Author Archives: Dr. Danny Friedmann

List of 100 Western Songs Must Be Removed By September 15, 2011

Tania Branigan reports about newly banned list of 100 Western songs that are not approved by the Ministry of Culture. All links to these songs must be removed by music websites in China by September 15th, 2011. The reason: because they … Continue reading

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John Marshall Law School Launches Chinese IP Resource Center in Chicago

A new wind from China has arrived in the windy cityPhoto: Danny Friedmann John Marshall Law School located in Chicago, US, has launched a Chinese Intellectual Property Resource Center, see here. Since 2007 the law school also has a China IP … Continue reading

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Bright Food Takes Over Manassen Foods: Bright Future for Food Safety?

Many roads, but some are superior in the long runPhoto: Danny Friedmann Many Chinese consumers prefer foreign goods, because they are perceived as safe. Notwithstanding that foreign brands are often victim of being counterfeited. Now there are at least the … Continue reading

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Must Read Monday: China Should Change Its Perspective From Engineer To Marketeer

From an engineer’s to a marketeer’s perspective, one bridge too far?Photo: Danny Friedmann Malcolm Moore wrote a great article for The Telegraph about China’s challenges to transform its industries from the world’s manufacturers to the world’s innovators, and how this … Continue reading

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Honey Laundering, Or How Chinese Lead And Indian Antibiotics Become Indian “Honey”

IP Dragon Weekend Edition 蜜蜂 (Mandarin mi4 feng1 Cantonese mat6 fung1)  = honey bee   蜂蜜 (Mandarin feng1 mi4 Cantonese fung1 mat6)  = bee honey  Two time Pulitzer-prize winning reporter for investigative journalism, Andrew Schneider wrote an interesting article about Chinese honey … Continue reading

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Trademarks That “Innovate and Beautify Life”: China Trademark Festival, Chengdu

“Dreaming of innovative and beautifying trademarks“Photo: Danny Friedmann                  To avoid confusion:                  – the cat’s name is Puma not IP Kat             … Continue reading

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Rouse: IP China Express 340

” IP in China, dusk or dawn?“Photo: Danny Friedmann In the 340th IP China Express Rouse, the international IP business selected the following news items: – Rubber products manufacturer Freudenberg victorious in a trademark conflict that has been going on … Continue reading

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EU, U.S. Perception: “China Is Discriminating”. What Are We Going To Do Against It?

US: We have so manystars, we deserve to be treated accordingly in China U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is visiting China to try to smooth the Sino-Chinese relations (one can argue that the U.S. is borrowing money from China to import from … Continue reading

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Ernst & Young Report: The Benefits of software IPR protection in China

Unlicensed software should be cleaned upPhoto: Danny Friedmann Not only the Business Software Association writes interesting reports about intellectual property in China in relation to software. Ernst & Young who are in the assurance, tax, transactions and advisory business, just … Continue reading

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Is China Copying Black Hawk Helicopter Technology That Crashed Into Bin Laden’s Backyard?

“Why are you flying above me?””“Keep flying, you are my stealth technology.” Isn’t it the dream of each intelligence service that the state, military and trade secrets literally fly and crash upon your territory? This dream came true for the … Continue reading

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How To Transform The Image of Chinese Brands? Hint … It’s Not Product Placements

Product Placements  Some movies have become a series of commercials with a story line. Thanks to the lucrative business of product placements. Transformers (变形金刚) 3 which opened in cinemas in China on July 21, 2011 shows an abundance of Chinese brands: … Continue reading

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IPO Candidate Tudou Is Building Its Patent Portfolio For Future Growth, Promoting Chinese Creativity

With 90.1 million registered users,  Tudou 土豆, which means potato,  is no small potato.  The site for investors ‘Seeking Alpha’ gives an analysis of the Chinese online video site Tudou.com 土豆网 (for which they use the symbol TUDO) in relation to its … Continue reading

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Fry Phone: Fry Your Brain With Phoney Phone (HiPhone5)

