IP scene

Beijing

National tech fund backs key projects

The National Fund for Technology Transfer and Commercialization has set up 14 individual funds worth a total of 24.7 billion yuan ($3.63 billion), according to officials at a technological commercialization and investment conference hosted on Friday. The fund, founded by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance, has to date invested nearly 10 billion yuan in 161 technological commercialization projects. At the event, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the State Development and Investment Corp signed a cooperation agreement for promoting tech innovation in key fields and strengthening cooperation with the fund.

People.com.cn

Shanghai

Time for tea for two at fair

A national tea industry trade fair and an international tea brand expo will be held in the Shanghai New International Expo Center from Aug 29 to Sept 1. It aims to help tea merchants and companies to spread their brand influence and create a strong brand image. The fair will display quality tea, such as green tea, black tea and pu'er tea - a variety of fermented tea produced in Yunnan province - as well as provide promotional activities, tea art performances, related lectures and forums.

Iprchn.com

Record damages for French firm

The Shanghai Intellectual Property Court recently ordered a local company to pay France-headquartered Dassault Systemes 15.05 million yuan ($2.21 million) in damages for computer software copyright infringement, the highest compensation granted by the court since its establishment in late 2014. The record sum underscored Shanghai's determination to protect IP, insiders said. By the end of June, the court had handled 6,561 IP cases and concluded 5,849 cases.

Jiefang Daily

Chongqing

Intangible cultural heritage in focus

An intangible cultural heritage "town" opened recently in Chongqing - offering visitors opportunities to taste and even make local food. Intangible culture includes things such as song, music and dance. The city has built three such towns and the other two are showcasing national-level intangible cultural heritage items - Rongchang pottery and Rongchang grass cloth. The town featuring the pottery opened in late 2017 and since then has had an average of 100,000 people visiting daily. Chongqing plans to have an intangible cultural heritage expo park and 20 such towns up and running by the end of 2020, to promote the protection and inheritance of heritage.

Iprchn.com

Ningxia

Region sees major rise in applications

The Ningxia Hui autonomous region reported a 39 percent year-on-year rise in trademark applications in the first half of this year, or close to 7,800 applications, local officials said. During the period, nearly 5,000 new trademarks were registered in the region, an increase of 34 percent year-on-year, enabling Ningxia's total inventory of registered trademarks to top 37,250, up 29.6 percent from a year earlier. Of these, 55 have been granted the status of well-known trademarks and 23 certified as geographical indications.

Ningxia Daily

(China Daily 08/02/2018 page17)