Peter Mandelson (EU trade commissioner) spoke with Bo Xilai (China’s commerce minister) in Beijing about trade and IPR. Audra Ang wrote an article about it for AP News, that was run by BusinessWeek.
According Mandelson Bo had proposed to establish IPR claim centers in major Chinese cities. A plan that was ventilated before. These centers would “help to SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) who sometimes have found the process of accessing the criminal justice system to enforce their IP rights difficult, expensive and frustrating,” Mandelson said.”
These service centers were announced already in April and will be in about 50 cities.
“Mandelson also hailed as “trailblazing” an agreement signed Wednesday between luxury brand companies and Beijing landlords of notorious counterfeit markets to evict tenants who repeatedly sell copied goods. “This is a protocol with teeth,” he said shortly after the signing of the deal.“
In April Bo Xilai promised to fight copyright see video here.
Read Ang’s article here.
Erik Dahl wrote for Interfax-China about this protocol. Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU), if a vendor is found selling counterfeit goods, their operations will be suspended for a certain period. If they are caught a second time, their lease will be terminated and ejected from the market.
Silk Market was one of the signatories of the MOU.
“Action against landlords is part of a global ‘contributory liability’ campaign targeting facilitators the trade, such as transporteurs, financiers and internet service providers, Nathalie Moulle-Berteaux, Intellectual property Director for LVMH Fashion Group, said at a Trademark and Copyright Protection seminar in Beijing on Wednesday.“
Read Dahl’s article here.
