After winning the “Deals of the Year 2018” award from China Business Law Journal in 2019, Corner Stone & Partners scooped an honor from it once again.

On 8 April 2020, China Business Law Journal revealed the winners of the China Business Law Awards 2020. Corner Stone & Partners, which builds on its many years’ practice in the legal market and takes unremitting efforts to meet the demand for diversified, refined and specialized legal services from different enterprises and strive to be a boutique firm in the area of its practice, received the “Best Law Firms” award for its impressive achievements in the IP field.

The year 2020 is the 10th year of Corner Stone & Partners. The award from China Business Law Journal is, no doubt, a great reward for our whole staff’s outstanding work.

Read more: https://www.vantageasia.com/china-law-firms-2020

On the afternoon of August 16, 2019, the "Classic Case Sharing Session" organized by CORNER STONE & PARTNERS was held in the office of Beijing Tianyuangang Center. Representatives from more than 20 law firms, intellectual property agencies, and enterprises were invited to the session.

The session was chaired by Mr. Fu Zhenkun, a lawyer and senior partner of CORNER STONE & PARTNERS. Ms. Yang Siping, a partner of CORNER STONE & PARTNERS, Ms. Kang Lixia, a partner of Beijing Congzhen Law Firm, Ms. Huang Xuefang, a lawyer of Marks & Clerk Intellectual Property Firm, Ms. Xiao Yuexin, a partner of Tai&Tai Law Firm, and Mr. Jiang Liwei, a former judge of Beijing Intellectual Property Court and a lawyer of Beijing Liande law Firm, delivered wonderful speeches respectively.

The participants expressed their great appreciation and recognition of the speeches which lasted about three hours. Mr. Fu Zhenkun made concluding remarks and welcomed the participants to attend the next session.

On April 26, 2019, the World Intellectual Property Day, the list of Top 50 China’s Outstanding Intellectual Property Lawyers was released jointly by Zhichanli and IPRdaily. Mr. Fu Zhenkun, the attorney-at-law and senior partner at Corner Stone & Partners, is among them. On May 31, the award reception was held in the Four Points by Sheraton Beijing Haidian Hotel.

With the help of Big Data and in combination with corporate ratings, the jury finally selected 50 outstanding intellectual property lawyers in China. Mr. Fu Zhenkun, the attorney-at-law and senior partner at our firm, was awarded the distinction.

Having been engaged in IP legal services since 1999, Mr. Fu has a wealth of experience in trademark and patent infringement, anti-counterfeiting, anti-unfair competition and other related fields. As one of the most senior IP lawyers in China, he is good at resolving IP disputes for our clients by means of litigation and non-litigation. He has handled more than 1,000 IP cases, successfully settling numerous important and difficult cases for many Fortune 500 companies, including Nestle, Estee Lauder, Wyeth, and NBA.

From May 18 through May 22, 2019, Boston, known as the cradle of the USA’s history, caught attention of the IP professionals worldwide, where the 141st INTA Annual Meeting took place and brought together 11,000 attendees from over 150 countries. As an INTA member, Corner Stone & Partners was invited to the big event. Four partners at our firm, specifically Brenda Zhao, Maggie Yang, Nick Ji, and Qi Yongqiang, attended the meeting.

During the 5-day meeting, we had over 160 meetings with our old or new clients. We value every opportunity of communicating with our clients face to face to take advantage of every INTA platform to communicate in depth with IP experts, academics, and practitioners from all over the world and share Corner Stone’s achievements and good experience in recent years in the fields of trademark and patent agency both at home and abroad, copyright protection, IP infringement litigation, and anti-infringement/counterfeiting.

During the INTA annual meeting, Ms. Brenda Zhao, a senior Partner of our firm and the Chair of the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee of the ADR and Mediation Committee of INTA, was interviewed by INTA’s official reporters by invitation.

On May 30, 2019, Corner Stone’s partners got together to review the INTA annual meeting with a view to better serving our clients and adapting to the new trends in the international IP development.

Corner Stone always adopts the philosophy of “professionalism, efficiency, quality, and integrity” and upholds the principle of “quality coming first, being loyal to our clients, and being service-oriented”, exerting the collective wisdom and advantages of our team to do our best to provide our clients worldwide with efficient, high-quality and professional IP legal services.

 At the invitation of Corner Stone & Partners, three experts from IP-PORTUNITY, a renowned American consulting company, visited Beijing from April 4 to 6, 2019 to provide a three-day intensive training for our management team. The training on the themes of "Corporate Strategic Planning" and "Personal Skills Development" was conducted at The Westin Beijing Chaoyang. 

All the members of the team from the US, the UK and Germany have nearly 30 years of experience in the field of intellectual property and brand management around the world. They analyzed "strategic planning" and "personal skills development" all round from the international IP perspective. Combining theory and practice, they explored many aspects, including the SWOT analysis, setting SMART goals, networking, raising profile, and client caring. Based on their theory and hands-on experience, they provided us with professional advice on how to set corporate goals, how to develop feasible plans and implement them, and how to improve the relationship with clients.

