Landmark IP deal

China and South Korea recently signed a letter of intent to co-operate further on intellectual property (IP) issues.

Beijing IP Services Centre and South Korea's Electronics Industry Promotion Association (EIPA) signed the document, which states that the two parties will hold regular seminars and forums on IP topics and promote communications between the two nations.

Both sides will jointly investigate IP infringement cases and research subjects of mutual concern.

The EIPA was established in 1976, and is directly administered by South Korea's Ministry of Industrial Resources.

Association members include big names such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Hyundai Electronics.

South Korean manufacturers of consumer electronics contribute more than 50 per cent of the country's total production volume, and command over 30 per cent of the patents acquired by South Korean companies.

Talent search

The Intellectual Property Bureau of Shanghai and the American International Education Foundation recently launched an IP training programme for Chinese talent.

The letter of intent signed last year states that Shanghai's IP bureau will send 50 people to the United States for IP courses between 2005 and 2010.

The project aims to help Shanghai identify and develop bilingual interdisciplinary talent knowledgeable in IP management, industrial business, laws and regulations.

The first seven students started their four-month IP courses in Chicago in mid August.

Original resources

Two categories of drugs in Tibet Autonomous Region recently acquired registered certificates of native origin from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

This sets a precedent for protection of resources native to Tibet.

The two categories of drugs are "Tibetan drugs from Tibet" and "Chinese caterpillar fungus from Naqu, Tibet." Four local companies offer the products.

Tibet boasts a number of native resources unavailable elsewhere in the world.

These products stem from the region's unique natural environment, history and culture.

Tibetan products are often counterfeited throughout the country, however. Local Tibetan companies have not been aware of the importance of protecting their products through native origin registration.

(China Daily 09/12/2005 page9)