IP Scene

1. Beijing

'Top 100 green trademarks'

Selection of the "top 100 green trademarks" began on July 13 as part of the fourth China Trademark Festival.

The green trademark denotes an eco-friendly product that conserves energy and generates less pollution during manufacturing.

Award winners will be selected from 10 categories including household electrical appliances, clothes, cosmetics, cars and furniture.

Products will be first nominated by consumers and then evaluated by industry experts. The list will be announced on Sept 8.

The organizers said the event aims to encourage innovation and promote sustainable development.

CHINA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY NEWS

$15 million in pirate goods

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced on July 20 that its enforcement officials across the country conducted 58,900 investigations into suspected counterfeit production or sales in the first half of the year.

More than 15,000 cases were related to consumables worth 97.32 million yuan ($15.09 million) in potential retail sales, mostly diary products, grains and cooking oil, as well as alcohol and other beverages.

GUANGMING DAILY

2. Yunnan

Blogger bites 'Apple' stores

The Kunming Administration of Industry and Commerce investigated three fake Apple computer stores on July 22 in response to global media coverage following a story and photos in a blog by a US traveler.

The three spacious and well-designed stores have almost everything a real Apple store offers including iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. Their staff wear name badges and signature blue T-shirts with an Apple logo.

One giveaway is that the shops have signs at the entrance saying Apple Store instead of the bitten apple logo on authorized outlets.

But the products they sell are real, said one of the salesmen.

Local enforcement officials said they have checked the stores' business licenses, purchase channels and whether they are licensed to use the Apple trademark.

Results of the investigation will soon be released to the press, the administration said.

TECH.QQ.COM

3. Hubei

Funding to boost innovation

The Wuhan city government will offer more than 13 million yuan to help 300 companies improve technological innovation over the next five years.

The government aid will be used to improve the intellectual property (IP) structure, increase IP staffing and enhance the capabilities in selected companies for patent utilization and protection.

Sixty companies have already been chosen.

CHINANEWS.COM

4. Shaanxi

Ten years for illegal videos

Video shop owner Meng Xianjun has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 35,000 yuan for sale of pirated videos and pornography in Xi'an, capital of the southwestern province.

According to court testimony, Meng opened a video shop in late 2007 and began selling highly profitable pirated and pornographic videos in March last year, with daily sales surpassing 1,000 CDs and DVDs.

Xi'an police found more than 20,000 pirated DVDs during a raid on Meng's shop in January, and an additional 18,500 illegal DVDs and nearly 5,000 pornographic videos in his warehouse.

The trial was held in front of a local wholesale market at the end of June to increase public awareness of fighting piracy and pornography.

CHINA PRESS AND PUBLICATION JOURNAL

5. Fujian

21 export licenses revoked

Provincial government officials announced on July 20 that they have revoked the export licenses of 21 companies for IP infringement.

Since last November, law enforcement officers have checked 741 companies that export daily-use ceramics, toys, furniture, cosmetics, auto parts, medicines, food and mobile phones.

The officers have also strengthened their supervision on exports to the United States, Japan and African countries.

CHINANEWS.COM

6. Guangdong

Online portal to fight fakes

A service portal to help fight counterfeits will go online in August in the southern province.

Established by the Guangdong e-Business Association, the portal is designed to provide detailed information about online shops in the province, including their IP rights, distribution channels and operating licenses.

Customers also can file complaints or claim compensation through the portal.

BEIJING NEWS

7. Hong Kong

Island an IP trading center

Hong Kong holds an important position as a key IP trading center in Asia, according to a recent report released by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

That role is the result of a booming creative industry, the island's status as an international hub for business and services and a sound IP legal protection system, the report noted.

Dickson Ho, assistant chief economist at the HKTDC, said that one of the biggest advantages for the city as an IP center is its closeness to the Chinese mainland.

"The mainland is such a thriving market with a big demand for IP from overseas," he said. "At the same time IP owners on the mainland are seeking business opportunities here."

XINHUANET.COM

(China Daily 07/27/2011 page17)