National IPR Protection Network Completed
IPR abuses in China provide much ammunition for blog posts – and international trade spats. But (imitation Gucci handbags aside) the situation continues to improve.
People’s Daily reports that a new national system for IPR protection has now been completed, with a service center in Yiwu city (famed for its wholesale market…and many fake goods) in Zhejiang being the last of 50 – in a network that covers all provinces. The report notes:
“The centers are responsible for receiving and handling complaints about IPR infringements and offering consulting services…In the first half of the year, China prosecuted 1,076 cases of intellectual property rights infringement, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).”
I don’t expect the opening of the Yiwu office to change China’s overall approach to IPR abuse and enforcement, but I do think it is fair to say that it is another step in the right direction. In the meantime, get in the lawyers, and make sure that all relevant trademarks, patents and domain names (and Chinese variants) are properly registered (in China!), and that market-monitoring systems are set up to catch and abuses early.
See news source
China sets up national IPR protection system
People’s Daily
October 6th, 2006 at 7:37 am
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