- Beijing
Video sites top dispute cases
The China Academy of Telecommunication Research unveiled an annual Internet copyright report in mid July, which noted that online video disputes accounted for more than a half of the total infringement cases concerning Internet communication in 2013. Video-sharing portals and websites that provide video search services have become the most vulnerable to litigations. Courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou dealt with more than two-thirds of total online copyright cases handled by local courts across the country.
Legal Daily
Geographic indication logos granted
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine granted 6,000 companies and organizations across China permission to use geographic indication logos, or GIs, on more than 1,800 products worth nearly 1 trillion yuan ($161 billion). Primary agricultural products increased by 15 to 20 percent in value, which made GIs a key tool to promote county economies in the country, according to the administration.
China IP News
- Tianjin
Payout for cartoon infringement
The Tianjian Binhai District People's Court ordered a Shenzhen company to pay 40,000 yuan for using two images from a popular Chinese cartoon series Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf on 270 school desks without authorization. The desks, which were due to be exported to Indonesia, were seized by Tianjin Xingang Customs. Guangdong Creative Power Entertaining is the copyright owner of the cartoon images.
Tianjinwe.com
- Henan
Fund to boost innovation
Puyang city plans to set up a 1 million yuan ($161,100) fund for intellectual property financing to encourage innovation by local small and mid-sized companies. The city's IP offices said the fund would be used to organize related training and serve as subsidies for corporate IP asset evaluation and IP-collateralized loan interest. According to the plans, IP loans worth about 200 mil-lion yuan will be granted in five years.
Pyxww.com
- Zhejiang
Copyright used as collateral
A Wenzhou TV series and film production company received a 5 million yuan loan from a cultural branch of the Bank of Wenzhou by using the copyright of a TV series as collateral. The move was the first of its kind in the city. The company spokeswoman Sun Rong said the loan was granted "unexpectedly fast and easily", which was a confidence boost for the development of the city's cultural industry.
Zhejiang Daily
- Shandong
Fake snacks seized
Police in Linyi city seized seven suspects and more than 5,000 boxes of faked snacks with potential sales value of 600,000 yuan. The boxes were labeled with the slogan "Want Want Ice-Pop". Packaging equipment and more than 240 boxes of materials were also found. Police said the suspects made fake labels to package the snacks in a village and then delivered them to a warehouse, but did not sell the goods themselves.
China Consumer News
- Guangdong
Bank ranked most valuable brand
The Brand Observation magazine unveiled the 2014 top 500 most valuable Chinese brands in Guangzhou. The total value of the listed brands amounted to more than 11 trillion yuan. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China topped the list with 269.1 billion yuan, followed by two telecommunication operators China Mo-bile and China Telecom. Organizers said they estimated each brand's future profit-generating capacity based on the company's profit over the past three years.
Mbachina.com
- Fujian
First Taiwan registrations
Tea and grapefruit from Pinghe county were the first products from the province to be awarded geographic indications registered in Taiwan. Baiya Qilan tea and red grapefruit are two major sectors in the county, each generating annual revenue of more than 1 billion yuan. Local officials said the registration would help promote sales of the two products in Taiwan and guarantee their quality.
Southeast Express
(China Daily 07/23/2014 page17)
