IP scene

Guangdong

Graphene forum to be held in Shenzhen

The 2017 International Forum on Graphene was held earlier this week in Shenzhen. The event was held to promote graphene's research and industrialization. More than 50 scientists and entrepreneurs around the world in the sector were invited to deliver speeches. Shenzhen is home to more than 20 companies in the industry, along with several research institutions, which own 700 graphene-related patents.

Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

Beijing

Registration fee cut nationwide on April 1

The State Administration for Industry and Commerce announced at the end of March that the fee for a trademark filing in China would be cut in half to 300 yuan ($43) starting on April 1. Fees for 12 other trademark administrative service items, including opposition, re-issuance of registration certificates, issuance of confirmation of registration, trademark transfers, renewal, alterations and cancellation, will also fall, according to the announcement.

saic.gov.cn

Zhejiang

Toy industry alliance established in Wenzhou

An intellectual property rights alliance for the toy and teaching tool industry was recently founded in Qiaoxia township in Wenzhou city. Wenzhou is home to more than 800 companies involved in related businesses, most of which are in Qiaoxia, with an annual output value of about 7 billion yuan ($1.01 billion). The companies own more than 1,000 patents. Local industry insiders said the alliance will help to regulate market order, encourage innovation and help patent owners to defend their rights.

Wenzhou Evening News

Sichuan

Industrial patent reports released

Two industrial patent reports concerning pharmaceuticals and new materials were released at the Tianfu Summit on Intellectual Property Operation in Chengdu at the end of March. The Sichuan Pharmaceuticals Industry Analysis Report reviews the patents related to biomedicines, chemical drugs, modernized traditional Chinese medicine and medical equipment. The Sichuan Patent Navigation Research on the New Materials Industry focuses on four sectors of new types of functional materials, advanced structural materials, high-performing fiber and composite materials, and biomedical materials.

Sichuan Intellectual Property Office

Sentences handed down in cigarette sting

Five defendants were sentenced to jail time of between one and four years for making counterfeit cigarettes and selling them via the internet, according to a ruling made on Tuesday by a local court in Meishan. The local police and tobacco administration raided the group last May, seizing more than 4 million faked cigarette labels, along with cigarettes, packaging and equipment in six storehouses.

China News Service

Guangxi

Trademark festival to kick off on Sept 1

Guilin, a popular tourist destination, will host the 2017 China Trademark Festival from Sept 1 to 4. It will comprise a national trademark annual conference, a brand exposition and a number of related activities. Twenty-five sub-forums at the conference will discuss topics of brand-image promotion and innovation of time-honored brands. Insiders said this year's festival will focus on the roles played by trademarks and brands in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, and overseas rights protection.

people.com.cn

Yunnan

Ethnic medical textbook to be finished by 2018

Experts from Yunnan and Guizhou provinces started to compose China's first textbook series on the traditional medicines of the Yi ethnic group. Dating back some 5,000 years, Yi medicines involve more than 3,000 materials, 2,000 of which can be found in Yunnan, and includes 154 patented drugs. The textbook series will comprise 14 books and will be completed by 2018.

China News Service

(China Daily 04/13/2017 page17)