Author Archives: Dr. Danny Friedmann

Multinationals Strengthen Their Commitment to China; But Are Scared of IPR Challenges

Booz & Company conducted a study (survey under 108 foreign invested manufacturing companies) together with the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai to see what the influence is of the economic crisis on their commitment of doing business in China. … Continue reading

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AMP: “Economic Crisis Should Make German Government Act More Aggressively Against Counterfeiters”

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) interviewed Mr Rüdiger Stihl, chairman of the Aktionskreises gegen Produkt- und Markenpiraterie (APM). The resulting article at the site of N24 (in German) gives a good overview of the damages that are caused by counterfeit products originating … Continue reading

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Portrait Rights In China: When They Say Cheese, You Say See You In Court

Chinese companies in China infringe portrait of foreign celebritiesJane Macartney of The Times Online has an article about the commercial use of the portraits of Western celebrities without their permission, which is an infringement of their portrait right.Little Red Book … Continue reading

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Why STAs are Different From EPAs/FTAs and Influencing IPR norms is Preferable to Being Influenced

Professor Peter K. Yu , one of the leading scholars on Intellectual Property Rights in China (director of the Intellectual Property Law Center at Drake University School of Law), informed me that he just wrote a paper called ‘Sino Trade … Continue reading

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Why Intellectual Property Rights In China Don’t Come Naturally

I was delighted to receive the learned paper of Charles R. Stone, published in the Marquette Law Review, Vol. 92, p. 199, 2008. It is called ‘What Plagiarism Was Not: Some Preliminary Observations on Classical Chinese Attitudes toward what the … Continue reading

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Chinese Counterfeit Products Distort Sub-Saharan Market

Great 2008 article by David Rocks and Alex Halperin for BusinessWeek. They write that the manufacturers of low cost high volume products such as shoe polish, ball pens and tooth brushes in African countries, such as Uganda, meet a lot … Continue reading

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MOU on IPR Between Philippines and Taiwan

Taiwan and the Philippines try to develop a so called Subic-Clark-Kaohsiung Corridor. Taiwan is located north of the Philippines, with the Taiwanese city Kaohsiung in the South. Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is the longest toll expressway of the Philippines. PNA reports via … Continue reading

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“Keepin’ it real fake”

Engadget, the second most popular blog, according to Technorati has tagged “Keepin’ it real fake” as KIRF. In this category gadgets originating from China are frequently showed. Such as a Samsung knock-off called the Sumsang etc, etc. See their overview … Continue reading

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WTO Report DS362: “Panellists On Your Marks, Get Set, Decide”

The first thing the WTO panel did was to get translations of the People’s Republic of China’s both countries agreed upon (so called mutally agreed translations, fourteen of them). (MAT-1) Criminal Law (Articles 213, 214, 215, 217, 218 and 220);MAT-2) … Continue reading

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WTO Report DS362

We have been waiting even before 10 April 2007, because a dispute between the US and the People’s Republic of China regarding the protection and enforcement of intellectual property in China, was in the air. Finally the WTO panel published … Continue reading

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Huawei Top PCT Applicant 2008; China Sixth Largest User of PCT

The People’s Republic of China has the ambition to shift its manufacturing based economy to a knowledge based economy. Therefore Chinese companies need to innovate, and protect their innovations by patents, internationally. If a company registers its patent in one … Continue reading

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Copycats in China: Trains, Plains and … Automobiles

Planes, traines and … automobiles. Chinese copycats in all modes of transport. After this ruling by the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court against Zhongwei’s Zonda A9 that found the latter copying the MAN AG’s Neoplan Starliner, one might wonder … Continue reading

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Coming Up: China – Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement

After Chile and Peru, Costa Rica is the third Latin American country that is to negociate a free trade agreement with China. Read the AFP article here. Free trade agreements can play an important role in the protection and enforcement … Continue reading

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IP Dragon Weekend Game: Dyslectic Or Counterfeit

Ms Hannah Wood has an intriguing article about names very similar to famous ones in China. See Ms Wood’s article with pictures, here. Can you guess which are the original brands? The answer can be found by clicking on the … Continue reading

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Poisonous Optima Dog Food: Product Liability Or Blame The Counterfeiters?

Mr Ryan McLaughlin, blogger of Life in Suzhou, wrote about the death of Addie his beloved Golden Retriever around Christmas, read here. According to Mr McLauglin the cause is probably poisonous dog food. Addie was fed dog food from Optima, … Continue reading

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Indian High Court Claims Jurisdiction Against Chinese Cybersquatter of ICICIGROUP.COM

Malathi Nayak of Livemint has a very interesting article about who has the jurisdiction over Chinese entities if they infringe intellectual property rights via the internet. In this case a Chinese entity had registered the domain name icicigroup.com which is … Continue reading

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Electric Guitar Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition Makes Itself Heard Against Beijing Infringers

IP Dragon welcomes a new organisation that will fight the manufacturers of and traders in counterfeit guitars. The Electric Guitar Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (EGACC), founded by four guitar manufacturers; Ibanez, Gretsch, Fender and Paul Reed Smith, in March 2008 and will … Continue reading

