1. Beijing

Watchdog targets online shops

The National Copyright Administration plans to expand its active supervision to online retail platforms, such as Apple's online shop, Taobao and Amazon, according to a press conference on June 25 for the Jianwang Operation, an annual campaign against online piracy that was first launched in 2005. The administration will also launch supervision of a number of influential video and music websites. The operation started at the end of June and will last for four months.

news.xinhuanet.com

2. Gansu

Local campaign fights fakes

The provincial intellectual property office carried out a special campaign on June 26 to fight against counterfeits and other IP infringements. According to local officials, the five-month activity will mainly focus on food, medicine, chemicals, machinery, construction materials and high-tech industries. IP protection for exhibitions and projects involving people's livelihoods will also be intensified. The office has also opened a hotline to receive public complaints.

gscn.com.cn

3. Shanxi

KTV operators lose suit

The Intermediate People's Court of Taiyuan recently ordered five karaoke operators in the city to pay compensation ranging from 84,000 yuan ($13,700) to 142,000 yuan to the China Audio-Video Copyright Association for illegally using unlicensed music and video products. From 2008 to 2010, the association signed contracts with the rights owners of the involved music and video products to acquire the copyright. The five operators failed to prove that they had paid the fee and acquired authorization to use them.

Taiyuan evening news

4. Sichuan

Fortune 500 firm opens IP office

The provincial capital Chengdu recently added an intellectual property and standards office set up by a Fortune Global 500 company, the first of its kind in the area. It will be an important part of the company's global IP strategy. According to the company, it chose Chengdu because the city has abundant human resources, a good innovation environment and the huge market potentials.

sichuan news online

5. Hunan

Alliance formed to protect rights

The province's largest intellectual property alliance will be established in the capital city Changsha, according to the administrative committee of the Changsha National Economic and Technical Development Zone. The IP alliance is designed for local equipment manufacturers. It is intended to increase their innovative capacity and promote the commercialization of patents in the field. It will also help companies deal with IP disputes.

hunan intellectual property office

6. Guangdong

Province holds lead in patents

The province has led the nation for three consecutive years since 2010 in comprehensive patent competitiveness, including creation, use, protection and environment, according to a report released by the Intellectual Property Development and Research Center under the State Intellectual Property Office. This year, the province added nearly 9,000 invention patents in the first five months, ranking second in the nation. And its international patent applications totaled about 3,300, accounting for 51 percent of the national total.

Nanfang Daily

(China Daily 07/03/2013 page17)