Major acts in recent days (07-09-24)

Strengthening IPR

Five Chinese ministries, including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission, said they would launch policies to strength small and medium enterprises' intellectual property protection.

Ou Xinqian, the NDRC' vice-minister, said at the opening of China International Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Fair in Guangzhou that SMEs should be encouraged to innovate, since they have difficulties protecting their intellectual properties.

The fair organizers also opened an intellectual property rights protection booth, explaining China's policies and progress in the area.

Famous brands

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine released the 2007 list of famous brands in China, which included 856 brands in 162 categories.


BSD down clothes, CIMC container and QC gimbals became three Chinese world famous brands.

So far, almost 2,000 Chinese famous brands and 10 Chinese world famous brands have been named.

New partners

China Intellectual Property Training Center became an international partner with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Worldwide Academy, the website of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) said on September 13.

In July, the Chinese center helped WIPO hold a senior-level training session for IP policymakers from more than 20 countries and regions. The program will be held annually in the future.

Mpazi Sinjela, director of World Intellectual Property Organization Worldwide Academy, visited "12312", a hotline for Intellectual Property Protection in Tianjin on September 11 and praised the positive efforts done by the Chinese government in intellectual property protection.

The hotline is established as a nationwide platform with 50 call centers to accept complaints and provide consultation in intellectual property, and serve as a way to educate and promote awareness about intellectual property protection for both individuals and companies.

Pharma forum

The 2007 China Pharmaceuticals Intellectual Property Forum, initiated by State Food and Drug Administration, will be held in Beijing on October 23-24.

The forum will focus on improving the awareness of pharmaceutical intellectual property protection and encouraging innovation in the field. Delegations from governments, enterprises, research organizations and related academia will get together, discuss effective ways of strengthening intellectual property protection and reinforcing international cooperation under the theme "Strengthening the Pharmaceutical intellectual property protection and enhancing the ability of pharmaceutical innovation".

Cautionary tale

Ang Lee's triumph in Venice with Lust, Caution, based on Zhang Ailing's novel of the same name, has again drawn public attention.


Twelve publishers on the Chinese mainland that have published Zhang's books rejected a Taiwanese company's 10 million yuan compensation request for illegally publishing Zhang's book. The publishers argued that Zhang's will, which granted the Taiwan company's eternal and infinite dealership of all Zhang's books' copyright, has been announced by Zhang herself as invalid.

Last June, Beijing No 1 Intermediary People's Court ruled the Economic Daily Publishing Company to pay 400,000 yuan for illegal copyright use but since the 12 publisher's recent action the Economic Daily Publishing Company decided to appeal.

Position paper

The European Union Chamber of Commerce (EUCC) in China issued a 2007 European Business in China Position Paper in China. Intellectual Property Protection is one of the paper's hottest topics.

The position paper, the seventh of its kind, observed that the legislation process in China has been improved in terms of transparency and the ever-growing scale of consultations. The EUCC also praised the open attitude from the State Intellectual Property Office on listening to voices from the chamber on the revised Patent Law in its third round of discussions.

However, the EUCC also complained about issues like counterfeits and execution.

Online banking

Five Chinese banks, including the top four in the country, have registered almost 200 different domain names, as they spell out ambitious plans to develop online banking services, according to a report by the China News Agency on September 13.

The banks did not only register English domain names, but also Chinese domain names, so that it is easier for customers to recognize the websites. They also registered websites with names of their services, such as credit cards.

Using Chinese domain names also helps Chinese banks fend off online fishing from western hackers, who do not recognize Chinese characters.

Chinese banks face intense competition from foreign rivals, which are also expanding their territories. Online banking is regarded as a growth engine and a tool to defend their positions in the market.

Olympic flowers

Specialty Chinese flowers from Yunnan Province will likely be supplied to the coming Olympic Games in August in Beijing, the website of SIPO said on September 13.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry and Yunnan flower enterprises held meetings during 2007 Kunming International Flower Exhibition from September 6 to 9 to discuss the introducing flowers from Yunnan Province to Beijing, which will be used at the medal ceremonies.

The standard for flowers used in the Olympics is strict. The member of the Beijing Olympic Committee in charge of landscape-related issues said that the flowers from Yunnan are a good choice for the Beijing Olympics.


The preparation for the Beijing Olympics had become a hot topic at this year's exhibition. Yunnan is the most famous flower plantation base in China with many products exported to Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian nations.

Jiangsu English site

Jiangsu provincial government launched an English website, jiangsu.ipr.gov.cn, for intellectual property protection on September 13 in Nanjing, which aims to help foreign investors protect their rights.

Last June, the province launched an intellectual property hotline and a Chinese website. Since then, the province received 1,946 calls and 47 complaints.