Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, copyright, Download, intellectual property, IP, IPR, law, lawsuit, ruling
A Shanghai IT company was ordered to pay RMB 400,000 to Microsoft for using pirated software according to the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court.
Shanghai Dare Global Information Industry Co Ltd, a maker of set-top boxes, was found using the pirated copies during a spot check by the city’s copyright administration.
The pirated programs included Windows XP Professional, Office Professional Edition 2003, Visual Studio 6.0 and Windows 2000 Advanced Server.
Source: Shanghai Daily
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, copyright, intellectual property, IP, law
Beijing is China's most IP-aware city
Results of a recent survey show that while Beijing and Guangdong residents have a reasonably high awareness of the issues surrounding intellectual property rights (IPR), the majority of China’s population knows little about the question.
The general index for Chinese people’s public awareness of IPR is 42.1, a comparatively low figure, but the results vary from region to region, with Beijing and Guangdong scoring 46.9 and 51 respectively.
The results reflect China’s progress in the field of IPR protection and the disparities between regions. Region, ethnic group, gender, age, income and education are all factors that affect people’s awareness of IPR. The figures reflect social, economic, cultural and educational differentiation in modern China.
The survey, which was sponsored by State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and carried out by the IPR Publicity Center and the Media Research Lab of Tsinghua University, covered 31 provinces, municipalities and regions, excluding Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao. It took four months to complete, and collected 15, 373 questionnaires.
Experts say the survey results may have far-reaching implications for the effort to improve IPR protection in China.
Source: China.org.cn
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, China Admnistration, copyright, intellectual property, IP, law, lawsuit
China Central Television sued Tom.com
CCTV.com, the official website for China Central Television, has sued Chinese Web portal Tom.com for illegaly broadcasting the 2009 Spring Festival Gala and asked the defendant for RMB 1 million in compensation.
The CCTV newtwork argued it invested heavily in the producing of both the 2009 Spring Festival Gala and the 2009 Lantern Festival Gala, which are the largest and most influential variety show parties for the TV station. Under the authorization of CCTV, CCTV.com enjoys the exclusive rights to spread the videos via the Internet.
CCTV.com states that Tom.com broadcasted these videos on its website without authorization and placed a large number of commercial advertisements on the pages of the gala feature.The case has been accepted by Beijing Dongcheng People’s Court and a hearing is ongoing.
Source: Chinatechnews.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, copyright, intellectual property, IP, IPR, law, trademark
Several agencies launched an initiative to mark the ninth World Intellectual Property Day
China’s Office of the National Campaign on Anti-prostitution and Anti-delinquency, National Copyright Administration of China and the Society and Law Channel of CCTV have jointly launched an initiative to mark the ninth World Intellectual Property Day which took place yesterday.
Millions of Chinese consumers and dozens of mainstream media and portal websites across China will joined this initiative which is called Green Tag Signing and aims to guide the public to show respect to creation and innovation and offer support to legal publications, both online and offline.
Consumers who buy books or audio-video products from major book stores across the country will receive a Green Tag.Internet users can join the initiative by participating in an online survey on Sina.com. A total of 46.85 million illegal publications will be destroyed during the same period.
The Society and Law Channel of CCTV has arranged a special party for the initiative, inviting public figures and representatives from the IPR departments to discuss issues related to the protection of IPR.
Source: Chinatechnews.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Beijing, China, copyright, counterfeit, Germany, intellectual property, IP, IPR, law, lawsuit, OKAI, trademark
Wangzhihe is one of China's oldest food brands
A centennial Chinese brand is very likely to win a landmark lawsuit case over a German firm that rush-registered its trademark, a Chinese official said yesterday.
Wangzhihe Food Group, producer of the popular Chinese food bean curd under the brand name Wangzhihe, may get the trademark back in Germany tomorrow, when the Munich High Court makes a ruling, Vice-Minister of State Administration for Industry and Commerce Li Jianchang said.
The case dates back to July 2006, when the Chinese firm wanted to register in Germany, only to find that Germany-based OKAI had already registered its trademark.
Wangzhihe took OKAI to court in January 2007 after the two failed to reach an agreement. On Nov 14, 2007, a Munich court found OKAI guilty of trademark infringement. But OKAI appealed to the Munich High Court in February, 2008.
Source: China Daily
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, China Admnistration, copyright, counterfeit, intellectual property, IP, IPR, law, lawsuit
Noah produces a popular series of electronic dictionaries
A TV ad for the latest educational product made by Shenzhen-based Noah Education Holding Ltd promises that “Touching the words on the screen of a Noah digital-and-pronouncing learning devices (DLD), it will perform the pronunciation of the words”.Noah, the country’s leading DLD provider, has been involved in a patent-violation lawsuit.