By Michiel Tjoe-AwieFake phone Yang Xi reports for China.org.cn about the Chinese copycat of the Apple iPhone5 that hits the market. Of course it can do what the leaked iPhone5 can do, but it is served with a free dessert: … Continue reading

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Must Read Monday: Kan Zu On The Art Of Patent Enforcement

Medium shifting from Sun Tzu to Kan Zu:patents instead of arms,LED screen instead of bamboo Sun Tzu wrote about the Art of War. Competition between companies is a kind of war, whereby the only potential fatality is the bankruptcy of … Continue reading

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Tourists Duped By Soviet Union Memorabilia Made in China

Lenin pinmade in USSR ormade in China? “I said export world revolution not revolutionary cheap pins to the world” What happens when a nominal communist state is making communist memorabilia of a former communist state? Yes, the communist memorabilia market run by … Continue reading

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Sober Advice To Stop Counterfeit Wine As Lafite Bubble in China Attracts More Counterfeiters

China counterfeiters produce more “Lafite”  then you can ever find in the  Château Lafite Rothschild cellars in France Photo: Wikipedia about Château Lafite Rothschild  No, Lafite is not a kind of Champagne. It has no bubbles inside. But the market for … Continue reading

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Sunday Local Selection: 95.6 mln RMB question, Hebei good/bad/ugly, new BMW product?, Taiwan Straits IP Centre, Nanning achievements, Starve Cancer to Death Medicine

Some local news items of China Intellectual Property 中國知識產權, Xinhuanet.com, Hebei.gov.cn, CNR.cn, Stats.gov.cn and China Quality Daily were presented in one article by China Daily about the following locations: Beijing, Hebei, Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong. The 95.6 million Renminbi questionThe first item … Continue reading

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8th Asia-Pacific IP Forum in Hong Kong

Thursday 29 September, the eight Asia-Pacific IP Forum will be held at the Kowloon Shangri-La in Hong Kong. It is a fully packed day organised by Managing Intellectual Property magazine, free for in-house counsels. The following speakers will talk about the … Continue reading

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Open Letter to the UN Special Rapporteur: Nothing Wrong With Graduated Response

Dear Mr Frank La Rue, With interest I have read your report (May 16, 2011) for the Human Rights Council on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the concern you have for the graduated … Continue reading

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Free Trade Agreement Between Costa Rica and China

Professor Aurelio López-Tarruella Martinez of the University of Alicante makes us aware via IP Tango that on August 1, 2011, two Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) entered into force: between Peru and Korea and between Costa Rica and China. Let’s focus on the … Continue reading

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Synchronicity in Trademark Applications in China: from a first-to-file to a first-to-use to a divination system

“Let’s not look at the timekeeping equipment, let’s draw lots“ There is a theory of synchronicity of cultural artifacts. For example pyramids being build both in Egypt and in Middle and South America around the same time, or the simultaneous … Continue reading

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Must Read Monday: Bye Bye Shanzhai, Hello Mainstream Smartphones

Photo: Close EncountersTo Migrate or not. A wildebeest‘s dilemma:“Starvation if I stay, or risk of being eaten by a crocodile if I go“ Shen Jingting wrote an excellent article for China Daily about the epic migration taking place within the Shenzhen … Continue reading

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Long Island Professor: “Chinese Counterfeiters Cannot Replicate Services” Yes, They Can

Can people outside Long Islandreally pour a sturdy Long Island Iced Tea? Panos Mourdoukouras, professor of economics of Long Island University, gave some reasons for the existence of counterfeit and knock-off retail outlets in China with which I did not … Continue reading

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One Out of Three Seeds in China Infringes Patents

Do you want patented rice with that? Zhou Siyou writes for the China Daily:  “An estimated 8,700 seed companies are operating in the Chinese market, but fewer than 100 have their own intellectual property rights. More than 90 percent of … Continue reading

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Parlor Game: Identify the Knock-off Handbag, Watch and Gadget

TGIF: Vivian Giang of Business Insider has posted a quiz called: Can You Identify The Knockoff Handbags, Watches And Gadgets? Do the quiz here.

