CHINA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW NEWSLETTER
Vol. 3 , No. 3 - March 4, 2002
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- China QBPC Wins Global Award
- RMB 300,000 Reward for Reporting Counterfeit Goods
- Japan, China to Hold Talks in March to Stamp out Piracy
- Anti-Counterfeit Labels Introduced by P & G
- Viagra Counterfeiter Sentenced To Jail
- Japan and China Auto Industries toCombat Motorcycle Piracy
- China's First Trademark Auction a Failure
- China's Booksellers Band Together to Fight Copyright Infringement
- Only 1% of Well-Known Pens in China are Real
- China, Japan And South Korea Creating Official Anti-Piracy Channels
- Sichuan Drafts Famous Trademark Protection Statute
- One of China's Top 500 FIE's to Auction Trademark
China QBPC Wins Global Award
The 2002 Global Anti-Counterfeiting Awards were presented at a ceremony held in Atlanta on January 31st. The awards, organized by the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) and Reconnaissance International, acknowledge special achievements by groups and individuals that have worked hard and improved considerably to prevent counterfeit products from entering the market. The Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC) of the People's Republic of China was recognized as the winner of the Trade Association Award.
RMB 300,000 Reward for Reporting Counterfeit Goods
The "Anhui Rewarding Measures for Report on the Sale and Manufacture of Fake and Shoddy Goods" was recently put into effect on January 22. The new policy states that those people who report the sale and manufacture or fake or shoddy products will be rewarded different amounts of money, depending on the value of the goods. The highest possible reward could be RMB 300,000.
(Source: Beijing Youth Daily)
Japan, China to Hold Talks in March to Stamp out Piracy
On March 8 in Beijing, Deputy Ministers from Japan and China will hold talks to cooperate in the fight against Chinese-made copies of famous Japanese brands.
One of the most central points of discussion is how to go about educating and raising awareness in Chinese corporations and local government officials about intellectual property.
The Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) estimates that nearly one third of Japanese companies with operations in China have seen counterfeit versions of their own products in the Chinese market. The products range from personal computers to machinery components.
METI officials will meet with their China equivalents from the China Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation in order to urge China to conform to WTO rules concerning patents and other intellectual property protection regulations. One problem that METI foresees is that Beijing may disagree concerning what constitutes a counterfeit product.
(Source: Japan Economic Newswire)
Anti-Counterfeit Labels Introduced by P & G
The famous producer of beauty products Proctor & Gamble has recently introduced the use of counterfeit-proof labels for its shampoos. While it is not expected that the new labels will completely solve their counterfeit problems, many industries are eager to see the results.
Studies have shown that over 60% of P&G labeled shampoos are indeed fake, and the company was getting frustrated with the resulting negative feedback from the use of "P&G" products. P & G is also undertaking a nation-wide campaign to help store-owners and merchants to differentiate between the real and fake product.
(Source: Legal Daily)
Viagra Counterfeiter Sentenced To Jail
Fenghua Intermediate People's Court recently sentenced a counterfeiter to 10 years in prison for manufacturing and selling over 600,000 fake Viagra pills.
(Source: Qianjiang Evening News)
Japan and China Auto Industries toCombat Motorcycle Piracy
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) said on Thursday that the Chinese and Japanese automobile industries will work together to fight the production of counterfeit motorcycles in China.
JAMA stated that in the year 2000, China produced roughly 11.5 million motorcycles. They estimate that half of those produced were exported and that 90% were counterfeits or "knockoffs" of Japanese brands.
It is hoped the joint project will strengthen efforts to stop the production of motorcycles with pirated designs and copied trademarks of famous Japanese motorcycles. JAMA officials will sign a memorandum on the joint project with the China Automobile Industry Association.
The project will include seminars to train experts and form an organization to handle any trademark disputes.
(Source: Jiji Press Ticker Service)
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China's First Trademark Auction a Failure
The first ever trademark auction in China, held in early February, was poorly attended.
The auction was considered such a failure that the trademark "Baiyuezhuangdu" was withdrawn from the auction.
The auctioneer for the event, Li Shaoning, said that the failure was partly due to the excessive RMB 60 million price tag for the "Baiyuezhuangdu" trademark for tourist spots in China's Southwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The owner of the trademark, Xie Xin, said that the transfer of intellectual property rights will become more active as related laws and systems are established and enforced.
