China

Counterfeiting and piracy, and infringements of intellectual property in general, are a constantly growing phenomenon which nowadays has an international dimension, a serious threat to national economies and governments that appears to be increasingly linked to organized crime. Counterfeiting is considered by large public opinion a “victim-less” crime, while its impact on legal economy and the role of transnational organized criminal organizations seems to be still largely underestimated.

Innovation fuels economic growth by creating new markets and increasing productivity. Empirical analysis suggests that an efficient and well-structured IP system accelerates innovation. The Office for the Harmonization of the Internal market (OHIM) and the European Patent Office (EPO) jointly published a study entitled “Intellectual property rights intensive industries: Contribution to economic performance and employment in the European Union”.

IP Key held a workshop on inventor remuneration rules at Renmin University Law School in Beijing on July 17th 2015. The purpose of this workshop is to provide an understanding of how government-mandated systems for inventor remuneration function in EU Member States and China, and to investigate the impacts of these systems. These insights and related research under IP Key are intended to assess the optimality of state-mandated inventor remuneration rules, with a view to proposing a system that minimises the most avoidable costs and risks therein to employers while encouraging innovation.

Following the training organised in Chengdu in 2014,  IP Key has been invited by Ministry of Culture (MoC) to contribute EU expertise to the 2015 MoC online enforcement training on 31 August in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.  Three experts engaged by IP Key spoke on 31 August to around 110 cultural market enforcement officers from 26 provinces and 17 cities to raise their awareness on the online copyright protection trends in the EU and internationally and more importantly to focus on good practices of case investigation and evidence collection. The training is structured as follows:       

A Geographical Indication (shortly, GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g. a town, region, or country), where the use of a GI official logo certifies and ensure consumers that the product possesses certain qualities, is made according to certain (traditional) methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, that is attributable essentially to that geographical origin.

IP Key, the China IPR SME Helpdesk and the EU SME Centre will deliver a webinar on “Entering China’s Food & Beverage Market”. Together they will discuss the current landscape of the Chinese F&B market and the methods EU SMEs should take when considering entering the market. The webinar will focus on F&B products in the wine, olive oil, beer and spirits sectors and how these products can be protected through Intellectual Property and GIs.
 

IP Key conducted a training session to members of the press to inform them on new trends and challenges in developing and enforcing the copyright law in todays digital world where technology is often moving much faster than the law.

IP Key successfully completed a study visit to Europe for a delegation of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, led by the Deputy Director General of the Investigation Supervision Department and including prosecutors of Provincial Procuratorates.

The study visits took place in France (Paris), Spain (Alicante) and in Italy (Milan and Rome), between July 2 and 9, 2014

With the facilitation of IP Key, EU experts engaged the six Chinese delegates in technical exchanges concerning certain topics of interest for the future legislative reforms on Criminal IPR enforcement.

IP Key conducted a one day round table on intensified IP enforcement systems that may exist at a local level in the EU and China. The roundtable was organised in partnership with MOFCOM, under the effigy of the the New EU-China IP Cooperation in cooperation with the the Sino-German Ecopark and the Qingdao Arbitration Commission on the 5th September 2014.

Overview

IP Key and the National Copyright Administration of China (NC AC) are organising a roundtable on collective rights management on 26 and 27 November 2014 in Beijing.  The two-day meeting will gather 70 participants from China and Europe to discuss factors shaping the development of collective right management (in particular in relation to the digital era) and address challenges confronting the Chinese CMOs.