The Only Device Charging Market Umbrella

This is the only market umbrella that extends the battery life of mobile devices, so you can frolic longer outdoors without fretting over a drained battery. A rechargeable backup battery provides power in overcast conditions; ensuring smartphones and tablets have an uninterrupted supply of power.

Source: breadbox

Google’s Talking Shoe

Google unveiled the latest in wearable technology: an interactive running shoe designed to motivate its owner. It reportedly makes encouraging comments such as “I love the feeling of wind in my laces” and “You have made me a very proud shoe.” What might it be like to wear a pair of Google’s new motivational talking trainers?

Source: guardian

Handsome Heater

The Slice hydronic radiator provides exceptional radiant heat to your home, while adding style, efficiency, and added functionality with its convenient hideaway seat. It’s a perfect supplemental heating system for mounting near drafty windows or colder areas of your home, but also makes for a great personal warmer-upper!

Source: yankodesign

[Government]

IP Model Cities to Be Named

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) recently launched a new campaign to evaluate national IP model cities. It will analyze the candidate cities based on a number of criteria, including government investment as well as IP management systems, environment, utilization and protection. The list of the first 23 IP model cities was unveiled last year.

Source: SIPO

SIPO Released the Training Plan for 2013 National Intellectual Property Talents

SIPO released the Training Plan for 2013 National IP Talents. The plan is targeted to provide macro guidance over IP talents training and further boost expertise team building. It is the first time that a plan like this has sought to integrate all the training plans conducted by local IP offices and national IP training bases, highlighting department duties and regional specialties as well as holistic working style. It is of instructive significance in building an open and sharing IP personnel training pattern.

Source: IPR in China

Government Unveils 2013 IP Plan

An interdepartmental agency comprised of 28 Chinese government organizations released its annual IP plan of action. The plan is composed of 84 detailed measures and is intended to fulfill eight major tasks, including IP creation, protection, utilization, management and awareness promotion. Huang Qing, Director of the Protection and Coordination Department at SIPO, stated that despite having fewer items, this year’s plan has more clearly defined targets regarding the agency’s next steps. He noted that two areas of focus will be review and assessment of the Outline of the National IP Strategy, which was launched five years ago, and IP strategies in some key industries.

Source: China Daily

Copyright Campaign Launched

The National Copyright Administration launched the nationwide Green Bookmark Campaign 2013 on April 1st in an effort to increase copyright awareness. During the campaign, which lasts until World Intellectual Property Day on April 26th, green bookmarks will be distributed in more than 2,000 schools, cinemas, theaters, bookstores and residential communities across China. Pirated publications seized last year will also be destroyed in the period. The annual event was initiated in 2009.

Source: Xinhua

Sino-Egyptian Cooperation

SIPO and the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) of the Arab Republic of Egypt recently signed an agreement to consolidate relations and enhance cooperation on IP rights. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding that covers the formulation and implementation of IP strategies, assembly of patent databases, training for patent examiners and exchange of documents.

Source: gov.cn

China Issues New Essential Drug List

A new essential medicine list, including 317 kinds of chemical medicines and biological products and 203 Chinese patent medicines, was issued by the Ministry of Health. Compared with the latest version, which was revised in 2009, both the quantities and categories of the essential medicines see an increase in the new list, with ministry authorities adding 213 new entries as essential medicines. The number of dosage forms has climbed to 850 from 780 in 2009, while the drug specifications have dropped to 1,400 from 2,600 in 2009. The change is believed be conducive to standardizing the process of drug bidding and purchasing, ensuring an essential drug supply and enhancing the entire monitoring process, authorities with the ministry said. The new list will be put into force on May 1st.

