(2011-01-13,China Daily)

The number of patents granted in China last year was 40 percent higher than in 2009, according to the national patent watchdog.

China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) said in a statement Wednesday that it received over 1.2 million patent applications and approved 814,825 requests among them last year. The application number was over 25 percent more than that in 2009.

Among three types of patent applications administered by the SIPO, invention patents accounted for over 85 percent in each year's foreign applications since 2005, while domestic applications for invention patents accounted for 26 percent during the same period, it said.

(2011-01-13,People's Daily)

China's customs authority said on Wednesday that it seized 108 million pirated goods worth 249 million yuan (37.73 million U.S. dollars) last year amid a heightened crackdown.

Meng Yang, head of policy and the legal affairs department of the General Administration of Customs (GAC), released the figure at a working conference, adding that the ministry would intensify its clampdown on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violations and pirated goods.

He added that the GAC now shares information with its counterparts in the United States, European Union, Russia, Japan and South Korea on statistics and case information, as well as participates in human resource exchanges.

Further, cooperation with the United States would be enhanced in 2011, he noted.

China's law enforcement agencies announced Tuesday that vendors of illegally copied films, music or other copyright products on-line will face up to three years in jail in a pledge to crack down on piracy.

(2011-01-12,People's Daily)

More than 4,000 people have been arrested for violating intellectual property rights (IPR) since last October as tougher punishments will be enforced to combat the "rampant" problem, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Gao Feng, deputy director of the economic crimes investigation bureau at the Ministry of Public Security, told a news conference that his agency had uncovered more than 2,000 cases since China launched a six-month campaign to boost enforcement of intellectual property rights protection in October.

The financial value of the cases totaled 2.3 billion yuan ($348 million), Gao said, adding that the number of arrests and cases had tripled from the same time last year as had their financial value.

"On the one hand they demonstrate the achievements we've made in cracking down on the IPR violations, on the other hand they indicate that IPR violation is still rampant and frequent," Gao said. "So we want to introduce heavier punishments."

On Tuesday, the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued a judicial document to enforce the crackdown on IPR infringement.

The document covers a number of areas concerning IPR violation including proof of collection, standard penalties that should be applied and accounting the transaction value.

"Our previous law enforcement experience showed that current laws and judicial interpretations are not clear or specific enough, especially considering the rising number of cases through the Internet," said Xiong Xuanguo, vice-president of the SPC.

Conviction of IPR violation will occur if a person puts other people's work, including print, music, film, TV, photo, video, record or software on the Internet for profit without the approval of the copyright holder where one of the following conditions apply: a transaction value of more than 50,000 yuan; more than 500 pieces of work; the hits reach 50,000; the number of registered members reaches more than 1,000 if membership is required for access.

"The clearer and more concrete legal basis will help the courts to try IPR violation cases," Xiong said. "The more specific the regulations, the more practical the law enforcement."

"In recent years, IPR infringements on the Internet have sharply increased in China, and the methods of committing such crimes have also become more complicated and technologically advanced," said Xiong, adding that it presents challenges not only to the courts, but also to police investigations.

According to the top court, 39,913 IPR cases were heard in courts between January and November 2010 - a year-on-year jump of 64 percent.

(2011-01-10,People's Daily)

Just about two months ago, with a few clicks of the mouse, Chen Ying was able to watch her favorite American TV series, The Vampire Diaries or Gossip Girl, online for free.

Like Chen, an employee of a foreign-invested company in Shanghai, many U.S. TV series fans in China have little choice but to watch video clips online because domestic cable channels do not broadcast copyrighted ones. Some even volunteer to upload clips onto video-sharing websites without any charges.

But now Chen can rarely find such unauthorized online videos of foreign TV series.

In November 2010, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) announced a ban on any forms of trading and supplying unauthorized foreign TV series.

Along with the ban, the Ministry of Culture launched a six-month nationwide crackdown on counterfeiting in October to halt the theft of intellectual property rights (IPRS) and promote public awareness in IPRS protection.

In response, China's major video-hosting websites, including Youku.com, Tudou.com and Ku6.com, removed unauthorized foreign TV series videos.

A podcastor, using an online name "Xueselaoxie" on the Nasdaq-listed Youku.com, said some 7,000 unauthorized videos of American TV series he had uploaded were deleted by the website in one night.