However, the intellectual property industry won't turn around overnight, according to Li Shaoning. He says that China's trademark auction needs time to mature, before the auctioneering and subsequent transferring of rights can be rated a success.
(Source: Malaysia General News)
China's Booksellers Band Together to Fight Copyright Infringement
A group of individual booksellers from Jinan Ying Xiong Shan Cultural Market, the most influential book market in the province of Shandong, recently established an anti-piracy union to fight against copyright infringement.
The 136 booksellers that banded together to protest the pirating of books all sell books from the country's 560 publishing houses.
In the year 2001, it was estimated that 160,000 pirated books were thought to be sold in the Cultural Market due to a small number of booksellers ignoring copyright protection.
Feng Yan, one member of the union, said that only by meeting international standards can China compete fairly with foreign competitors.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
Only 1% of Well-Known Pens in China are Real
In a recent study, it was discovered that although over 10 million well-known pens are sold in China every year, the country imports a scarce 100,000.
The large disparity can be accounted for by several reasons, including fake pens being sold as the real product, pens with authentic exteriors but fake interiors or fake exteriors with authentic interiors. Despite 99% of the well-known pens in China being fake, many customers cannot differentiate between the genuine and counterfeit product.
(Source: Information Times)
China, Japan And South Korea Creating Official Anti-Piracy Channels
China, Japan and South Korea have recently agreed to set up a joint government liaison channel to help battle the rampant piracy of software and other copyrighted products in East Asia.
Japanese officials said the mechanism between the three countries will hopefully be created by April.
Toyko wishes to use the partnerships to help other governments to stop the manufacturing and distribution of pirated products in the hopes that it will encourage Japanese industry to set up similar bodies to do the same.
Officials from China's Culture Ministry, Japan's Trade Ministry and South Korea's Culture and Tourism Ministry will meet in April to begin the partnership that will educate businesses and consumers about copyright protection, while at the same time enhancing crackdowns.
The main impetus for the cooperation is thought to have originated from Japan, where some pirated products of Japanese music and games have ended up in the Japanese domestic market and are being sold at a fraction of the price of the original copies.
Counterfeit versions of Japanese films and television shows are sold profusely in all China. It is estimated that the pirating industry in China is causing major losses to the Japanese software industry, which is seen as a major engine of a possible economic recovery and growth.
Software developers and publishers are expected to establish private-sector bodies in Beijing with the support of the Japanese Trade Ministry. Although many companies have individually tried to deal with the piracy problem, the response from regional authorities has been slow and unsatisfactory. It is hoped that with the amending of the Chinese trademark and copyright laws, a cooperative group will be more effective in combating piracy.
(Source: Japan Economic Newswire)
Sichuan Drafts Famous Trademark Protection Statute
In a recent draft of the "Statue of Sichuan Famous Trademark Approbation and Protection," it is stated that without approbation and permission, no individual or organization is permitted to use the title of "Famous Trademark In Sichuan." The draft of the statute went on to say that those caught illegally labeling their products as such will be punished accordingly.
(Source: China Industrial & Commercial News)
One of China's Top 500 FIE's to Auction Trademark
Ludanlan Group Company Limited, a group with 69 enterprises in mainland China and 12 main production bases, may be forced to auction off its trademark.
In November 2000, a company in Quanzhou sued Ludanlan for a RMB 3.16 million debt. Over a year later, the court ruled in favour of Quanzhou and seized over 30 trademarks of Ludanlan after they failed to pay the debt.
Ludanlan is one of the largest 500 industrial enterprises using foreign investment in China. The group has operations in the fine chemistry, clothing, real estate, child entertainment, banks, and transportation industries. The aggregate property of Ludanlan Group amounts to RMB 3.6 billion, while the cosmetics branch of the company is more than RMB 1.2 billion.
As trademark auctions are very new in China, many are interested in how a notorious brand name like Ludanlan will be auctioned.
(Source: Asiainfo)
Lehman Lee & Xu
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The China Intellectual Property Law Newsletter is intended to be used for news purposes only. It should not be taken as comprehensive legal advice, and Lehman, Lee & Xu will not be held responsible for any such reliance on its contents.
