IP scene

Beijing

System advances Madrid mechanism

The State Intellectual Property Office announced on June 21 the opening of an online system for filing international trademark applications. The China-developed system is a milestone in advancing the Madrid mechanism of international trademark filings, experts said. In the six days since opening, the system received 91 filings. China ranked third on the Madrid chart in 2017, contributing 4,810 international trademark filings.

China Industry and Commerce News

China, UK discuss copyright issues

The National Copyright Administration and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office held roundtable discussions about the latest copyright policies and enforcement in late June, exploring solutions to challenges in the digital era. It was the fourth high-level visit and exchange under the framework of a Sino-UK memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in copyright signed in 2010. Facing new challenges, both countries need to seek breakthroughs in copyright ideas and systems to build an interests-balanced working mechanism, said Yu Cike, head of the copyright management department of the NCA.

China Press and Publishing Journal

Trade secrets committee set up

The China International Association for Promotion of Science and Technology founded a trade secret protection committee in early June to promote the research, legislation and practices concerning the sector. The committee will leverage management, legal and technological resources to help companies create a full-range protection mechanism, its executive director said. At the inaugural meeting, the committee announced a charity initiative, which will offer 100 companies in 10 sectors free protection services worth 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) in total. The sectors include artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals, e-commerce and internet technologies.

Science and Technology Daily

Jiangsu

Trademark filings shoot up in 2017

The province reported an overall rapid rise in trademark filings last year, but with vastly differing figures based on individual areas, according to a report released on June 29. The annual report on Jiangsu's trademark and brands strategy showed that new trademark filings from the province topped 352,730 last year, ranking it No 4 among provinces in China. Suzhou topped the province in terms of number of annual filings and new trademarks. International trademark applications filed via the Madrid system across the province surged 86.65 percent to nearly 630 last year.

Xinhua Daily

Student education program expands

The Experimental Primary School affiliated to Nanjing University of Science and Technology was named a provincial pilot intellectual property education unit in late June. To date, there are six national-level and 40 provincial-level schools in the pilot primary and secondary education initiative in the province. Local authorities founded a leadership group dedicated to promoting IP education in primary and secondary schools in 2015, earmarking 1 million yuan ($151,000) in funding. Its goal is to increase the number of pilot schools to 100 in 2020.

JSCHINA.COM.CN

Chongqing

Qualified patent agents on the rise

As of May, some 42,000 people had acquired patent agent qualifications across the country. Of them, 17,000 agents are practicing in more than 1,900 agencies, according to a meeting held at the municipality on June 28 and 29. The meeting attracted some 100 government officials and leaders of the All-China Patent Attorneys Association. The IP agencies nationwide generated 26 billion yuan ($3.9 billion) in total business revenue last year, jumping 71 percent from 2015.

The State Intellectual Property Office

Guangdong

Zhuhai launches service platform

An intellectual property trading system went online in Zhuhai on Monday, designed to promote the commercialization of technological innovations from China and Israel. The online system offers services of transnational IP assets trading and IP-collateralized financing, aimed at creating a comprehensive IP service platform ranging from filings and evaluation to pre-warning, analysis and protection.

Economic Daily

Tibet

Highest heritage museum to open

Construction of a Tibetan intangible cultural heritage museum has been completed in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region. It is expected to open in the second half of this year. At 3.7 kilometers above sea level, the first intangible cultural heritage museum in Tibet is the highest of its kind in the world. The museum is a Shenzhen government-aid project, which cost 150 million yuan ($22.6 million) and took one and a half years to complete.

Tibet Daily

(China Daily 07/05/2018 page17)