To fans of foreign TV series, the ban might be a nightmare. But to the country, it was an important step in fighting IPRS infringement, said Li Yongqiang, assistant to CEO of Beijing Baofeng Inc., a provider of online video-hosting service.

Similar regulations were issued earlier. But never had they received as many reactions as did this one, Li said.

"I checked some portals after the ban became effective. Some websites removed all the unauthorized videos of American TV series in just one night," Li said.

"I believe the entire online video-sharing industry had realized the importance of a healthy development environment, and people's awareness of IPRS will be raised," Li said.

Following the order from the central government, many provinces beefed up their efforts in cracking down on online IPRS infringement.

In northeast China's Jilin Province, the provincial copyright administration shut down two websites, o2sky.com and imdj.net, after they were found illegally providing unauthorized videos of South Korean movies.

The ban has resulted in a reshuffle of online video-sharing industry in China, with major domestic websites gearing up to offer copyrighted imports of TV series and films.

Sohu TV offered many copyrighted online videos of American TV series, including Gossip Girl, the Big Bang Theory and Nikita, after signing agreements with Warner Bros..

Youku.com signed agreements with three major South Korean TV stations - MBC, KBS and SBS. It has also purchased rights from Warner Bros. to stream the hit movie "Inception," and charged five yuan (about 75 U.S. cents) for each view.

Additionally, Tudou.com is trying to produce its own films and TV series.

"From website operators to video producers, content copyright has become more crucial to the survival of video portals," said Li Shanyou, CEO of Ku6.com.

"It's good to protect IPRS, but I would still like to watch the TV series online for free," said Cui Shan, a citizen of Changchun, capital city of Jilin Province.

"Definitely there are markets for foreign TV series or movies in China," Cui said. "I think those websites should import more copyrighted movies and keep offering them at a low price to win markets."

China now has more than 200 million video website users and the market is growing, said Li Yongqiang. More paid online video programs will emerge as the cost of importing authorized films and TV programs rises.

Li said it is likely that video-sharing websites join hands to import copyrighted programs from overseas in order to lower the cost of watching TV series online.

"But after all, the spirit of the Internet is to share resources. So as China's online video industry becomes more regulated, more resources should be encouraged to be shared for free on the Internet, " Li said.

(2011-01-06,People's Daily)

After winning an intellectual property lawsuit with PepsiCo Inc, the former Chinese beverage market leader Tianfu Cola hopes to make a comeback next year, the company's top executive said.

"We believe the regained formula will be a new start for us," said Qian Huang, general manager of China Tianfu Cola Group.

Chongqing-headquartered Tianfu Cola Group Corp won a lawsuit against its former joint-venture partner, the China unit of PepsiCo, claiming that it stole the recipe for its beverage,

"Our next step is to take back our trademark and recover from bankruptcy," Qian said.

PepsiCo said the use of the "Tianfu" formula and techniques from their joint venture was legitimate, according to a statement sent to China Daily on Wednesday.

However, the joint venture Chongqing Pepsi-Tianfu Beverages Company Ltd, the owner of the Tianfu Trademark will act on the court verdict and pass the relevant know-how to the former partner ahead of expiration of the relevant contract.

Qian said the company now aims to produce, not only the cola series, but also juices, sodas and functional drinks.

Tianfu Cola is considering raising funds from financial groups, Chongqing Evening News reported.

Before the Tianfu Cola Group founded a joint venture with PepsiCo in 1994, Tianfu Cola was recognized as an iconic name in the Chinese beverage industry, for it developed its own cola formula and once occupied 75 percent of the Chinese cola market.

After the establishment of the joint venture, Tianfu Cola lost its local market share. In the lawsuit, the company claimed that PepsiCo broke their promise that at least half of the joint venture's products would be under the Tianfu brand, and reduced its production ratio from 74 percent in the first year of cooperation to 0.5 percent in 2007.

Since the foreign beverage giants entered China in 1990s, the "big eight" Chinese traditional beverage brands, which included Beijing Beibingyang, Shanghai Zhengguanghe and Chongqing Tianfu-cola have all disappeared from the market.

There have been concerns that foreign companies, such as Coco-Cola that offered to buy Huiyuan in 2009 and Danone which purchased Wahaha, Robuts and Zhengguanghe, only aim to gain domestic market share rather than develop the local brands.

