1. Beijing

Top city in per-capita patents

The ratio of invention patents for every 10,000 Beijing residents reached 33.6 last year, ranking the city at the top of the country, Fu Xiaohui, deputy chief of the city's intellectual property office, announced on April 10. "Intellectual property has added vigor and motivation to the change in the capital's economic development model," Fu said. To enhance the IP environment, local authorities campaigned to fight infringement and strengthen cross-regional protection last year, he said. Beijing police investigated more than 1,700 IP cases in 2012.

MOU on Tajikistan cooperation

The State Intellectual Property Office and Tajikistan's patent information center signed a memorandum of understanding on April 8 for deeper cooperation in documentation and patent examiner training in both countries. SIPO Commissioner Tian Lipu said his office has also signed such agreements with a number of other countries and continues to improve the IP environment for foreign investors in China.

Sipo.gov.cn

2. Tianjin

Genetically modified food test

A technology developed by a Tianjin-based research institute under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to quickly test if corn has been genetically modified was recently granted an invention patent in the United States. The innovation that yields a result in only half an hour can be used in the field and in markets rather than only in labs, said developers.

Tianjin Daily

3. Hubei

First intellectual property region

The government of the provincial capital Wuhan is planning to establish the nation's first special region for intellectual property. Dong Hongwei, head of the city's IP office, said the region will be equipped with innovative policies and management systems to make IP a strategic resource in competition. The full plan is expected to be published by the end of the year.

China business news

4. Zhejiang

Recent grads become pirates

Four recent college graduates in Wenzhou city have been arrested for selling counterfeit Careland navigation software through online portals. After their arrest, they told police they learned pirating techniques on the Internet and then started illicit sales in 2012 that eventually totaled more than 25,000 copies. Enforcement officials said the operation led to losses of about 5 million yuan ($815,000) to Careland Co in sales of genuine software.

People.com

5. Guangdong

Foreign smugglers detained

Huanggang customs in Shenzhen detained two foreigners on April 9 involved in separate attempts to smuggle a large number of counterfeit items. Customs officers said they found nearly 1,000 copycat Blackberry cell phones in a car of an Indonesian traveler. In the other case, they seized more than 36,000 fake Nokia labels in the backpack of an Indian national. Both suspects were attempting to leave Shenzhen for Hong Kong.

legaldaily.com.cn

6. Hainan

Boao Forum: Invest more in IP

Richard Boucher, deputy secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said at this year's Boao Forum for Asia that China should invest more in improving intellectual property rather than industrial infrastructure. He explained that IP assets are important to nearly all industries including the service and modern manufacturing sectors. IP can also help China create additional value to traditional industrial production, he noted.

News.hexun.com

(China Daily 04/17/2013 page17)