Tag Archives: EU SME

IPR Protection in Indonesia for Contemporary Design Industry

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shutterstock_385731427Since Indonesia’s design market and especially furniture design market offers interesting opportunities for European SMEs, 40 selected companies recently took part of the EU Gateway Business Avenues mission, where they met with local companies in Indonesia in early March 2017 to find business opportunities. As IP protection is the key to successful new business endeavors abroad, then in today’s blog post, we have chosen to discuss IP protection issues in the contemporary design industry in Indonesia. You will learn what you need to do in order to ensure that your product design is protected in Indonesia. 

Market Opportunities for European SMEs in Indonesia

Indonesia’s contemporary design industry holds great potential for European SMEs, supported by government’s initiatives of further developing the industry. Furniture sector is currently the backbone of Indonesia’s design industry as, boosted by high export demands, industrial production in Indonesia’s furniture industry has recorded high increase rate and profits gains over the past few years, a trend which will continue in 2017 and beyond, as Indonesia aims at becoming the dominant player in ASEAN’s furniture market[1].

Indonesia’s contemporary design market offers interesting business opportunities for European SMEs especially those engaged in the furniture and interior design sector, as the country can offer a competitive manufacturing base with relatively low labor costs and a wide availability of skilled carpenters and wood carvers. Furthermore, the country has vast resources of natural materials like teak, rattan or bamboo, attracting the attention of foreign investors.

The domestic market of Indonesia seems equally promising for imported European design products, especially products relating to interior design and home improvement as there is increasing demand for interior design services due to the booming domestic property sector, such as hotels, condotels, and restaurants. Moreover, the continued expansion of an affluent middle class in the country is driving the demand up for boutique producers of high-end contemporary furniture as well as niche sectors (i.e. leather furniture, European classic style pieces)[2]. Continue reading “IPR Protection in Indonesia for Contemporary Design Industry” »

How to Secure Effective Evidence at Trade Fairs in China

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Page 1. 1.Protecting your IP at Trade FairsTrade fairs are a great place for European SMEs to introduce their products to China and to find suitable business partners. With the coming spring there will be many opportunities for European SMEs to participate at various trade fairs in China. SMEs planning to participate in trade fairs should however have the full knowledge of what to do if they happen to find infringing products at trade fairs, in order to be able to protect their business. Thus in today’s blog post we have chosen to discuss how to effectively secure evidence at trade fairs in China. 

For companies considering moving into international markets, trade fairs are a key channel to introduce their product to the new market, expand visibility and customer base and seek partners for manufacturing, distribution and retail.For many European SMEs, exhibiting at a major trade fair in China may be the first step towards internationalisation. However, as well as providing business opportunities, trade fairs also pose risks for exhibitors by exposing new products, technology, designs and brands to those who would copy the efforts of others for their own financial gain. In many ways a trade fair can be viewed as a supermarket for local counterfeiters looking for the next great product to copy or brand to appropriate, often to be sold at the same fair that the original product developer would like to exhibit.

Examples of typical infringements found at trade fairs include:

  • Displaying and selling counterfeit products bearing the trade mark(s) identical or similar to others’ registered trade mark(s);
  • Displaying and selling the products counterfeiting other’s patent rights;
  • Utilising others’ copyrighted images, texts in the advertisement and/or company brochure and/or product catalogue;
  • Copying others’ products’ design;
  • Copying the design of another’s exhibition booth.

Why is collecting evidence important?

Evidence is needed for IPR enforcement. No matter which enforcement action is best suited for the company, the European SME will need to prove that its IPR have been infringed by producing a significant volume of evidence. In China’s People’s Court the burden of proof lies with the plaintiff (claimant) and documentary evidence is far stronger than witness testimony. As well as proving ownership via IPR certificates SMEs must prove the infringement via physical evidence including contracts, photographs of infringing products and proof of sale which have been validated by a notary public (a public officer or other person who is authorised to authenticate documents, evidence etc). If SMEs wish to seek assistance from an administrative body (e.g. the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) for trade marks) they must provide a similar body of evidence for the case to be accepted. Continue reading “How to Secure Effective Evidence at Trade Fairs in China” »

IPR Protection in Singapore for Contemporary Design Industry

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Singapore designSince Singaporean design market offers interesting opportunities for European SMEs, 40 selected companies recently took part of the EU Gateway Business Avenues mission to Singapore, where they met with local companies in the context of the International Furniture Trade Fair that took place at the Singapore Expo just last week. As IP protection is the key to successful new business endeavors abroad, then in today’s blog post, we have chosen to discuss IP protection issues in the contemporary design industry in Singapore. You will learn what you need to do in order to ensure that your product design is protected in Singapore. 

Market Opportunities for European SMEs in Singapore

Underpinned by the efforts of the Singapore’s government to promote a shift to a high-tech creative economy in the industrial design and lifestyle sectors, Singapore is rapidly becoming a contemporary design hub, operating as a gateway to the whole Asian region. Being present in Singapore’s market, would also give European SMEs an easy access to the rest of Asia.

The domestic market of Singapore is also very promising for European SMEs in design sector. Changes in lifestyle across business and consumer segments have increased the demand for high quality products and new design solutions, which offers many business opportunities to European designers. Furthermore, increasing awareness and appetite for eco-friendly solutions amongst Singaporean increasingly affluent middle class offers lucrative business opportunities for European SMEs specialized in eco-design and new design solutions.

Promising business opportunities for European SMEs are also expected in the long run, as the demand for higher quality retail consumption is expected to grow steadily in Singapore. Forecasts show that over one-third of Singapore households will earn more than €135,000 by 2018[1]. Continue reading “IPR Protection in Singapore for Contemporary Design Industry” »

How to Identify and Deal with IP Scams in China: Threat from Third Party Scam

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SCAMIn recent years, European SMEs have received more and more IP scam e-mails  warning them that someone else is wishing to register their trade mark in China and that urgent action is needed. Some SMEs have also fallen victim to these e-mails and have ended up losing quite substantial amounts of money. Therefore, in today’s blog post, we have chosen to discuss how to identify and deal with IP scams in China. The blog post will concentrate on one of the most popular e-mail  scam – ‘threat from the third party scam’. 

With more and more European SMEs having awareness of the importance of IP and the necessity of IP registration in China, their needs of IP services is increasingly growing. As stated in China’s IP laws, foreigners need to hire local Chinese agencies to file for registration of IP rights and attend to other trade mark or patent related matters such as prosecution, invalidation, renewal etc. Therefore, there is a vast market for IP services involving foreign businesses which in turn is attracting more and more local IP businesses to join this lucrative market.

However, the quality and level of services offered by practitioners differ significantly. Coupled with the lack of sufficient translation of key information on obtaining IP rights and registration procedures, this made it very easy for some agencies, lacking in professional ethics to devise various scams to trick foreign companies or use irresponsible methods to attract customers. Thus it is very important that the European SMEs would be able to distinguish IP scams and know where to find the correct information on IP services and what action can be taken to avoid or mitigate scams. Continue reading “How to Identify and Deal with IP Scams in China: Threat from Third Party Scam” »

Trade Fairs: Tips for Better Protection of IP Rights

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Trade fairs in China and South-East Asia are a good opportunity for European SMEs to introduce their product to a new market and to find potential partners, distributors and suppliers. However, there are many IP-related risks such as revealing IP assets to potential counterfeiters, when SMEs are attending trade fairs. Thus, SMEs should take specific steps such as registering their IP when going to trade fairs in order to protect their assets. In today’s blog post we have chosen to share with you an infographic explaining to European SMEs what steps they can take before, during and after trade fairs to protect their valuable IP.  

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