'Green passage' system

The Sichuan provincial intellectual property office recently announced it will open a "green passage" system for patents on emission control and energy conservation.

The office said that with the cooperation with SIPO, it will expedite registration of patents in energy saving for bio-fuels, green building materials, clean energy, water and air treatment.

The province will also give financial aid and help persuade large enterprises to adopt the patents.

Those who file for patents can use public libraries to access free patent search services. The government will also promote transactions in patents for faster commercialization.

Legal software for Weihai

Weihai, a coastal city in East China, will start a program to ensure legal software is used beginning in September.

The local copyright administration has helped more than 40 companies reach settlements with the US software firm Autodesk in the past year, persuading the company to withdraw legal actions.

It was reported that 51 companies received complaints from Autodesk.

Fire escape patent

A resident in Chengdu has developed a patent to help people in tall buildings escape from fire or other accidents using a design that costs less than 2,000 yuan, the Chengdu Daily reported on August 24.

Wen Xiansheng has spent three years and 100,000 yuan to develop and apply for the patent, which allows people escape with a rope in just 30 seconds. The device also has a hand brake enabling people to stop or turn direction to avoid objects or danger.

Wen said he was also developing a wireless sensor technology in the device so that it can be remotely controlled.

Too similar to Mercedes?

Daimler Chrysler China suggested it might take action against a Chinese car manufacturer that makes a model similar to the Mercedes-Benz Smart, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported on August 24.

The Chinese model called Noble received complaints from Daimler Chrysler about its similar appearance on its debut last year. The most expensive model of the car sells at less than 50,000 yuan in China, about one-ninth the price of a Benz Smart.

The automaker planned to show its Noble series at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in mid-September and introduce the model in Germany, which was seen as a provocation against Benz in its home market.

Potential distributors of Noble in Germany claim the car looks similar only from a few angles, and that the price range of Noble is vastly different from Smart.

(China Daily 09/03/2007 page9)

2013-07-17