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National Copyright Administration and Intellectual Property Office Held Second Video Conference

National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) and Britain’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) held their second video conference in 2011 as they had agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the public could watch such a video … Continue reading

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CNTV (CCTV) Sues China Telecom For Copyright Infringement

Geng Wenxin of Global Times, a state owned news organisation, reports about CNTV (China Network Television) part of CCTV (China Central Television) suing two provincial branches of China Telecom for using its copyrighted content without permission. China Telecom at the … Continue reading

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Changzhou Global Animation Joyland Clones Offline Version Of Activision Blizzard’s World of Warcraft/Starcraft

The world’s first game themed entertainment park is Global Animation Joyland, in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. It cloned the American game producer Activision Blizzard’s World of Warcraft (WoW) into “Terrain of Magic” and Activision Blizzard’s StarCraft into “Universe of Starship” designs … Continue reading

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Update on CYBERsitter, LLC v. The People’s Republic of China et al

Remember Green Dam Youth Escort? Short reminder: the Chinese government ordered computer manufacturers to bundle computers sold in China with software that could filter pornography by July 2009. It postponed the deadline because of pressure by foreign computer manufacturers. In … Continue reading

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Technology Transfer to China: Judgment Day Is Coming For US and European Car Industry

“Last Judgment“as envisioned by Stefan Lochner in the car free year of 1435 The European and American automotive industry should wake up. Reuters quoted Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat SpA saying: “The excuse that we did not understand … Continue reading

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Baby Tricycle Wars: Chinese Babygood Group Victorious Against US Mattel

In a China Daily article by Zhang Zhao, Babygood Group is complaining about the difficulties Chinese companies face when they try to enforce their intellectual property rights in the United States.  Wei Yaochang, manager of Goodbaby’s legal office was quoted … Continue reading

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Genuine Apple Store Fixes Problem Of Fake Apple

M.I.C. (Made in China) Gadget’s Chris Chang wrote that a genuine Apple Store in Pudong Shanghai helped diagnose and troubleshoot his knock-off MacBook Air. Read here. Now that he is sitting in your nest,you might as well treat him as … Continue reading

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Wrong Reasons, Right Conclusion: Why China Imitates Western Brands

Global branding, local marketingGenuine IKEA in Hong Kong offers “lucky bamboo”Photo: Danny Friedmann Panos Mourdoukoutas, professor of economics at Long Island University, gives four reasons why China imitates Western brands. See his Forbes article here. Since I do not agree with all … Continue reading

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Cyber attacks: “Biggest Transfer of IP in History” Points To China

After eating a rat, one should stay vigilant.Photo: Tan Fugui Computer security company McAfee discovered that during a 5 year time span 72 organisation were infiltrated via the internet. Jim Finkle reports for Reuters about what Dmitri Alperovitch, McAfee Lab’s vice president … Continue reading

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Exposed Fake Kunming Popular News Story Debunked

Now that Kunming officially is the fake capital of China, IP Dragon sent a stringer there and in the name of genuineness and gonzo journalism we break the following shocking news. The reputable China Hearsay, got a tip from an … Continue reading

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IKEA Drama: Second Tier Cities Cannot Wait For Well Known Brands: Enter The Copycat

When I visited friends in several countries, including China and the special administrative region of Hong Kong, I was overtaken by a sense of déjà vu. Their chairs, tables, book shelves, all breathed a sense of Swedish familiarity. Their interiors … Continue reading

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Is China’s Anti-Monopoly Law Used To Get Hold Of Foreign IP?

