Textile fund

China has set up a special fund using revenues from textile export tariffs to help improve the competitiveness and efficiency of the country's textile industry.

The 1.36 billion-yuan fund will be used to boost technical innovations in production, develop new fibers and help make the industry more environmentally friendly and energy efficient, says Zhang Li, an official with the Bureau of Economic Operation under the National Development and Reform Commission.

The government established the fund out of concern that the textile industry faces increasing international trade disputes and urgently needs to change its pattern of growth, says Zhang.

The official noted that the printing and dyeing of fabrics makes the industry the second largest consumer of water and the sixth largest producer of wastewater, only 7 percent of which is recycled.

Wolves in sheep's clothing

Inner Mongolia Little Sheep Catering Chain Company, one of China's largest restaurant franchisers, has launched an anti-counterfeiting campaign to protect its trademark, www.Chinacsr.com reported.

Qi Xiaohui, director of the legal affairs department at Little Sheep, said that about 100 fake stores claiming to be Little Sheep restaurants have appeared since the company's brand was introduced to the public in 1999. Little Sheep plans to to sue these false stores, says Qi. Little Sheep now has had more than 700 chain restaurants across China.

New digital movie players

In partnership with the Institute of Acoustics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing IntelliX Technologies Co Ltd have developed a new series of digital movie players, which will be subject to intellectual property rights.

The IntelliMovie IX801 model weighs 60 kilograms much less than conventional movie players, which average 200 kilograms per unit. The player can store up to 80 high-definition movies and can copy movies from discs and mobile storage devices, as well as Internet downloads.

The series includes a model specifically designed for the rural market the IntelliMovie IX801D. It is conveniently portable and is able to withstand dust, unstable voltages which are common in rural areas, and shaking.

Brand building

Shaoxing, in East China's Zhejiang Province, published its first report on brand development early this month, highlighting the city's achievements in brand building and providing a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of brand strategy.

According to the report, Shaoxing currently owns 40 China Top Brands and 197 Zhejiang Top Brands. The report points out that brand strategy has greatly benefited Shaoxing, and has been a driving force of economic and social development, reinforcing the innovative capability of Shaoxing's enterprises.

Agro-biological alliance

Agro-biological enterprises and institutions based in Beijing's Zhongguancun area recently formed an alliance to encourage innovation in agro-biology and promote products with their own intellectual property rights.

Meanwhile, the alliance will make efforts to protect registered trademarks, geographical indications and well-known brands.

Patents awards

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) recently launched the 10th China Patent Award selection in order to enhance public awareness of IPR protection and the quality and structure of China's independent IPR.

Any patent filed with the SIPO and approved as an invention, utility model or design patent (excluding defense patents and confidential patents) before June 1 of last year can participate in the selection if it meets requirements.

Candidates must maintain a high level of invention and have brought about positive economic or social benefits, not be involved in a dispute over the patent's ownership, inventor or designer, and cannot already hold the title.

Oceanic rover

China will test the world's first-ever Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV), potentially capable of plunging to depths of 7,000 meters, in the second half of 2007.

The development of the manned deep-sea diving machine, capable of covering 99.8 percent of the world's ocean floors, will expand the scope of China's deep-sea research, says Jia Yu, a researcher with the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).

The United States, Japan, France and Russia are the only countries that currently own DSVs, but the maximum depth they can safely travel is 6,500 meters.

Counterfeiting costs

The economic losses caused by counterfeiting and piracy have exceeded $100 billion globally, according to the Third Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, convened by WIPO in Geneva on January 30 and 31.

Now, combating counterfeiting and piracy requires global action, and a number of countries have joined the fight against counterfeiters and pirates through "sudden attack."

WIPO believed that the increasingly prominent problem of counterfeiting and piracy suggests that "a surprise inspection" might not be as effective as expected. IPR protection requires global cooperation, as well as encouragement of public IPR awareness.

(China Daily 02/10/2007 page9)