The management of Corner Stone & Partners actively interacted with the three experts, discussing the importance of China’s law firms’ exerting their own advantages, grasping opportunities, rising to challenges, and constantly transcending thinking limitations when they develop internationally.

The extensive and in-depth exchanges between the management of Corner Stone & Partners and the international IP professionals have greatly enhanced the management's sense of responsibility and cohesion. Corner Stone & Partners has always upheld the concept of "A Foundation To Your Success" to strive for perfection, continuously improve our core competitiveness, and provide professional, high-quality and efficient IP legal services for our clients worldwide.

The 2019 INTA Roundtable Beijing, China was organized by Corner Stone & Partners at Corner Stone & Partners Beijing Office on April 19, 2019. The theme of this roundtable was “Current Intellectual Property Issues Involving the Internet”. Representatives from law firms, IP agencies, and corporate legal departments joined us for study and discussion.

The roundtable was hosted by Ms. Brenda, Zhao, Senior Partner of Corner Stone & Partners. Mr. Conan Chen, Brand Protection Director of L BRANDS; Ms. Zhang Yuemei, former Senior Examiner at Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB); Ms. Li Yanrong, former judge from Beijing Intellectual Property Court; and Mr. Fu Zhenkun, the Attorney-at-law and Senior Partner of Corner Stone & Partners delivered excellent speeches.

The speeches were followed by an animated discussion as to the use of a trademark defined in the Trademark Law of China and descriptive use of a trademark, the application of good-faith principle during the trademark application and examination, and the details of the cases mentioned in the speakers’ speeches. The roundtable lasted from 2 pm to 6 pm. The attendees spoke highly of the four guest speakers’ pragmatic style and great expertise.

 On April 11, 2019, the “Seminar on Internet-related Intellectual Property Hot Issues” was successfully held in Corner Stone & Partners. The seminar, hosted by the China Anti-Infringement and Anti-Counterfeit Innovation Strategic Alliance (hereinafter referred to as “CAASA”) and organized by Corner Stone & Partners, welcomed representatives from more than twenty enterprises including Nestlé, Electronic Data Judicial Appraisal Center of the National Information Center, Speedway Network, etc.

Ms. Brenda Zhao, a senior partner of Corner Stone & Partners acted as the hostess. Mr. Fu Zhenkun, a senior partner of Corner Stone & Partners, gave a keynote speech on “Types of Internet Intellectual Property Infringement Cases and Countermeasures thereto”.

Mr. Ke Jun, Deputy Dean of Intellectual Property Protection Institute of CAASA, delivered a keynote speech on "Multi-dimensional Protection System for Intellectual Property by The Whole Society".

During the Q&A session, the keynote speakers had a lively discussion on the hot issues of internet intellectual property with the participants. The participants expressed that the seminar was successful and fruitful.

Corner Stone & Partners has received a “Deals of the Year 2018” award from the China Business Law Journal on February 1, 2019 for its excellent work on successfully revoking several bad-faith trademarks registered by Guangzhou Wyeth Maternal and Child Supplies Co., Ltd. The deal lasted 16 years. Corner Stone & Partners represented Wyeth since 2013 onward.

The partners in charge of the awarded deal from Corner stone & Partners are Mr. Zhenkun Fu, Ms. Brenda Zhao and Ms. Maggie Yang. Corner Stone & partners has completed several landmark deals including this awarded deal in a complicated and competitive environment, provided excellent and efficient legal services for its clients.

China Business Law Journal awards firms for their outstanding legal deals throughout the year, as nominated by China-focused corporate counsel and legal professionals around the world. “Deals of the year” awards are presented annually and are based on hundreds of nominations from in-house counsels and other qualified observers, and research conducted by China Business Law Journal’s independent editorial team. The editorial team made their own choices on the deals they felt were the shining stars for the year. The winning deals have, been chosen based on various factors. China Business Law Journal’s editorial team attaches most importance to the overall significance, complexity and innovative nature of the deals and cases, while also takes into account the deal size and broader interests.
 

 Corner Stone & Partners’ chief attorney Mr. Zhenkun Fu and senior partner Ms. Brenda Zhao wrote the article “Legal Protection of Business Name Rights of Foreign Companies in China” that has been picked as the cover story for the first issue of world famous Trademark Lawyer Magazine for 2018.

Our article was published by one of top IP magazines shows that our high quality professional legal services have been recognized in the world. It also means that the quality of our legal services has achieved a new high. In the new year, Corner Stone & Partners will continue making efforts to provide a higher quality of legal services to clients.

Recently, the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) published Reference Table for International Design Classification and National Economy Industries Classification (trial) (hereinafter referred to as the Reference Table) for the first time. The Reference Table establishes mapping relationship between design patents and national economy industries to provide a direct reference for industrial classification of design patent.

