CHINA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW NEWSLETTER
Vol. 4 , No.6 - April 22, 2003
VISIT LLX AT INTA INTA 125th Annual Meeting 2003
May 3 - 7 in Amsterdam
RAI International Exhibition & Congress Centre LEHMAN, LEE & XU welcomes you to participate in the following: 3rd ANNUAL CHINA BRAND OWNERS BRUNCH - May 4, 11:00am to 2:00pm at the Nam Tin Chinese restaurant, Amsterdam. Start the 125th INTA Annual Meeting by experiencing Chinese hospitality at its finest. Hosted by LEHMAN, LEE & XU, we hope that this year's Sunday brunch will once again provide for a relaxing forum to learn more about China brand owners and discuss IP issues. If you would like to attend, please send email to inta@lehmanlaw.com or fax to +8610 8532-1999. LEHMAN, LEE & XU BOOTH - Exhibit Area, Booths V17 & V19. Visit with representatives of LEHMAN, LEE & XU and other Chinese brand owners. On display will be general literature on China trademark law, Q&As on China trademark registration, IP enforcement strategies and more. NAM TIN Chinese Restaurant Jodenbreestraat 11
1011 NG Amsterdam
Map and Directions to Nam Tin
| |
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- Intellectual Property Meeting In Beijing Postponed Amid Sars Fears
- Beijing Courts Handling Growing Number Of Ipr Cases
- China And Taiwan Tobacco Firms Swap Trademarks
- Japan Asks China To Speed Up Patent Approval
Intellectual Property Meeting In Beijing Postponed Amid Sars Fears
The Chinese foreign ministry informed that the international meeting on intellectual property rights that was to have been held in Beijing from April 24 to 26 has been postponed to a later date that will be announced by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Several heads of state and government leaders had been expected to attend this event organized by WIPO.
While no reason was given, there are heightened worries about atypical pneumonia.
(Source: Agence France Presse)
Beijing Courts Handling Growing Number Of Ipr Cases
Courts of various levels in Beijing are handling a growing number of intellectual property rights (IPR) cases, according to a press conference last week in Beijing.
Vice president of the Beijing Municipal Higher People's Court, Wang Zhenqing said that Beijing's courts handled 978 IPR cases in 2002, an increase of 28% over 2001 and 2.5 times that of 1998.
During the period from 1993 to 2002, the courts in Beijing handled a total of 4,501 IPR cases, including computer software, cyberspace copyrights, and domain names.
Some of the cases involve big-name foreign companies, including US-based DuPont, Motorola, Intel, Japan-based Mitsubishi and LG of the Republic of Korea.
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
Need to File a Patent or Trademark in China? Contact LLX at mail@lehmanlaw.com and click below to download a Power of Attorney: | | |
China And Taiwan Tobacco Firms Swap Trademarks
Two tobacco companies across the Taiwan Strait have agreed to each give up one of the popular trademarks they own in exchange for entry into each other's market. It was a plain swap with no monetary compensation involved. This brings to a close a trademark dispute over who can sell a brand of cigarettes with the curious name Long Life.
Under a deal struck recently, the Tobacco and Wine Board of Taiwan will stop producing its Zhonghwa brand of cigarettes while Shanghai Tobacco in China will give up the Long Life trademark that it has bought over from Xunyang, another company in the mainland.
According to the report, although Xunyang registered the Long Life trademark in the mainland in 1998, the company has never produced any brand of cigarettes bearing that name.
Initially the Taiwanese side was in discussion to buy over the trademark from Xunyang but the negotiation came to a standstill when both sides could not agree on a price. Then Shanghai Tobacco came into the picture by buying over the Long Life trademark from Xunyang. According to the source, the Taiwanese firm had wanted to enter the highly-lucrative tobacco market on the mainland five years ago, but was surprised to find that the Long Life trademark belonged to Chinese tobacco group Xunyang.
Now that both sides have come to a deal, the Taiwanese firm has started applying for the registration of the Long Life brand in China. But it would still take years before its cigarettes could be sold in the Chinese market.
The Taiwanese firm, in return, is to abandon its Zhonghwa trademark so that the Shanghai firm can sell its own brand of cigarettes - also bearing the name Zhonghua - on the island.
The Taiwan government lifted its ban on the import of mainland cigarettes last year.
The Tobacco and Wine Board registered the Zhonghwa brand in 1993, but sales of this brand are not as good as its Long Life brand, which sells for NT$35 (S$1.80) to NT$45 per 20-stick pack.
Taiwan's tobacco companies are eager to penetrate China's market, which is said to be worth more than NT$1 billion a year. Around 350 million Chinese smoke, apparently the most of any country in the world.
The 500,000 Taiwanese living on the mainland comprise another potential market for the island's cigarette makers.
(Source: The Straits Times (Singapore))
Japan Asks China To Speed Up Patent Approval
Japan has asked China to speed up its procedure for screening patent applications at a recent meeting, especially those related to digital versatile disc players and digital cameras. The meeting was attended by Tadakatsu Sano, vice minister for international affairs at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and China's Vice Commerce Minister Am Min.
According to the report, Japan is concern that a delay in patent approval on such products in China will allow Chinese makers to make and market illegal copies of Japanese products.
Further, it was reported that Japan also asked China to take firmer action against piracy, and to file criminal charges against those who make and market illegally copied products.
The Chinese party on the other hand raised concern that Japan's new guidelines on preventing technology "leakage," implemented earlier this year, may lead to a reduction in Japanese investment in China, especially in the fields of information technology and biotechnology.
Japan explained that the guidelines are designed to better protect Japanese companies' intellectual property rights, and will not affect Japanese investment in China.
(Source: Jiji Press)
China Lawyers, Notaries, Patent, Copyright and Trademark Agents
http://www.lehmanlaw.com
Beijing Office | 6th floor, Dongwai Diplomatic Office Building
23 Dongzhimenwai Dajie
Beijing 100600 China
Tel.: (86)(10) 8532-1919
Fax: (86)(10) 8532-1999
Email: mail@lehmanlaw.com | | Shanghai Office | Suite 1310, Kerry Centre
No. 1515, West Nanjing Road
Shanghai 200040 China
Tel: (86)(21) 6288-2698
Fax:(86)(21) 6288-2699
Email: shanghai@lehmanlaw.com | |
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.
Unsubscribe |
Internet Explorer users, please click here: ipnewsletter@lehmanlaw.com?subject=Remove%20IP%20%21*ADDITIONAL_FIELD1*%21 |
Netscape users, please send email to:
ipnewsletter@lehmanlaw.com
with
Remove IP !*ADDITIONAL_FIELD1*!
in the Subject Line. |
