uncovered 32 cases involving trademark violations or infringements of patent rights or copyrights, with an estimated value of RMB 2.93 million (US $353,000).
Last month, Guangdong customs also began cooperating with Hong Kong customs in dealing with patent rights violations and smuggling activities, and have successfully blocked a series of criminal activities.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
Chinese, Japanese and South Korean Patent Office Chiefs Agree to Cooperate
Chinese, Japanese and South Korean Patent authorities met in Tokyo on Monday and decided to join forces in the battle against the sale of illegally copied products, which are considered to make up a large percentage of all products sold in Asia.
The three officials recognized that the problem is common to all countries and agreed to exchange information and enhance cooperation in the training of enforcement authorities.
Wang Jingchuan, director general of China's State Intellectual Property Office, Kozo Oikawa, commissioner of Japan's Patent Office and Leem Lae Gue, commissioner of the (South) Korean Intellectual Property Office, held a small meeting before a large meeting of their counterparts from Southeast Asia.
In a meeting with patent office chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the three officials proposed to cooperate in training personnel and taking advantage of the use of information technology to speed up patent procedures.
The meeting, referred to as the ASEAN-plus-three, was attended by nine of the total ten members of ASEAN. Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam all attended and asked that the northeastern Asian nations give their support in dealing with technological transfers from countries investing in the ASEAN nations.
Other topics at the meeting included international issues such as a revision of the Patent Cooperation Treaty to simplify the application procedures for patents, and methods of harmonizing the different patent systems.
The three northeastern countries plan to link their computer networks in order to share technological databases and harmonize screening standards in the areas of biotechnology, genetic engineering and business methods.
According to a Japanese official, gatherings between the three patent authorities will be held on an annual basis, the next one to be held in South Korea on a date yet to be determined, while the ASEAN members agreed to convene sometime again in the future.
The meetings are followed by a two-day forum sponsored by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) scheduled to start Wednesday in Tokyo. Patent office chiefs from 12 other Asia-Pacific nations will participate in the forum. Guest speakers at the forum include representatives from India, Australia and Asia.
(Source: Japan Economic Newswire)
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First List of "China's Top Brand" Announced
Fifty-seven products from 45 enterprises have been awarded the honor of "China's Top Brand" due to their high quality and leading position in the market.
The China brand name strategy commission selected the brands from 10 of China's developed industries, such as the manufacturing of television sets, microwave ovens, air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, shirts, motorcycles, color films and gourmet powder.
The brands, such as TCL TV, Youngor Shirts, Qianjiang Motorcycles, Lucky Film and Legend PC are very familiar to Chinese people.
Haier, a large and well-known manufacturer of electrical appliances based in Shandong province in East China, had four products included in the "Top Brand" list. The company, active in both the domestic and international market, was awarded for the quality of its refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine and microwave oven.
An awards ceremony was held in Beijing where the State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) congratulated the 45 businesses. The AQSIQ serves as China's supervisory body and plans to encourage the use of brand names before China's entry into the WTO.
It is thought that brand names will be an important element in the competition of market share, which is certain to intensify after China's membership into the WTO. State Councilor Wu Yi congratulating the AQSIQ on the first list of "Top Brands" said "Brand names should be afforded better protection by strengthening the crackdowns on counterfeit and shoddy commodities."
As many Chinese enterprises focus only on immediate interests, long-term strategies, including the protection of brand names, are often sacrificed for short-term profits. Consumers have also shown a lack of loyalty to domestic brands, which has also added to the indifference of some businesses regarding protection of brand names.
(Source: China Daily)
Federation Teams up with Consulting Firm in the Crusade Against Piracy
The firm Tenwell Consulting and Jia Shuwen have collected roughly 3,000 illegally copied CDs from music stores in China.
The pirated CDs stored in the Tenwell office library are gathered on the behalf of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents 1,400 music labels, including famous brands such as Sony, Warner Brothers, BMG and EMI. Tenwell and IFPI members go to court with Chinese disc producers, music printers and wholesalers.
IFPI works to support the anti-piracy campaigns and stop copyright infringements against its members. Giouw Jui-chian, the Asian regional director of IFPI, recently said "Our strategy is to supplement the Government's efforts."
Since Tenwell, a Los Angeles based firm, first established its Beijing office a year ago, they have filed approximately 200 cases in the court system. Added to this high rate of 20 cases per month is the fact that Tenwell has won 90 percent of these lawsuits. Danny Xiao, Tenwell consultant, says this is because the defendants usually admit to copyright infringement.
Xiao went on to explain that the recent spate of lawsuits has helped both the government and the music industry. Beijing has recently begun a half-year campaign to shut down pirated CD factories and to halt the smuggling of discs from Southeast Asia, in particular from Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.
Tenwell went to court representing Chen Huilin's record label, Go East, and won a ruling where the defendants were asked to pay RMB 100,000 plus legal fees.
In Beijing, salespeople commonly claim that only the black market street vendors sell pirated discs. Receipts from stores reveal charges of RMB 15 per disc, roughly twice the price on the street. However, the discs are still 5 times less expensive than the standard price of a non-pirated disc and there are mistakes in the Chinese language registration number coding.
Consumers usually are only interested in the quality of a disc, not in the authenticity, which adds to the piracy problem. The majority of consumers in China would rather buy CDs on the street due to the cheaper prices and a more diverse selection of music.
Mr. Xiao admitted that while some defendants stopped production of pirated CDs, there were yet others that continued in a more careful manner.
Nevertheless, neither IFPI nor Tenwell is going to surrender in the fight against piracy and Jia Shuwen will continue shopping in music stores for lawsuits.
(Source: South China Morning Post)
Lehman Lee & Xu
China Lawyers, Notaries, Patent, Copyright and Trademark Agents
http://www.chinalaw.cc/
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