Anti-Monopoly Law to level the playing field …or annexing the players?Photo: Danny Friedmann Today, exactly three years ago (2008), China’s Anti-monopoly Law went into effect. Since that time the Ministry of Commerce’s Anti-Monopoly Bureau has approved seven M&As conditionally of which … Continue reading

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Undecent Miffy Bunnies Spotted In Macau

Warning: This article contains material which may offend and may not be distributed, circulated, sold, hired, given, lent, shown, played or projected to a person under the age of 18 years. Let me first refresh your memory about IP relevant … Continue reading

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Sobering Statistics Put China’s Innovation Into Perspective

In the graphical perspective,things become smaller if the distancefrom the observer increases Professor Anil Gupta and Haiyan Wang, writers of the book ‘Getting China and India right‘, put China’s innovation statistics into perspective. Patent filings in 2008 U.S.A. 400,769 filings … Continue reading

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Populism in America: Mitt Romney Is Playing The “IP in China” Card

By Michiel Tjoe-Awie On November 6, 2012 there will be president’s elections in the U.S.A. Mr Mitt Romney is a candidate for the Republican Party. Romney sponsored a message showing the president of an American manufacturer of machines in Pataskala, … Continue reading

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Glass Is Half Full In Regard To IPR Infringements In China, … Is It Really?

According to Reuters Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei either showed his sense for the rather British form of humour the understatement or he is a die-hard optimist. In the very same year when 85 percent of all counterfeit goods seized … Continue reading

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If Central Government Is Not Omnipotent Deal Directly With Provinces: USPTO Jiangsu MOU

As the last article underlines, see here, the central government of Beijing is not all powerful in China. So it makes a lot of sense that the US Patent and Trademark Office went to Jiangsu, the important coastal province to … Continue reading

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The Bad euh … Good euh … Bad News On Indigenous Innovation in China

“The Mountains Are High, but you can always find a way through“Yangsho, Guangxi ProvincePhoto: Danny Friedmann Since China announced its Indigenous Innovation policy in 2006 there were a lot of protests from foreign intellectual property rights holders that would be completely … Continue reading

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85 percent of all products seized at EU border originate from China

85 percent?!. If only the other IP infringing countries could sue Chinafor anti-competitive behaviour… For the statistically inclined, Commisioner Algirdas Šemeta, responsible for customs of the European Union, shared some results about the seizures at the EU border. According to the Lithuanian: … Continue reading

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Press Conference: DaVinci Furniture GM’s Nose Grows Longer Than Pinocchio’s

Honest Pinnocchio by Mike He, a Chinese designer“It is your pencil that makes him lie” Source: Yatzer One night, the wood carver Geppetto general manager DaVinci furniture Panzhuang Xiahua had a dream. He She dreamed that the marionette would come to life company would … Continue reading

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Fangchenggang Fairytale: How a Magic Mercedes-Benz Became A Humble Honda

Adam Smith dedicated his World Trademark Review blog about a Mercedes-Benz police car with a Honda logo. The local Fangchenggang police force (in Guanxi province) thought that they could fool taxpayers into believing that they did not spent too much … Continue reading

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The Apple Does Not Fall Far From The Tree In Kunming

BirdAbroad is a blogger in Kunming, Yunnan province. She came across a very convincing Apple Store ripoff, and then found two other such stores. Read here investigative post in which she said she was from the Apple corp. in the … Continue reading

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Innovation: “Paradoxes, Google and China”

Google and China have found each other in a marriage of convenience, in order to serve the one god they both live by: innovation. This article deals with censorship and intellectual property. Two of the biggest challenges that the internet … Continue reading

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When You Give This Horse Wings It’s Still Brand Dilution

It’s a car …, it’s a plane …Picture: Danny Friedmann … it’s a piano. Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong KongPicture: Danny Friedmann The Pegasus Guoqin costs more than 2.86 million Renminbi (over US $410,000). Although it is painted in the “Ferrari rosso” … Continue reading

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IP Dragon’s Book Review: Dragons At Your Door

Learn to innovate with Chinese characteristics Before writing The World Is Flat (see his presentation at NUS here) Thomas Friedman realised that his “intellectual software was out-of-date”. His framework of measuring what is important and what is not, needed an update. … Continue reading

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