Campaign commitment

China has issued a statement to show the country's commitment to a massive campaign, to curb piracy in the audio-video and software production industry.

Ten departments, including the National Anti-Piracy Office, the ministries of culture, public security, construction and supervision, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the General Administration of Press and Publication, have joined forces for the campaign.

"Promotion of legal copies of CDs, DVDs and computer software is China's unremitting and unshakeable commitment," says Long Xinmin, director of the General Administration of Press and Publication and the National Copyright Administration.

Invention showcase

The 2006 China International Patent Fair, the highest-level patent exhibition in China, will be held between August 17 and 19 in Dalian, a coastal city of Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Sponsored by the State Intellectual Property Office, the provincial government and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the three-day fair has seen a booth expansion from 800 last year to 1,000 this year, and patent holders from more than 20 foreign countries will take part in the exhibition to show off their inventions. The fair has also drawn high-level patents from China, including those from the nation's high-tech industrialization programmes and the 863 Programme.

Dai Yulin, deputy mayor of Dalian, says a special show about Russian patents in Dalian will be held during the fair, since this year is the Year of Russia. Dai says the fair will also be going digital, and patents will be displayed and traded online at www.cipf.cn.

Dai says Dalian is also offering preferential policies to lure more patents to settle there. Every year the city will set aside a certain amount of money to help patents in industrialization, providing incubators with funds and facilities to patents verified by the city's intellectual property office.

Patent data banks

Intellectual property (IP) experts suggest Chinese enterprises should make full use of patent data banks before they set about investing in new technologies and new products.

Li Jianrong, a senior official with China's State Intellectual Property Office, says people can learn the trend of the world's high-tech development from patent data banks, which can help them save both time and money. Li made the remarks at an IP information forum last week in Beijing. She cites a lesson of a Chinese company, who invested 40 million yuan (US$5 million) in the research and development of an environmental protection technology, only to find later that a Japanese company already had the patent for the same technology.

Besides searching for information on new technologies, people can also find proper patents to purchase and look for partners through the patent data bank, where they can discover leaders in a certain sector, Li adds.

The Derwent World Patents Index and the websites of intellectual property authorities of different countries are good places to search for related patent information, according to Li.

Enforcement co-operation

A co-operation mechanism of patent administrative law enforcement was officially launched in nine cities of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces.

The nine cities are Jinhua, Quzhou, and Lishui of Zhejiang Province, Shangrao, Fuzhou, Yingtan, and Jingdezhen of Jiangxi Province, Huangshan of Anhui Province, and Nanping of Fujian Province.

This mechanism includes online information communication, trans-regional case delivery, assistance with investigation and evidence collection, and collaboration on dealing with major cases.

If the patent infringing acts or patent lawbreaking acts happen simultaneously but in different areas, the cases can be investigated and handled by patent administrative departments enjoying the jurisdiction respectively. Meanwhile, these relevant departments are urged to support and co-operate with each other.

IPR alliance

China's first IPR Journalists Alliance was established in Shanghai, jointly initiated by Shanghai Intellectual Property Park and the news media.

According to the principal, the alliance is a non-profit, open platform. It will focus on the forefront of IPR in China, pay attention to the trends of IPR development, expand the global vision of IPR, and promote enterprises and individuals to create more wealth by making use of IPR.

The alliance will actively organize communication activities between media and hold a national IPR news award annually. It expects more journalists, communities and research institutions to participate.

Shanghai Intellectual Property Park is the physical carrier of the public IPR service platform. It explores the new mechanisms and models for IPR transformation, and attracts industry groups with "advantageous manufacturing capability with independent IPR". Based on innovative high-tech enterprises and service organs, it will upgrade the industry level and improve the overall economy through IPR graft.

Costs for karaoke

Karaoke bars in China will be charged for using music videos from next month in a move to increase copyright protection.

A new association, the China Audio-Video Collective Administration Association, approved by the National Copyright Administration (NCA), will be responsible for charging karaoke bars for music videos, the NCA said on Thursday.

The copyright concerning videos played in karaoke bars has always been a major issue in China's efforts to protect copyright, says Liu Wenhe, deputy director of the new association.

"We have suggested charging each private room in karaoke bars around 10 yuan (US$1.25) per day for the use of music videos," Liu says, adding that the conclusive payment rates will be announced by the NAC soon.

(China Daily 07/24/2006 page9)