CHINA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW NEWSLETTER
Vol. 4 , No.10 - July 15, 2003
TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
- Fox, Disney, Universal Sue Over Pirated Films
- LG Sues For Alleged Patent Infringement
- Sony To Sue Chinese Battery Maker Byd For Alleged Patent Infringement
- Chinese Hero Gets Copyright Protection
- Patent Protection For New Disinfectant Against Sars
Fox, Disney, Universal Sue Over Pirated Films
Three US studios have filed suit against three Chinese companies alleging copyright violations through the sale of pirated video discs.
In the first action of its kind in the city, Fox Entertainment's Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, Walt Disney Co and Vivendi Universal's Universal Studios are seeking a public apology, compensation and a halt to the alleged violations.
The case was heard last week by Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court. Yang Jun, a lawyer representing all three companies, was quoted as saying that the plaintiffs had sent staff to the outlets of the three defendants and bought pirated VCDs and DVDs of the titles.
Fox is suing Shanghai Hezhong Enterprise Development Co for selling pirated copies of the fourth series of the television series "X Files", and is seeking RMB 220,000 in compensation.
The company is also suing Shanghai Yatu Film Culture for selling pirated copies of the same title and of "Speed 2", demanding RMB 415,000 in damages.
Fox is also suing Shanghai Husheng Audio-Visual Co for selling pirated copies of the fourth series of "X-Files", and the films "Courage Under Fire" and "Moulin Rouge", and is seeking RMB 615,000 in damages.
Disney filed its suit against Yatu over pirated copies of "A Bug's Life" and "Dinosaur", asking for RMB 415,000 in compensation.
Universal has sued Husheng for selling pirated copies of "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic Park III", demanding RMB 415,000 in damages. It has also sued Hezhong for selling "The Bone Collector" and "Jurassic Park III", and is seeking RMB 420,000 in compensation.
China's Copyright Law currently allows foreign film companies to seek a maximum RMB 500,000 in compensation for each title if they are unable to provide exact details as to its loss or the counterfeiters' profit.
Court officials have stated to the press that both plaintiffs and defendants have agreed to undergo mediation, though there has been no discussion of money.
(Source: AFX European Focus)
LG Sues For Alleged Patent Infringement
South Korean electrical appliance company LG has commenced legal action against Guangdong-based Galanz for alleged patent infringement in its microwave ovens. No decision was made in its first hearing recently at the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court. According to company sources, Galanz, as world leading microwave oven manufacturer, it covers 40% of the global sales and 50% of the Chinese market share. LG, which has a newly established production line in Tianjin, has posed a strong challenge to Galanz. Tianjin LG Electronics has demanded a sum of RMB1.5 million (US$181,000) as compensation from Galanz for alleged infringement in the "automatic cooking equipment" of its four types of ovens.
In the court papers, LG stated that it obtained a patent in China in 2001 on the automatic cooking equipment after inventing it in 1996. LG also said that the amount of compensation is preliminarily calculated as four times the possible income of the accused from allegedly infringing LG's patent. During the recent hearing, a representative of Galanz requested to stop the trial as "the accused put forward an application last year to the patent re-examination board under the State Intellectual Property Office to declare that LG's patent is invalid.
"The patent involved in the lawsuit is not inventive," said the patent agent for Galanz, who represented the company in the court instead of a lawyer. As the patent re-examination board has not given the final judgment as whether the LG patent is valid or not, the accusation by LG is meaningless, according to Wang.
(Source: Business Daily)
Sony To Sue Chinese Battery Maker Byd For Alleged Patent Infringement
Consumer electronics giant Sony will file a lawsuit against Chinese battery maker BYD, accusing the firm of infringing two of its battery-related patents in Japan.
"We have been investigating the case for some time and now have the evidence to bring a lawsuit," said Sony Corp. spokeswoman Harumi Asai.
The firm claims it spotted BYD Co. at a consumer electronics exhibition in Japan last September, displaying a range of battery products containing the Sony-patent and distributing pamphlets.