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World Trademark Review: “US crowns China top of the counterfeiters”

Adam Smith of the World Trademark Review wrote an article that put a few of the actual news events into perspective.: The news of the US customs that the People’s Republic of China is number one origin of counterfeit goods … Continue reading

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Zen And the Art Of Intellectual Property in China

I love that title (remix of perfect book title: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig, which is a remix of the title Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel who brought Zen to Europe … Continue reading

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IP Dragon Writes Book About Intellectual Property in China

Dear readers, I am delighted to announce that I am writing a book for Oxford University Press about intellecual property rights in China. It will be published in 2010. I thank all the (anonymous) peer reviewers that have given feedback … Continue reading

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IP Dragon Wins Danwei’s Olympic Model Worker Award 2008

IP Dragon is proud and happy to have received Danwei’s Model Worker Award for 2008 (“the best of the China blogs”), in the category Law & Intellectual Property, for the second time in a row (2007). Only this time the … Continue reading

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US Customs Seizure Statistics 2008: “China number one, India number two and Hong Kong number three counterfeit producer”

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and U.S. Customs Enforcement divisions of Homeland Security gives some statistics about the numbers, characteristics and origins of counterfeit goods seized in the U.S. in 2008.IPR seizures of goods from China rose … Continue reading

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All Clichés But Still True: Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement in China Leaves Room For Improvement

France24 reports in a 2 minutes 51 seconds video (from April 2008) about the rampant violations of IPR in China and the insufficient measures to tackle the problem. One big déjà vu all over again… We see the familiar in … Continue reading

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Professor Daniel Gervais’ New Book Includes: Confidential Interim Report DS 362

Who won the IPR dispute at the WTO between China and the U.S.? That was the name of my blog posting in October 2008 and gave some leaked information. But what does the official information say? According to WTO document … Continue reading

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Microsoft Anti-Piracy: Are Your Eyes Shining Because of China’s IPR Enforcement Efforts or Shenzhen’s Efforts?

Xinhua reported that the Shenzhen Futian Court on 7 January 2009 sentenced 11 people who violated Chinese criminal and copyright laws to make pirated Microsoft software and distribute copies to Australia, Canada, Germany, the United States and other countries. Brad … Continue reading

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Japanese Companies Can Register Chinese Copyights in Japan: save 50 percent time

Copyright is an automatic right, which arises when it is created. (because of the ‘no formalities provision’ of the article 5 (2) Berne Convention). However you can register your copyright with China’s National Copyright Administration, which can be helpful to … Continue reading

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Trademarks in China: Nomen Est Omen

Stan Abrams of China Hearsay fame blogged about why the car manufacturer SAIC choose for the name Roewe and how to pronounce that name. He contemplates that: “As a Chinese brand, the English name is of secondary importance. However, if … Continue reading

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Does China Export In Violation of License EU Train Technology Back To Europe?

Mr Philippe Mellier, CEO of Alstom Transport, the second manufacturer (after Bombardier Transportation) of high-speed trains, locomotives and metro cars, is calling on countries for a boycot of Chinese trains according to the Financial Times, here. In an interview Mr … Continue reading

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Well Known and Less Known Aspects Of Well-Known Marks

In the USTR 2008 Report to Congress on China’s WTO compliance on page 4, one can read the following remarkable sentence: “…the promotion of famous Chinese brands of merchandise using what appear to be prohibited forms of financial support, …” … Continue reading

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USTR in 2008 Report to Congress On China’s WTO Compliance: Still Not Satisfied After All These Years

One of the priority issues in the 115 page 2008 Report to Congress On China’s WTO Compliance, released by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in December is, unsurprisingly, the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in China. Below … Continue reading

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Slow As A Turtle? Copyright Protection Expiration in China: Lifetime Plus Fifty

IP Dragon‘s feline friend has an interesting post December 31, 2008, about the expired protection of copyrights for authors that died seventy years ago, including the painter Wang Zhen (1867-1938), read Mr Jeremy Phillips’ article for IP Kat here. According … Continue reading

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EU Experience and Practice Must Show China The Way Concerning IPR Protection At Exhibitions

It is crucial for companies to showcase their new products to the world at trade fairs and exhibitions. Hower, these places welcome potential customers but also IPR infringers. To make the bonafide exhibitors less vulnerable to IPR infringements and deal … Continue reading

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Comparison Between The IPR in China Relevant Provisions Of the Foreign Trade Law 2004 and 1994

I have just added links to the Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China 1994 and 2004 on IP Dragon’s blogroll ( under “IPR in China Laws and Regulations”). The IPR relevant article 6 Foreign Trade Law 1994 … Continue reading

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Message of IP Dragon: Happy Holidays

Sheng dan kuai le 圣诞快乐

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Thesis and Publications About IPR in China

Thesis: ‘Paper Tiger or Roaring Dragon, China’s TRIPs Implementations and Enforcement’BMM Bulletin Paper: ‘How to work within China’s IPR enforcement system for trademark and design rights’Article: ‘How to prevent and act upon intellectual property rights infringements in China’Article: China’s National … Continue reading

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Judge For Yourself: Does Online Game Maker Miu! Infringe IPR?