Source: CNIPR

Chinese Police Filed 90,000 IP Infringement and Counterfeit Cases in 5 Years

According to a source from the Ministry of Public Security, the rapid development of the market economy has resulted in the prevalence of IP infringement and manufacture and sales of counterfeit and shoddy commodities, which tend to be chained, industrialized and networked. In the 5 year period from 2008 to 2012, public security organs nationwide filed nearly 90,000 IP infringement and counterfeit cases. The public security organs conducted the Special Campaign on Combating IP Infringement and Manufacture and Sales of Counterfeit and Shoddy Commodities from October 2010 to October 2011 to curb the serious infringing trend. During the special campaign, over 40,000 cases were uncovered and fake goods seized were valued at more than 500 billion yuan. In 2013, the Ministry of Public Security carried out anti-counterfeiting initiatives to perpetuate the special campaign against IPR infringement and counterfeiting.

Source: IPR in China

Top IP Court Cases in 2012

The Beijing Higher People’s Court recently unveiled a list of the top 10 intellectual property rights cases of 2012 selected from more than 10,000 that concluded last year. Five of the top legal proceedings were about copyrights, four centered on trademarks and one was a patent dispute.

Source: Chinacourt

[Enterprises]

Agreement Reached on Genuine Software between Gome and Microsoft

On March 28th Gome, one of China's biggest electrical appliance retail chain, signed a memorandum of cooperation with Microsoft to promote authorized software. The two companies announced a deepened strategic partnership at a jointly organized press release. Gome also placed an immense order of three million computers with computer manufacturers in an effort to appeal to the public for actions against piracy. It is known that the deepened strategic cooperation between Gome and Microsoft will help to promulgate knowledge on legitimate software, such as how to identify pirated versions, and increase public awareness of the risks of using unauthorized software, so as to ensure a secure and reliable experience for users and keep their information and privacy protected.

Source: IPR in China

Popular Film Director Accused of Infringement

Xu Zheng, director and a cast member of the popular movie Lost in Thailand, has been accused of infringing copyrights to make the movie that a rival media company says was originally its idea.
The accusation reportedly was made by Wuhan Huaqi Media, the production company for Lost on Journey , in which Xu starred. But representatives of Enlight Media, the production company for Lost in Thailand, said they have not received any legal documents related to the issue from Huaqi.

Released in 2010, Lost on Journey gained high viewership and a strong following. Lost in Thailand was seen as a sequel for the movie by the public. Since the release of Lost in Thailand, the movie has gained huge commercial success. Enlight Media has said it would keep shooting sequels for the popular film.

Although many netizens thought Huaqi just wanted to draw national attention and make money from the success of Lost in Thailand, Huaqi said they just wanted people to know the truth. In response to Huaqi’s accusation, Enlight Media said its productions were done under the protection of the country’s laws and it would sue those who tried to harm their reputation. Beijing Higher People’s Court is going to hear the case in April.

Source: Shenzhen Daily

Court Brings Light to Sany’s US Case

On March 2nd, Chinese industrial giant Sany Group (Sany) announced at a press conference that its core request of the lawsuit against the US President Obama and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CIFUS) filed by its subsidiary Ralls Corp had been accepted. Experts called this case a milestone, which provided a model for overseas Chinese enterprises and showed the value of own brands. IP plays a vital role on Chinese enterprises competing in the international market.

Source: SIPO

Shanghai Firm Sues Apple Over Siri

On March 28th, Apple Inc. appeared in court in Shanghai to defend charges that Siri, its voice-recognition, personalassistant software, allegedly infringes a Chinese patent. The plaintiff and owner of the patent, Zhizhen Internet Technology Co., claims its version of the software a type of instant messaging chat bot system named Xiaoi Bot has over 100 million users in China and is requesting the court to ban all manufacturing or sales of Apple’s product in China.

Source: IP Watchdog

AUPRES Encounters a Namesake Trademark

Shiseido Liyuan Cosmetics Company’s (Shisiedo’s) challenge to the trademark “欧 珀莱” filed by a person named Fang Yuyou (Fang) failed in the first-instance court and the trademark was eventually approved for registration. Disgruntled, Shiseido then brought the case to the Beijing Higher People’s Court and the court recently agreed to take the case.

In 1993, Shiseido filed “欧珀莱 AUPRES” and its figure as trademarks on Class 3 and other classes. The No. 3950767 “欧珀莱” trademark was filed for registration by Fang in March 2004, which was used on Class 35 services of word processing in fields of advertising and business management. Shiseido then challenged the mark and filed an objection during the suspension period, but the objection was rejected. Shiseido was dissatisfied and filed an administrative suit.