Although there was no evidence BYD had begun selling the items in Japan, Sony felt the fact that they had held an exhibition and compiled a catalogue meant there was a high chance this would happen in future, said Asai. She also explained that the offending patents are related to the structure of the battery. The lawsuit would be filed at the Tokyo District Court.
"We want to prohibit marketing acts, including sales, in Japan," said Asai.
According to the report, Sony was not planning to ask for monetary damages.
Asai also said that the consumer electronics leader put much energy into protecting its intellectual property, with a special team dedicated to investigating possible patent or copyright infringements.
Sony decided to take action against BYD because the patents were used in major batteries that power many of its products, said the spokeswoman.
BYD was not immediately available for comment.
(Source: Agence France Presse)
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Chinese Hero Gets Copyright Protection
The photographer who took more than 220 pictures of Lei Feng, a very famous Chinese volunteer, is to be rewarded for his work.
The photographs of Lei Feng, an exemplary soldier, received copyright protection from the copyright administration of Liaoning Province, northeast China.
Zhang Jun, the photographer and Lei Feng's comrade-in-arms, was also honored as an "exemplary individual on legal right protection" by the said administration.
Lei Feng is an ordinary Chinese and probably the only one to be remembered by the whole nation for his good deeds, was born a peasant in 1940. He lost both his parents by the age of seven. At age twenty, he joined the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and spent all his spare time and money helping the needy. He was killed on August 15, 1962 when a reversing truck struck a pole that fell on him.
Lei Feng became a household name in March 1963 when late Chairman Mao Zedong called on the whole nation to learn from him, and March 5 has been designated "Learning from Lei Feng" day. Since then, a national "Learn from Lei Feng" campaign continued despite convulsive changes in China's contemporary history.
The spirit of the young soldier, whose life was cut short at the age of 22, has remained alive and his patriotism, compassion and self-sacrifice have become moral markers for the 1.3 billion population.
Zhang Jun, 77, joined the PLA in 1946. Later he worked as journalist and got to know Lei Feng in the Shenyang Military Area Command. From 1961 to 1962, he took 223 photos of Lei Feng, bringing Lei Feng's boyish smile to posters, newspapers, television, children's textbooks and later onto the Internet.
According to Zhang Jun, during the past 40 years, all the photos have been used by the mass media without his authorization or any reward. "At the beginning, I don't mind people using my photos because I thought the photos were common treasure for the whole of humanity, and had not thought about protecting my legal rights with legal means" he said.
However, as more and more newspapers or periodicals adopted the photos without affixing his name and some even altered the illustrations, Zhang Jun decided that something had to be done.
"The photos have great value not only as historic documents, but also as art works. So Zhang Jun opined that to apply for copyright protection for the photos conformed to the 'Lei Feng Spirit', which calls for devotion and self-sacrifice for those in need.
Zhang Jun added that the payment from the photos would all be used for publicizing the "Lei Feng Spirit" and volunteer activities.
(Source: Xinhua News)
Patent Protection For New Disinfectant Against Sars
The WXP disinfectant, named after the initials of its inventor Wang Xueping, an associate researcher with the city commission of science and technology of Jinzhong in north China's Shanxi province, has been proved to be able to kill the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus completely within 20 minutes, according to a test report confirmed in early June by the Virus Research Centre of prestigious Wuhan University in central China.
To protect the invention he made after 10 years of hard efforts, Wang Xueping has made nine patent applications and acquired six. Of the six, four are in China, one in Singapore and one in the United States.
The disinfectant made through narnometric technology as received has passed a technical appraisal by an expert panel of China's authoritative departments.
Another simulation test by the Epidemic Prevention and Control Institute of the Chinese centre for disease control and prevention says that if added into the water of central air conditioning, the disinfectant can destroy the SARS virus in 25 days.
Compared with traditional disinfectant, this new product is totally innocuous and could be used for both environment sanitation and skin sterilization.
(Source: British Broadcasting Corporation)
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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.
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