Peimeng · 11.30-12.4 China IP Weekly Newsletter

Asian Intellectual Property Business Forum commenced on December 3, around sixty global experts shared experiences online

Intellectual property trade and scientific research collaboration is an important part of enterprise development and response to changes. The 10th "Asian Intellectual Property Business Forum" officially opened on December 4 and held online for two consecutive days. This year's forum invited more than sixty intellectual property experts and business leaders from all over the world to share the latest industry trends. At the opening ceremony, the conference invited Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Carrie Lam, China National Intellectual Property Administration Director Shen Changyu, and World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Daren Tang delivered opening speeches. 

Hong Kong Trade Development Council President Margaret Fong said: "The forum provides a platform for professionals and business leaders related to the intellectual property industry to discuss the latest developments and trends in the industry, and at the same time provide opportunities for business cooperation. As the global economy is affected by the global epidemic and the geopolitical situation, the theme of the forum fits the expectations of the industry and seeks opportunities in crisis. This year’s forum will be conducted online, transcending geographical restrictions, and allowing the global industry to participate simultaneously, and share real insights and exchange of experience." 

Xi Jinping: Comprehensively strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, stimulate the innovation vitality and promote the construction of a new development pattern

On November 30, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held the 25th collective study on strengthening China's intellectual property protection work. When presiding over the study, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, emphasized that intellectual property protection is related to the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities, high-quality development, the happiness of people's lives, the overall situation of the country’s opening up, and national security. To build a modern socialist country in an all-round way, we must proceed from the height of the national strategy and the requirements of entering a new stage of development, comprehensively strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, promote the construction of a modern economic system, stimulate the innovation vitality of the whole society, and promote the construction of a new development pattern.

Yi Jiming, professor at Peking University Law School and director of Peking University’s International Intellectual Property Research Center, explained this issue and put forward work suggestions.

Inventors nationwide put their creations on display in Foshan

More than 2,050 inventions from across China were showcased at the 24th National Exhibition of Inventions that opened in Foshan, Guangdong province, in late November.

This year's event, held from Nov 19-21, attracted more than 5,000 participants from more than 800 companies, universities and research institutes.

It featured an exhibition area of 40,000 square meters, presenting innovations in fields ranging from poverty alleviation, intangible cultural heritage, high-end equipment manufacturing and energy conservation to teenagers' inventions.

During an award ceremony of the event, the World Intellectual Property Organization announced winners of awards in the categories of women, teenagers and best inventions.

"These awards from WIPO mean our respect to and recognition of inventors," said Liu Hua, head of the WIPO's China office. "That also demonstrates the role of innovation, creation and technology in driving socioeconomic development."

(Source: China Daily)

2020 Chengdu Digital Copyright Trading Expo commenced

On November 27th, 2020 Chengdu Digital Copyright Trading Expo officially commenced in Chengdu Xibo City. 

More than 300 cultural, creative, copyright, and online audio-visual companies including Alibaba, Tencent, NetEase, and Kuaishou brought interesting new products, new technologies, new models, and new services to the theme exhibition. Experts, scholars, and leaders in the field of digital copyright gathered to discuss the development and prosperity of the digital copyright industry. The two-day Digital Expo, with the theme of "New Copyright Ecology, New Digital Economy", focuses on China’s exploration and research on the development trend of digital copyright, and attracted a large number of resources, talents, projects, and enterprises from the upstream and downstream of the copyright industry gathered in Chengdu by holding an opening ceremony, a forum, two exhibitions, and three conferences, to jointly explore a new path for the innovation and integration of China's copyright industry. 

OPPO achieved a significant victory in patent lawsuit against Fractus

Recently, since the National Intellectual Property Administration ruled that all the patents involved in the lawsuit were invalid, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court ruled to reject all the lawsuits initiated by the Spanish company Fractus against the domestic mobile phone manufacturer OPPO. Following the Dutch court's ruling that Xiaomi mobile phones did not infringe Fractus' antenna patents, Fractus' aggressive attack strategy against domestic mobile phone manufacturers suffered a disastrous failure in China.

The Spanish company Fractus is one of the most active NPEs in the past ten years. From 2009 to 2019, Fractus frequently initiated patent lawsuits at home and abroad. The defendant's terminal manufacturers include Samsung, HTC, LG, Blackberry and other international companies, and successfully forced almost all of the defendants reached an agreement with them. Samsung, which was the only one who did not agree to the settlement, was sentenced to pay Fractus tens of millions of dollars in damages for patent infringement in May 2011.

GIview: New EUIPO Search Database for Geographical Indications

On November 24, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has launched GIview, a new search database for all geographical indications (GIs) protected at European Union level.

GIview provides a single-entry point for data on GIs registered in the EU, and is a useful asset for consumers, producers and intellectual property professionals. It also contains detailed information on non-EU GIs protected at EU level through bilateral and multilateral agreements, and on EU GIs protected in non-EU countries.

The database officially launched at the online conference ‘Strengthening GIs’ is continually updated with official registered data from the European Commission (Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development) and is developed and maintained by the EUIPO.

Geographical indications are a key economic asset for the European Union, and form part of the EU-wide system of intellectual property rights. According to research by the EUIPO and the European Patent Office, industries intensive in GI rights support nearly 400 000 jobs across the EU and contribute over €20 billion to the EU’s GDP.

Additionally, a study published by the European Commission puts the yearly sales value of GI-protected products at €74.76 billion annually, a fifth of which results from exports outside the EU.

(Source: EUIPO)

Those for this week’s news. For more IP events in China, please visit www.chinaiptoday.com. See you next Saturday and enjoy the weekend.