Noah Education Holding Ltd recently lost the first round of a lawsuit filed by Shenzhen-based Vanhon Information and Technology Development Co.
Noah was accused of pirating Vanhon’s patent on DLDs. Following the judgment in Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court, Noah was required to stop manufacturing and selling its NP12 DLD products, and to pay RMB 500,000.
The driving force that made Vanhon finally file a lawsuit to fight patent piracy in 2007 was Noah’s large-scale branding campaign through the TV advertisements, which helped Noah’s DLD products win public attention and contributed in good measure to Noah’s impressive sales revenue.
In response, Noah announced that compared with Vanhon’s DLD products, Noah’s NP12 DLD products contain additional and unique functions.
Source: English.ipr.gov.cn
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, copyright, intellectual property, IP, IPR, law, sucralose, trademark
Sucralose is the world's most popular sugar alternative
The US International Trade Commission (USITC) has made a final determination that the manufacturing process used by Yancheng JK Sucralose Inc, a Jiangsu province-based sucralose manufacturer, does not infringe on the patents of US company Tate & Lyle Inc, which filed a complaint with the ITC two years ago, according to a USITC website statement on April 6, 2009.
Sucralose is a zero-calorie sugar substitute. The commercial success of sucralose-based products stems from their favorable comparison to other low-calorie sweeteners in taste, stability and safety.
According to the ITC statement, Tate & Lyle Technology Limited of London, United Kingdom and Tate & Lyle Sucralose Inc of Decatur, Illinois, the United States (combined as Tate & Lyle Corp) filed a complaint with the ITC against three Chinese sucralose manufacturers for their sucralose and downstream products on May 10, 2007.
The complaint alleged violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and sale within the United States after importation of sucralose, sweeteners containing sucralose, and two related intermediate .
JK Sucralose submitted an application to the ITC for getting involved voluntarily in the lawsuit. In April, 2009, the ITC published its verdict on its website: The manufacturing process of Yancheng JK Sucralose Inc doesn’t infringe on Tate & Lyle’s asserted patents.
“The JK Sucralose case has set an example for export-oriented Chinese companies,” said Liu Baocheng, director of the International Business Ethics Center of the University of International Business and Economics. “It reminds enterprises that when they set up overseas strategies, they should combine market and sales with IPR strategy, to defend the IPR risk.”
Source: China Daily
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, counterfeit, intellectual property, IP, IPR, law
IP Dragon's list provides a global overview of infringement cases originating from China
Danny Friedmann has begun keeping a worldwide review of seizures and measures against counterfeit and pirated goods originating from China on his excellent blog: IP Dragon. This list is an great resource for a worldwide overview of IP infringement cases originating from China.
Source: IP Dragon
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, copyright, intellectual property, IP, s&f law
The Pirate Bay's founder were sentenced to one year in jail
The Pirate Bay’s four Swedish founders were sentenced to jail for helping consumers illegally download online music and films, handing the entertainment industry a victory in the battle to protect copyrighted material.
Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi and Carl Lundstroem were given jail sentences of one year each by a Stockholm district The court ordered the defendants to pay compensation and damages of 30 million kronor ($3.6 million). The defendants said they plan to appeal.
The Pirate Bay is the largest file-sharing site using BitTorrent software, which allows users to download and share files s for free. The Pirate Bay has said the site is a network where users put up content to share with other users and that there is no copyrighted material on the site. Pirate Bay had 22 million simultaneous users in February, over 9 million of whom had I.P. addresses based in China.
The ruling is the industry’s biggest triumph since successful lawsuits against music-swapping sites Napster Inc., Kazaa and Grokster Ltd. The International Federation of Phonographic Industry estimates 95 percent of all downloaded music is pirated, as consumers can get access to files free of charge within minutes, often before commercial release dates. The people who have shared files on Pirate Bay have broken copyright laws, the court said. By providing a Web site enabling users to share files, The Pirate Bay founders have facilitated crimes committed by site users and are therefore guilty of contributing to a crime, it said. The men were also aware that copyrighted material was shared, the court said.
Source: Bloomberg
Related post: Google Offers Free Music Downloads in China
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, conference, INTA, Intellectual propert, IP, law, Seattle, sflaw, trademark
The 2009 Inta Conference will be held in Seattle
The International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting, held each May, is the largest and most prestigious meeting of the international trademark community, with more than 7,000 participants from more than 130 countries taking advantage of five days of educational programs, committee meetings, exhibits, social events and networking opportunities. (description taken from the INTA website)
This year’s conference will be held in Seattle, Washington. Schmitt zur Hohe and Ferrante Managing Partners, Edouard Schmitt zur Hohe and Michele Ferrante will be attending the event.
Please visit the INTA website for more information.
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