Tag Archives: Copyright

Back to the Basics Series: Copyright Protection in China

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shutterstock_107811341Last week we refreshed our memories about the basic Copyright protection in South-East Asia and as copyright issues are still fresh in our minds, it is now a good time to also delve into copyright issues in China. Today’s blog post thus gives a good basic overview of the Copyright protection in China. 

Today, intellectual property rights have a strong footing in China, despite the persistence of media accounts suggesting otherwise. There are dedicated IP courts in major cities and litigation by foreign companies is frequently successful.

China is now making significant headway in the cultural and high-tech industries, where copyright is the key. One example is the book industry, with sales increasing by over 30% from 2013 to 2014. Another new industry is the mobile app industry, now worth over $8.7 billion (2015), with small domestic start-ups relying on copyright to safeguard them in a market where less cautious foreign app developers have been overtaken by copycats. Continue reading “Back to the Basics Series: Copyright Protection in China” »

Copyright Protection in South-East Asia

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copyright, page 2As the summer vacation is almost over it’s time to refresh our memories about the basic IPR protection. Today’s blog post discusses copyright protection in South-East Asia, pointing out some of the main differences in all 10 ASEAN nations.  

Copyright entitles the owners of literary and artistic works to a set of exclusive rights over their works. These rights include copying, translating, adapting and altering, communicating and performing to the public, distributing, renting and lending copies of the copyrighted works.

However, copyright is relevant to almost every business across all sectors, not just those in the creative industry. Businesses in all industries should take appropriate steps to identify existing copyrights and consider registering the most important to them. Adequate copyright protection should form an integral part of a solid overall business strategy.

What can be protected by copyright?

Copyright protects the tangible expression of an idea, but not the idea itself. SMEs can protect books, journals, instruction manuals, musical works, drawings and illustrations, computer programs, software and websites, architectural drawings and databases, etc. by copyright.  Continue reading “Copyright Protection in South-East Asia” »

How to Protect Interior Designs of Shops in China

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shutterstock_385731427In today’s blog post, we will take a look at how SMEs can protect the interior design of their shops, which can be as important as protecting their brand and other types of IP. 

When Brent Hoberman, founder of online interior design and furniture store Mydeco.com, made a trip to China one man was particularly keen to meet him. When they met, the man explained that he wanted to launch a web business but had no idea how to do it until he found Mydeco.com and copied it. He only wished to express his appreciation personally to Mr Hoberman.

In 2011 the residents of Kunming, a city in the South-Western region of China were delighted to find an IKEA shop there. The copycat store is an enormous, multi-level shop that sells modern IKEA-like furniture and even copies the distinctive blue and yellow branding. The residents realized it was a fake, but have little choice as the closest real IKEA is in Chongqing, 940km away.

Store layouts, colours and designs become synonymous with a brand, so imitation of a store interior is very damaging to companies. At times it is increasingly difficult to separate the real from the fake. Continue reading “How to Protect Interior Designs of Shops in China” »

The Last (or First) Line of Defense: Using Customs to Protect your IPR in China

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customs1Businesses in Europe have increasingly benefited from Customs authorities acting to prevent counterfeit products from entering their borders – seizures of products infringing on others intellectual property (IP) make news stories around Europe every week. Not many businesses, however, realise that unlike most countries the Chinese Customs authorities not only have the power to examine and seize criminal imports, but also exports. China Customs have the authority to protect IP rights by confiscating infringing goods and imposing fines on infringers. If the infringement of IP rights exceeds a certain threshold, then the Customs authorities will also arrange for criminal proceedings to be brought against the infringing party.

The Customs IP Regulations provide that IP rights can be recorded with the General Administration of Customs (GAC) in Beijing. Although it is not compulsory to record IP rights at the GAC in order to apply to local customs for enforcement proceedings, it is beneficial for a company moving goods in and out of China, because if IP rights are registered with Customs, then Customs has the power to detain at will any suspected infringing consignment of goods. In addition, local customs offices are more proactive when IP rights are recorded with GAC mainly because the recordal provides Customs officials with easy access to internal IP databases and makes it easier for them to determine whether goods passing through Customs are genuine or counterfeit. Recordal of IP rights also facilitates the process of commencing Customs enforcement proceedings.

Given that the recordal of IP rights with GAC is free and straightforward, recording with GAC is recommended by the China IPR SME Helpdesk experts.
Continue reading “The Last (or First) Line of Defense: Using Customs to Protect your IPR in China” »

Protect your Product’s Design in China: Know before You Go

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shutterstock_385731427Product’s design is often one of the most important aspects of a consumer product – the way companies shape and package their goods plays a crucial role in customers purchasing decisions. Distinctive and easily recognizable visual design carries the identity and reputation of a particular brand across the globe, including the vast Chinese market. Expanding into China represents an exciting opportunity for European SMEs to reap additional profits, but how can enterprises simply and inexpensively protect their designs? The most common types of intellectual property relevant to the design of the goods themselves are design patents and copyright, while packaging can be protected in China under additional types of IP law, such as the Trademark Law, the Patent Law, the Copyright Law and the Anti-unfair Competition Law.

Given the variety of options available, it is recommended to carefully plan a strategy of combined and layered protection through registration of IP. Depending on your specific business and your specific budget needs, your SME may choose to opt for only one kind of registration or may choose to combine different registrations as a bundle of rights for more comprehensive protection. While products themselves and technical features of packaging can be protected as utility models or invention patents, packaging and aesthetic features of industrial products are most commonly protected under design patent registration.  Design patents include any of the following external features of a product that are rich in aesthetic appeal and are fit for industrial application: Continue reading “Protect your Product’s Design in China: Know before You Go” »