1.Beijing
Sino-UK forum on digital challenges
Chinese and British publishers, librarians and government officials recently gathered in the capital city to discuss copyright opportunities and challenges in the digital era.
The meeting followed an agreement on copyrights signed by the British Intellectual Property Office and the General Administration of Press and Publication last September.
Emma House, director of trade and international services at the UK Publishers Association, said the forum provided an opportunity for participants to learn more about the increasingly global issue.
Liu Yicheng, deputy secretary-general of the Copyright Society of China, said the nation knows the importance of the challenges ahead and will continue to promote exchanges with the international community.
(Chinanews.com)
Top prize for electronic book reader
The Hanvon e-book reader won the only top prize at the fifth Beijing Innovative Invention Competition last week.
The device not only displays electronic books, but can also identify and save hand-written messages.
Some 19 gold, 30 silver and 60 bronze medals, as well as 517 citations for excellence, were awarded at the ceremony.
The youngest winner was an 8-year-old boy who designed a solar power generating system for small home appliances.
The 11-month competition received more than 1,000 entries from 26 provinces and cities, 75 percent of them from individuals.
The entries covered a wide range of fields including environmental protection, electronic information, new energies and materials, modern agriculture and biomedicine.
(Beijing Times)
2.Zhejiang
Sino-EU deal on geographic marks
A China-EU pilot project will soon protect 10 renowned European product names like Prosciutto di Parma ham and Comt cheese with geographical indication (GI) trademarks.
Ten Chinese product names including Longjing tea and Shaanxi Ping Guo apples will then have GI status in the EU.
The news was released after Sun Dawei, vice-minister of General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, met EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Ciolos in Hangzhou on March 22.
"Giving great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights, the Chinese government established and improved its GI system, followed by a mutually recognized mechanism with the international community," Sun said.
"This unprecedented project marks the first time a large number of non-EU product names have been proposed for geographical indications in the EU," said Ciolos.
He said he was impressed by the Chinese government's commitment to agricultural products and regional specialties in China.
"The experience from the pilot project will form the basis for broader cooperation in the future," he added.
(EU Delegation to China)
3.Shanghai
Ten biggest copyright cases
The city's copyright bureau recently named the 10 biggest violations last year.
The cases were in diverse fields ranging from publication and photography to online games, videos and software.
One was an essay plagiarism scandal involving two renowned schools - Fudan University in Shanghai and Wuhan University in Hubei province.
The cases show reasonable resolutions of Internet infringements and heavier penalties, according to authorities.
(People.com)
4.Yunnan
Display of natural cultural heritage
Twenty-six national and provincial cultural heritage items were on display at a six-day exhibition that began on March 22 in the southwestern province's capital Kunming.
Exhibits included embroidery, woodcarvings, silverware and New Year paintings from different provinces.
The national show promoted protection and inheritance of intellectual property rights in the province, according to local authorities.
(Sipo.gov.cn)
(China Daily 03/30/2011 page17)
