Top Ten

Intellectual Property Protection in China (IPR in China) recently opened voting for the top 10 IPR events in 2007 via its website.

The vote is being organized by IPR in China, China Daily, China Central Television's Law Today program and China News Service.

The organizers have selected 30 events based on the opinions of IPR experts and government departments.

The vote is now open to the public online via http://www.ipr.gov.cn/cn/zhuanti/426-2008/dashi.htm.

It will run until midnight on April 8, after which votes will be counted and the 15 finalists announced.

The IPR expert appraisal committee will determine the top 10 events, which will be released in mid-April.

The 30 nominations are as follows:

(1) Chinese food brand wins lawsuit against German company

Famous Chinese bean curd brand Wangzhihe won a lawsuit against a German supermarket for trademark infringement. A local court in Munich, where the case was heard, ruled that OKAI should stop using the Wangzhihe trademark logo in Germany and the brand OKAI registered there should be revoked.

(2) NCA, MPS and MII tackle Internet piracy

The National Copyright Administration, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Information Industry conducted a three-month crackdown on Internet piracy across the country from August to the end of October last year.

(3) Intangible cultural heritage notice released

The Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Culture released a notice to reinforce protection of the intangible cultural heritage of time-honored brands. The notice fulfills the Notice of the State Council on Strengthening Cultural Heritage Protection.

(4) Plants protected under current five-year plan

New agricultural plant varieties are protected for the first time in China under the 11th Five-Year Plan. In the period, protection measures are in place to encourage innovation and application.

(5) Steps to strengthen IPR protection through the courts

The Supreme People's Court promulgated the "Opinions on Strengthening IPR Trials to Offer a Judicial Guarantee for the Construction of an Innovation-oriented Country", which put forward a series of suggestions and specific measures.

The document stipulates that the standard of compensation for IPR infringement will be increased and civil punishment reinforced.

(6) Revised Patent Law goes to State Council for review

The revised Patent Law was submitted to the State Council for review and examination on December 27, 2006.

The State Intellectual Property Office coordinated the drafting of the revised legislation after debate and input from local and foreign experts. The revision aims to adapt to changes in the international patent system.

(7) Trial measures give brands 'special protection'

The Ministry of Commerce released "Trial Measures on Brand Appraisal and Protection in Commerce" to give intellectual property of brands "special protection".

(8) Agricultural sector gets strengthened IPR protection

The central government issued a circular requiring its departments to strengthen IPR protection in agriculture. It also called for agricultural product quality management and market service to be enhanced.

(9) China signs Singapore treaty on trademark law

China signed the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks in Geneva. The move will help guide and support Chinese enterprises to effectively take advantage of international rules to enter the global market and provide convenience for Chinese enterprises to apply for trademark registration in other countries.

(10) SAIC announces special GI product symbols

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce released special symbols for Geographic Indication products and promulgated the "Measures on the Symbols of GI Products", to facilitate recognition of GI products and protect the legal interests and exclusive rights of GI registers.

(11) Yamaha wins compensation in trademark infringement case

The Supreme People's Court made the final judgment on the trademark infringement case between Japanese Yamaha Corp and three Chinese companies. The court ruled that the three defendants should pay 8.3 million yuan in compensation to Yamaha.

(12) Action plan on IPR protection released

China's action plan on IPR protection 2007 was launched on April 2. The plan includes 10 aspects including legislation, justice and implementation.

(13) New interpretation for criminal IPR protection cases

The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate promulgated the "Interpretation on Several Issues of Concrete Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Intellectual Property Infringement (II)", which is supplementary to the previous interpretation adopted in 2004.

(14) US files two new trade cases against China

The US government filed two trade cases against China in the World Trade Organization over copyright piracy and restrictions on the sale of American books, music, videos and movies. The two new cases represent the latest effort by the Bush administration to increase pressure on China in trade, despite Beijing's efforts to crack down on piracy.

(15) Illegal audio-video products seized in Shanghai

The Shanghai Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Team joined forces with police, dispatching more than 60 law enforcers and seizing two illegal stashes of audio-video products.

Over 610,000 illegal audio-video products were confiscated and five suspects were arrested.

(16) China, US sign IPR law enforcement memorandum

Chinese and US Customs signed a "Cooperation Memorandum on Strengthening IPR Law Enforcement" on May 22, 2007 in Washington. The memorandum is considered an important outcome from the second Sino-US strategic economic dialogue.

(17) Intangible cultural heritage practitioners named

China selected 226 people to pass on China's intangible cultural heritage. The list includes folklore, acrobatics, handicrafts and traditional medicine practitioners.

(18) Copyright, performance treaties take effect

The WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty came into effect on June 9, 2007 after being approved by the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress on December 29, 2006.

(19) Customs hailed for efforts against piracy

The World Customs Organization recognized China Customs for its contribution to the fight against counterfeit goods and piracy. The number of cases uncovered by China Customs increases by over 30 percent a year.

(20) Former ZhengTu employee jailed over copyright case

Former Shanghai ZhengTu Network Science Technologies Co Ltd employee Wang Yuchuan illegally copied the server source code, client source code and supporting files of well-known online game Zhengtu after leaving his post. Wang was charged with copyright infringement and sentenced to one year and six months' imprisonment and fined 50,000 yuan.

(21) China, US unearth two major piracy cases

The Chinese public security authorities and the United States' FBI launched a joint action codenamed "summer solstice", successfully unearthing two exceptionally large criminal cases of multinational production and sales of pirated software.

(22) Proceedings against Japanese TV station launched

Chinese copyright owners announced they will prosecute Japanese broadcaster SkyperfecTV's 785 and 781 channels for illegally broadcasting more than 500 Chinese TV serials between 2003 and 2005 and faxed a warning letter.

(23) SAIC campaigns against misleading brands

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce initiated a campaign to crack down on misleading brands. Industrial and commercial administrations at all levels will investigate the illegal acts of registering others' well-known brands or trademarks as business names and using the names in the market, which may mislead consumers.

(24) SASAC convenes first IP conference for State-run firms

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council convened the first IP conference for government-owned companies, requiring them to research and draw up an IP strategy.

(25) Innovation tops Hu Jintao's economic agenda

President Hu Jintao underscored the task of enhancing China's capacity of independent innovation and making it an innovative country in a political report to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

(26) China ratifies protocol amending WTO's TRIPS agreement

China ratified the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, a move it believed would afflict many developing countries, particularly the least-developed ones.

(27) National conference on genuine software held

The National Working Conference on Genuine Software was held in Beijing. By the end of 2007, over 1,500 large-scale enterprises had installed genuine software.

(28) Patent applications reach 4 million

China has accepted 4 million patent applications since 1985, when the country's Patent Law took effect. Of the latest 1 million patent applications accepted, about 60.8 percent were made by Chinese applicants.

(29) Trademark registrations hit 3.04 million

At the end of 2007, China's trademark registrations totaled 3.04 million, a year-on-year increase of 29.19 percent.

(30) Fuzhou tops country for fake cigarette cases

Fuzhou Customs investigated 395 fake cigarette cases last year, the most anywhere in the country.

Editor's note: The IPR Special is sponsored by the State Intellectual Property Office and published by China Business Weekly. To contact the Intellectual Property Office, the IPR Special hotlines are 8610-64995421 or 8610-64995826, and the e-mail address is ipr@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 03/31/2008 page9)