Hau~ Omochikaeri~!, a blog by Micchi and Nemuiwanko about massively multiplayer online games, accuse that Miu! World plagiarise characters of Ragnarok Online, World of Warcraft, Maple Story and possibly other games in their online game Aurore Blade. The blog includes … Continue reading

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Beer and Logic: If Taiwan Beer Is Sold In China Trademark Issue Is Solved In China

Mr Lin Tzann-feng, senior vice president of Taiwan Tobacco Liquor (TTL) Corporation said about the possibility of selling Taiwan Beer 台灣啤酒 in China, according to The China Post: “We are confident on the opening of the Chinese market, once the … Continue reading

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China Ready To Make Money With Homebred 3G Standard TD-SCDMA

Ek Heng of Telecommunications Online writes that it is expected that China Mobile will receive a license for TD-SCDMA, a 3G standard developed by China, in order to be less dependent on foreign patent holders, avoid paying patent fees and … Continue reading

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“Eli Lilly Lobbies on Counterfeiting And Regulatory Issues Involving China”

Eli Lilly, a US drugmaker, lobbied for 3.3 million dollar in the third quarter of 2008 on issues, which include counterfeiting problems and regulatory reform in China, according to the Associated Press. Read the AP article via the site of … Continue reading

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More Brooms Sweep Cleaner: Expansion of IPR Tribunals in China

Xie Chuanjiao of the China Daily wrote about the increasing number of IPR court cases and the pilot project of specialised IPR courts in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Fujian (nine intermediate people’s courts and … Continue reading

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Word On Wednesday: The Influence of the Financial Crisis On The Enforcement of Intellectual Property In China

Getting ready for stormy weather Painting/picture Copyright Dinky 2008 What could be the impact of the financial crisis on the enforcement of intellectual property in China? Here are some hypotheses on top of my mind: Because of the financial crisis … Continue reading

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First Coordinated EU Customs Campaign Catches 34 Million Counterfeit Medicines

Reuters reports that the customs officials of the 27 EU members worked together to intercept counterfeit antibiotics, anti-cancer, anti-malaria and anti-cholesterol medicines, painkillers and Viagra. “The main countries of origin for the illegal products were China, India and Pakistan, a … Continue reading

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Columbia Sportswear “Succesful” In Reducing Counterfeits in China

Ms Laura Wood writes in MarketWatch that Columbia Sportswear Company, a manufacturer of active outdoor apparel (which included the brands Montrail, Mountain Hardwear, Pacific Trail and Sorel) has been succesful in implementing an anti-counterfeiting programme with local, national and international … Continue reading

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China and Russia Sign Intellectual Property Agreement For Military-Technical Cooperation

According to a translation by RIA Novosti of the Russian newspapers Vedomosti and Kommersant, the Russian-Chinese inter-governmental commission for military-technical cooperation met in Beijing for the first time in the past three years to sign an agreement on copyright [what … Continue reading

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Must Read Monday: “Shan Zhai Ji” in Google.cn Most Searched List

Sky Canaves and Juliet Ye of the Wall Street Journal’s China Journal Blog dealt with the top ten lists of Google.cn 2008. Although most Chinese use Baidu, and Google is used by some of the higher educated Chinese, the most … Continue reading

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Drafting An Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement: Where is China?

The drafting of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was, and to a lesser extent still is, shrouded in secrecy. There has been a lot of criticism about the lack of transparency in the negotiation process and drafting of ACTA. Only … Continue reading

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Comments on Judicial Interpretations of Determination of Well-Known Trademark

Mr Jing ‘Brad’ Luo, JD candidate, May 2009 at the SMU Dedman School of Law and Professor Shubha Ghosh at the University of Wisconsin Madison, School of Law, wrote a paper about the subject called: ‘Protection and Enforcement of Well-Known … Continue reading

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Not So Smooth As Shampooed Hair: Copyright Font Infringement. Founder Electronics Sues P&G and Carrefour

Do you remember Founder Electronics sueing Blizzard Entertainment, August 2007 for copyright font infringement? Read here. Now the People’s Daily Online reports that Founder Electronics has filed a suit against Procter & Gamble (P&G) in Guangzhou, Guangdong province and Carrefour … Continue reading

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Hu Jintao And The Three Supremes Or Do You Rather Listen To Diana Ross?

Intellectual Property Law in China, of course, is not an insulated part of Chinese Law. A fortiori, it is an integral part of it. So those who are interested in IPR in China, could take notice to China’s legal reforms … Continue reading

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China IPR Law Firms and Agents: Haseltine Lake Chooses Guangzhou

IP Dragon 知識產權龍 congratulates Haseltine Lake for its new representative office in Guangzhou, Guangdong province and welcomes this firm into IP Dragon’s blogroll in the category ‘China IPR Law Firms and Agents’.This firm that has already an office in Londen, … Continue reading

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