Shiseido argued that the Chinese translation of “AUPRES,” “欧珀莱” was truly original. Despite the fact that the trademark was authorized on different classes than those of their registered marks, the company’s position is that “欧珀莱” and “AUPRES” have gained popularity among the consumers and should be regarded as the well-known trademark. They also contend that the mark filed by Fang has caused damage to the brand’s image.The court held that although “欧珀莱” and “AUPRES” enjoy a good reputation, they are not well-known marks. In parallel, the differences between writing processing services and cosmetics are obvious in function and use, so the registration was allowed.

The third party Fang did not appear for any of the proceedings.

Source: SIPO

Cartier Wins Suit Against Local Retailer

Pudong New Area People’s Court ordered a Shanghai-based online retailer and two Beijingbased jewelry companies to pay 180,000 yuan ($29,008) in compensation to the French jewelry giant Cartier for trademark infringement. The court ruled that the two jewelry companies used the Cartier brand in their advertisements to attract customers without the French company’s permission.

Source: Global Times

[Global News]

1 US

Facebook to Face Trademark Trial over Timeline Feature

A US judge ruled that Facebook should face a trademark infringement trail related to its Timeline feature and other terms. The US based Timelines filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the social networking giant in 2011 after Facebook revealed that it was adding a timeline feature to its user pages. Timelines started a website in 2009, which allows users to create chronologies tracing historical events. The case is scheduled for a jury trial on April 22nd of this year.

Source: CBR online

2 US

Microsoft Introduces Innovative Patent Tracker

Microsoft’s Patent Tracker, introduced on March 28th, provides a list of all the patents owned by Microsoft and allows users to search by patent number, title or assignee of record. If  other companies follow suit with patent trackers, it should become harder for non-practicing entities, or businesses that buy patents simply to litigate them for financial gain, said Julie Samuels, an IP specialist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for digital rights.

Source: THOMSON REUTERS

3 India

Novartis Cancer Drug Patent Bid Rejected

India’s Supreme Court has rejected drug maker Novartis AG’s attempt to patent a new version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision. Novartis had argued it needed a patent to protect its investment in the cancer drug Glivec, while activists said the company was trying to use loopholes to make more money out of a drug whose patent had expired.

Source: guardian

4 EU

European Commission Eyes Modernisation of EU Trademark System

In draft documents published on March 27th, the European Commission (EC) said it intends to streamline and harmonise registration procedures, modernize outdated provisions, boost the
fight against counterfeit goods transiting through European territory, and improve cooperation between national trademark offices and the EU Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market. EC officials say that if the proposed directive is approved by spring 2014, it will have to be made part of national legislation by 2019.

Source: Intellectual Property Watch

5 US

“Android” Watchmaker Oko Sues Google for Trademark Infringement

Just as rumours begin to surface that Google is getting into the Smartwatch game, Oko International, the maker of a wide range of watches and timepieces sold under the brand name
“Android,” is suing the company for trademark infringement. Oko, established in 1991, sells more than 400 watches and clocks that have been trademarked as “Android” products since 1994. Google declined to comment on the Smartwatch rumours, nor would it comment on Oko’s lawsuit.

Source: PC World

6 South Korea

LG Suspects Samsung of Infringing Eye-tracking Patents with Galaxy S4

Although Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is not even available yet, it has already been eyed for possible patent infringement. According to a report from Korea’s Yonhap News, LG suspects the S4 might violate eyetracking patents used in the Optimus G Pro. At the crux of this squabble is Samsung’s Smart Pause feature, which LG finds similar to its Smart Video technology. Chiefly, LG is focusing on a patent it applied for in 2009, though the company also plans to investigate whether Samsung infringed other eyetracking patents dating back to 2005. So far, of course, Samsung has denied any wrongdoing, saying its eye-tracking tech was implemented differently and is based on proprietary technology. Given that the phone isn’t even out yet, we’ll leave it to LG to do its due diligence before accusing Samsung in court.