"The beverage industry is dramatically competive now and a strong brand is especially important for new products," said Wu Zhengwu, a food and beverage industry analyst from AJ Securities. "Since Tainfu Cola broke up with PepsiCo, as well as its binding sales channels, the restart expenditure for new Tianfu Cola, which include advertisements, and opening up networks and paying for entry into supermarkets could be huge."

(2011-01-05,People's Daily)

South Korean firm thwarted in its attempt to register popular name

After half a year of effort, the Zhenjiang Vinegar Association has prevailed in a cross-border wrangle after it defended its trademark from registration by a South Korean applicant.

The case began in June 2010 when the local association heard from a foreign client that a South Korean company had filed an application for the Zhenjiang Vinegar trademark in both Chinese and Korean.

The Korean trademark administration accepted the application and published a notice in April asking for objections. The notice expired on June 23, just weeks after the Chinese association became aware of the filing.

If the South Korean application was successful, it would have been a disaster for vinegar makers in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province that are expanding production and gearing up exports.

About 90 percent of China-made vinegar exports now carry the Zhenjiang Vinegar brand - a valuable proprietary right, according to local authorities in Zhenjiang.

The day after learning of the filing, the association asked for help from the Sate Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), the top administration for trademark affairs in China.

In response, SAIC suggested filing an objection and offered consultation to help analyze the case and find solutions.

Over the next 10 days, the association checked a host of materials, including records showing the historic roots of the Chinese trademark, and sought evidence that the trademark is protected both at home and abroad.

Other evidence included domestic and overseas sales figures over the past three years and advertising examples.

Just a day before the expiry date, the association filed an objection with the South Korean administration.

Recalling the pressing days and nights, Dong Min, director of the association's legal department, said "the tension was unforgettable".

At the same time, SAIC increased communication with its South Korean peer to offer more information about the trademark.

Their efforts paid off. The South Korean administration ruled in favor of the Chinese party and rejected the application.

It was the first case for a Chinese trademark dispute to be settled through international cooperation mechanisms since the nation signed agreements with more than 20 countries in 2009.

The association is now preparing to register the trademark itself in South Korea and gearing up to apply for the status of Chinese well-known trademark.

"Negligence in trademark registration will result in forestalling rightful application or counterfeiting, which will bring huge losses," said Wang Mingfa, the association's secretary-general.

To date, the Zhenjiang Vinegar trademark has been registered in nearly 10 countries.

(2011-01-05,People's Daily)

Patent quality -the number of valid patents - is the key to maintaining intellectual property (IP) research and production advantages, a Chinese intellectual property official, told a Dec 22 forum in Beijing,

The director general of the State Intellectual Property Office's (SIPO) patent department, Ma Weiye, was asked to explain (IP) protection's relationship.

"Our companies should pay much more attention to patent quality instead of only quantity," Ma said

SIPO statistics show that 46.4 percent of Chinese inventions' patents last more than five years.

Ma also spoke about the intellectual property concept, by saying, "Many Chinese officials and even experts believe that intellectual property refers to the industrialization of knowledge. And that the IP system is meant to explore and utilize knowledgeable resources. I think this is a total misunderstanding."

He went on to explain, "Knowledge cannot be privately owned and its publicity negates the possibility of being industrialized.

"I prefer the interpretation found in Taiwan, which closely links this international term with human wisdom, whereby people transform knowledge into property."

Ma pointed further to differing opinions on the essential qualities of the IP system. He noted that, in contrast to the majority opinion, "It is more likely used to stimulate competition and even to some extent protect a monopoly instead of encouraging innovation."

He cited the changes in patent filings in China, by two large foreign aircraft manufacturers, as an example.

"These two companies used to file few patent applications in China. But this situation changed suddenly after 2005, when the government decided to produce big airplanes with its own technology.

"Their resulting eagerness to file obviously did not come from a desire to promote innovation at Chinese companies, but to maintain their market share."

In commenting on the role of innovation, Ma said that independent innovation is not exactly like being divorced from the masses or from reality, and just acting blindly.

Rather, he suggested, Chinese companies should increase cooperation with top foreign companies and should introduce or purchase patented technology, especially inventions, to accelerate progress.

The head of SIPO's IP development research center, Mao Jinsheng, informed the forum of the new nonprofit IP Center at the China Industry-University-Research Institute's Collaboration Association.

This organization consists of scholars, experts and officials from industrial, scientific, and education and academic fields, Mao said.