Internet copyright

A new three-month special campaign against Internet copyright infringement and piracy will be carried out throughout the country from late October to early 2007.

The campaign will ban illegal websites that practice infringement and piracy, examine Internet copyright infringement of music, movies, software and textbooks, examine the act of deliberately destroying technical protection and the act of deleting or altering copyrighted electronic information.

The campaign will focus on cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Qingdao, Xiamen, Xi'an and provinces like Jilin, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Sichuan.

October 31 to December 30 will be the central period of this campaign during which local offices will strengthen their examination of the key cases, ban illegal websites that practice Internet infringement and piracy, and further purify the environment of Internet copyright protection.

Anti-piracy

On October 27, the summary report on the National Anti-piracy 100-day Campaign was held at Dongguan, South China's Guangdong Province.

The campaign, which started on July 15, saw the confiscation of nearly 60 million illegal publications. The campaign also witnessed a steady rise of legal video publication sales. According to news from some video wholesalers in Beijing and Guangzhou, the average daily sales of legal video publications in July and August rose about 20 per cent.

Microsoft licences

Microsoft licensed three of its technologies developed in China to two Chinese firms. It's the first time the software giant licensed technologies in China, after it launched an Intellectual Property (IP) Ventures programme last year.

The companies announced the deal on October 31. The two Chinese firmsNASDAQ-listed Comtech Group Inc and Hunan Talkweb Information System Co Ltdwill get the right to develop their own applications, based on mobile pictures, mobile band-width optimization, and personalized facial sketches, developed at Microsoft Research Asia.

Through the licensing, the Chinese firms will be able to develop solutions to mobile phone users to allow them to view pictures, send pictures or video clippings, and use cartoon icons on their contacts.

Microsoft has licensed some technologies to partners in the United States and Europe through their IP Ventures.

Scientific research

China aims to raise spending on scientific research and development to 2 per cent of the GDP by 2010, according to a government document.

The ratio edged up to a record 1.23 per cent in China in 2004, still far below the standard of developed countries.

The National Scientific and Technological Development Programme of the 11th Five-Year Plan Period (2006-2010), issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, says China will establish a national innovation system, a rational scientific and technological development structure, strive to make major breakthroughs and leapfrog development in certain major areas during the 2006-2010 period.

Export fair

The 100th Chinese Export Commodities Fair (Canton Fair) has received 573 intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement complaints, involving 848 enterprises, and 509 enterprises suspected of infringing others' IPR, according to the IPR complaint service desk of the fair.

The amount of received complaints and suspected infringing enterprises at the fair increased year on year.

The Deputy Secretary-General and spokesman of the Canton Fair Xu Bing says the rise of complaints was owed to the improvement of IPR protection and the increase of booths and exhibiting enterprises at the 100th Canton Fair.

Moreover, the rise also indicates that enterprises' awareness of safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests by law has been enhanced.

(China Daily 11/06/2006 page9)