Major acts in recent days (08-07-07)

Railway IPR

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the Ministry of Railways (MOR) last week signed an IPR strategy cooperation framework agreement in Beijing, marking the launch of China's first State-level industrial IPR strategy trial.

The SIPO and the MOR will establish the railway industry's trial IPR strategy plan, including negotiation cooperation mechanism and information service mechanisms. It will also jointly research and establish an IPR guide for the railway sector, according to the agreement.

They will also promote IPR management construction in the railway sector. The current railway IPR protection will be strengthened and the railway industry's self-innovation capability and self-owned IPR quantity will also be improved.

In addition, they will jointly research, establish and implement an IPR strategy compendium for the railway industry at a proper time to guide the establishment and implementation of industrial IPR strategy and to promote the enforcement of the Compendium of China National Intellectual Property Strategy.

Zhang Qin, SIPO's vice-director, said at the signing ceremony that the official launch of China's first State-level industrial IPR strategy trial marks an important step forward for the implementation of the Compendium of China National Intellectual Property Strategy.

Textile IP protection

Shaoxing county of Zhejiang province recently issued the "Opinions on Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection in China Textile City", which is the first domestic IPR protection outline for professional markets.

The regulation is expected to further improve innovation within the textile market and enhance the quality of textile products.

According to the regulation, the Shaoxing Administration for Industry and Commerce will undertake the copyright protection work. The administration will cooperate with the provincial IP department to establish a copyright protection office for China Textile City. With daily consumers of more than 100,000, the market has attracted over 100,000 textile companies and is the largest professional textile market in Asia.

The administration will also ask the industrial associations and organizations to strengthen self-regulation, mediate copyright disputes, and improve the functions of quality control, certificate issuance, dispute mediation and arbitration, legal aid and litigation support.

Fake T-shirts

Tianjin Customs recently found a large amount of shorts illegally labeled with the Olympic rings while inspecting women's T-shirts for exports. This is the fifth shipment of goods with infringing Olympic symbols investigated by Tianjin customs this year. The previous four cases involved 10 fake "Fuwa" toys and 2,872 pieces of key chains, hats, wrist bags and jeans, violating the Olympic symbols and "Fuwa".

Tianjin port is the largest international trade port in north China and from the beginning of June, Olympic related-goods have been imported through Tianjin port every day. Statistics show that 60 percent of Beijing Olympic goods are imported by sea. Tianjin customs is trying to provide convenience for customs clearance of Olympic goods while intensifying the border protection of the exclusive rights to Olympic symbols.

IP training

To enlist more IP talents and improve the quality of the agency, the Jiangsu Intellectual Property Office has begun new IP training work.

The new training is designed to also encourage the provincial IP office, the municipal IP offices and training agencies to actively participate in training work. Up to now, all four projects planned by Jiangsu IP Office have achieved satisfactory results.

Model schools

Shanghai Municipal Education Committee and Intellectual Property Office recently named six schools as 2007 Shanghai IP model schools and 12 as 2007 IP pilot schools.

This is the fourth time IP model and pilot schools have been designated since 2004. The project is designed to help students learn about IP protection. The amount of patent applications in primary and secondary schools in Shanghai in 2007 was 2,108, including 647 invention patents.

Top-brand application

Eight products from seven enterprises from Jinan, Shandong province, have applied for China Top Brand status. The application materials of the eight products are being publicized and no complaint has been raised during the publicity period.

So far Jinan has 17 China Top Brands and 12 Chinese Well-known Trademarks.

County courts

Approved by the Supreme Court of the People's Republic of China, nine county- and district-level people's courts in Zhejiang province will accept and hear some IPR civil cases from July 1. Together with the first four courts obtaining the approval last year, up to now, there are 13 county- and district-level people's courts in Zhejiang that can accept and hear some IPR civil cases, ranking No 2 throughout the whole county. They are people's courts of Xihu district in Hangzhou; Leqing; Shaoxing; Yuhuan; Wucheng district in Jihua, Nanhu district in Jiaxing, Yinzhou district in Ningbo; Yuyao; Beilun district in Ningbo; Binjiang district in Hangzhou; Cixi; Ruian; and Yiwu.

The IPR civil cases heard by the courts include first-instance IPR civil dispute cases with the sum in the appeal or dispute of less than 5 million yuan happening in the jurisdiction district, excluding disputes of patent, new plant variety and layout-design of integrated circuits and recognition of well-known trademark.

Foreign-related IPR civil cases shall still be heard by intermediate people's courts, except Yiwu Municipal People's Court.

Cooperation protocol

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) recently signed a cooperation protocol. The two parties will share science and IPR documents and cooperate in designing IPR strategies for the country's key science and technology projects, according to the protocol. SIPO will also provide IPR training for the CAS. The protocol is expected to become a long-term driving force for the innovation of the CAS.