1.BEIJING
Campaign for World IP Day
With the World Intellectual Property Day approaching, 25 central government departments announced a week-long nationwide campaign to increase public awareness.
The effort begins today and will continue through World IP Day on April 26, highlighting the important role of intellectual property in transformation of industries and the nation's overall economy, said Han Xiucheng, an official of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).
Activities to encourage respect for laws, regulations and intellectual property protection will be held, Han said.
82.4% of patents by locals
According to a recently released report by SIPO, China had more than 2.2 million valid patents at the end of last year, 82.4 percent of them filed by Chinese individuals, companies or institutions, a considerable rise from 75.5 percent in 2006.
Guangdong, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were the top five regions for invention patents.
Although the number of patents is growing fast, China still lags far behind advanced countries, the report noted.
"The report also offers guidance for Chinese companies to shift from the number of patents to their quality," said Li Shunde, an intellectual property rights expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
(GOV.CN)
Forum for high-level delegates
A conference on intellectual property will begin on May 10 at Peking University for 60 high-level delegates including government officials, scholars and corporate executives from around the world
Titled "China Creation - Patents, Technology and Market", the forum will discuss topics ranging from the global market and IP protection to patent commercialization.
A number of business contracts are expected to be signed during the three-day event that originated from an international intellectual property rights protection program organized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the University of California.
2.SHANGHAI
Prison for DVD offender
A woman surnamed Wang was sentenced to one and half years in prison and fined 40,000 yuan ($6,100) after she was convicted of continuing to sell pirated videos while on probation for the same offense.
The 46-year-old from Jiangsu province began the illegal business in early 2009 with her husband, surnamed Liu. After their stall was raided by police, Liu was jailed and Wang received a sentence of one-year's probation.
The woman then started another stall selling clothes, but business was poor. After a phone call from her husband's former DVD supplier, she restarted the illicit trade, police said.
Her stall was again raided by Shanghai police after just a few weeks and more than 36,000 illegal DVDs were found.
(EASTDAY.COM)
3.SHANDONG
Sea welding technologies
Experts at the Shandong Academy of Sciences have recently solved key problems in sea welding techniques that can diminish the sector's heavy reliance on foreign technologies.
The proprietary technologies meet international standards and will be used for ocean engineering, oil rigs and submarine manufacturing, according to Wang Juncheng, the academy's vice-director.
The academy is now establishing China's first industrial zone for production of ocean welding materials and equipment.
(STDAILY.COM)
4.GUANGDONG
Combustible ice research
After nearly 10 years of research, Chinese experts have developed proprietary technologies for detecting combustible ice, according to the Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey affiliated with the Ministry of Land and Resources.
Combustible ice, or gas hydrate, is an increasingly sought source of clean energy found in ocean beds and permafrost zones.
More than a hundred specialists from colleges and scientific institutions participated on research into detection of the hydrate.
Experts have now confirmed the energy source in the South China Sea.
(XINHUANET.COM)
(China Daily 04/20/2011 page17)
