IP scene

Beijing

Students sell inventions to major businesses

Three inventions by primary and middle school students in Fangshan district were transferred to companies at the 2016 Fangshan Science and Technology Festival last week. The developers were awarded 10,000 yuan each. The event showcased not only products from high-tech companies, but also more than 100 inventions by local students in the district who have been granted 109 utility patents. A forum for science teachers was also held during the festival.

China.com.cn

Shanghai

Shanghai cracks down on Disney trademark piracy

The industry and commerce administration of Shanghai announced on Monday that they had investigated 17 cases of infringements on Disney trademarks, with total illegal turnover of more than 1 million yuan ($154,090). Most of the cases involved clothes, toys and hotels using the Disney trademark without authorization. Shanghai Disneyland is scheduled to open in June.

cnstock.com

Tianjin

China tops world in biotechnology patents

China leads the world in the number of biotechnology patents, according to a report published in Tianjin by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The report shows 28,154 patents in the field between 2012 and 2014, half of which were under protection in China. China took 31 percent of all patent families, twice as large the share as the United States. However, the report said only 112 Chinese patent applications, less than 1 percent of the total, were filed overseas.

Xinhua News Agency

Zhejiang

Customs locks up counterfeit padlocks

The Ningbo customs department has seized more than 90,000 padlocks with counterfeit Tri-Circle trademarks that were worth about 680,000 yuan ($104,677), the largest case investigated by the Ningbo customs involving counterfeit Chinese brands since 2013. The goods were in 570 wooden boxes, declared to be padlocks and diapers. Founded in 1930 in Yantai, Shandong province, Tri-Circle is China's oldest lockmaker. Ningbo customs authorities have seized more than 200,000 counterfeit Tri-Circle products since 2015.

International Business Daily

Guangdong

Full-service hackerspace opens for startups

The first hackerspace with a full chain of intellectual property services in the Asia-Pacific region was established in Guangzhou on Saturday. Hackerspaces are community-operated workshops where people with common interests can socialize and collaborate. Local officials said IP protection and management services are equally important for startup teams in the area besides infrastructure and property services.

Yangcheng Evening News

Chongqing

Service center established in partnership with Munich

An IP service center was recently established in Munich to support the development of Chongqing companies in Europe. The center is a result of cooperation between the Chongqing Association of Intellectual Property Protection of Enterprises and Viering, Jentschura & Partner, a German IP agency. The city's IP officials said the center would not only help companies defend their rights, but also become a platform for international exchanges.

Chongqing Daily

Shaanxi

Province experiences rapid growth in rights ownership

The provincial IP authority announced that the patent ownership per 10,000 residents in Shaanxi reached 6.02 in 2015, ranking the first among western and central China regions and seventh nationwide. Last year, the province had its largest growth in patent applications and grants. Organizations and individuals in Shaanxi currently own more than 22,000 valid patents, 48.5 percent of which are from universities.

Shaanxi Daily

(China Daily 03/30/2016 page17)