The Reference Table complies with the principle of minimum classification, product comparison and comprehensive comparison, and compares the international design classification to the corresponding small, medium or large categories in the national economy industries. The national economy, which has a mapping relationship with the international design classification, has a total of 243 sub-categories, 22 middle-level categories and 1 large-scale category, all concentrated in the manufacturing sector.

The reference table, formulated by SIPO, is a significant and fundamental project to strengthen the related evaluation of patent activities and economic benefits proposed in the Protection and Application of Intellectual Property Rights during the 13th Five-year Plan. So far, China has initially established a patent classification system covering international patent classification and international design classification as well as a reference system of national economy industries.

 On September 19, 2017, an international forum on the theme of anti-counterfeiting, i.e. the International Forum on Online Anti-Counterfeiting

for Renowned Corporations and Brands, was held in Hangzhou. Over 100 attendees on the forum included the officials from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of PRC,  the Office of National Leading Group of the Fight against IPR Infringement and Counterfeiting under the State Council of PRC, the Economic Crime Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security of PRC, Hangzhou Municipal People’s Government, and the International Trademark Association, and the representatives of some world-renowned corporations and brands.

This forum aimed to share the anti-counterfeiting experience among the world-renowned corporations and bands, promote the formation of a mechanism for co-supervising the quality of online goods, safeguard the legal rights and interests of the brand products manufacturers, e-commerce platforms, and consumers, maintain a good online market order, and facilitate the rapid and healthy development of e-commerce business.

1.     Li Qiangyu, Vice Secretary-General of Hangzhou Municipal Government

Hangzhou stays in the lead in the e-commerce business nationwide. In China, 85% of online retails and 60% of B2B transactions are completed on the e-commerce platforms in Hangzhou. Over the next five years, Hangzhou will grasp the opportunities afforded by the post-G20 Hangzhou Summit and the forthcoming Hangzhou Asian Games.

2.     Xing Zeliang, Deputy Inspector of Zhejiang Provincial Quality Supervision Bureau

The problem of online counterfeiting in the Internet era is increasingly attracting attention. Statistics indicate that the counterfeits worldwide are valued at CNY 460 billion, which suggests the scale of their harmful effect.

Zhejiang will continue to play the lead role in the work with the national cooperative network of the fight against online counterfeiting, including leading the exploration of necessary standards and promoting the demonstration of quality improvement.

3.     Lou Yejie, Director of Hangzhou Municipal Quality Supervision Bureau

The supervision for the quality of online goods is still in the process of exploration and practice, crying out for overall planning in the top system design and for cooperation among all stakeholders. Four years of practice suggests that standardization is an important base, big data is an important support, and greater cooperation is an important force.

4.     Seth Hays, INTA’s Chief Representative in the Asia-Pacific Region

Why is a trademark so important? Because it serves as a source of information about goods, it may help enterprises compete in the market, and it may help us facilitate innovations. The International Trademark Association is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in the US. Our members are from every corner of the globe. The INTA has a four-year strategic plan, in which it will focus on three strategic directions: promoting the value of trademarks and brands, reinforcing consumer trust, and embracing innovation and change.

5.     Tiffany Pho, INTA Anti-counterfeiting Coordinator

How much on earth is the harmful effect of counterfeits? One estimate predicts that the counterfeit and shoddy goods worldwide will be valued at USD 2.8 trillion by 2022. It is a terrible figure. These counterfeits will produce serious effects on the society and economy.

We have currently cooperated with public sectors and governments in many areas. We have 273 members. Our aim is to train our consumers and increase their brand awareness through collaborations among all stakeholders and cooperation with enterprises.

 Video games maker Nintendo has opposed a trademark filed by an Oklahoma-based couple looking to use the name ‘Poké Go’ for clothing.

In July last year, Mark and Michelle Gorell filed the trademark for use in class 25 at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The trademark was published for opposition in December 2016.

Nintendo filed its notice of opposition on Wednesday, April 19, claiming that if the trademark was registered it would be confusingly similar, cause dilution by blurring and tarnishment, and would be deceptive.

The Japan-based company owns a number of ‘Poké’ related trademarks that have been registered since 2000.

These include a variety of ‘Pokémon’ related marks used on clothing and electronics known as its “Poké family”.

Nintendo stated in the notice that because the filing dates and first use of its Poké family of marks predate that of the defendants, “Nintendo’s rights are senior to those of the applicants”.

The video games maker added that the related nature of the goods and similarity between the use and registration of the term ‘Poké Go’ are likely to cause confusion or deception that they are endorsed or approved by Nintendo.

A search of the US trademark register for Nintendo’s Poké family of marks reveals approximately 60 registrations and applications with the Poké prefix.

These include a variety of Pokémon Go related trademarks filed in March 2016, ahead of the game’s release in July of that year.

Nintendo claimed that use of ‘Poké Go’ by the defendant “is likely to cause dilution of the distinctive quality of Poké trademarks by tarnishment and blurring in view of Nintendo’s long and extensive prior use”.

 In accordance with No. 20 Docuemnt by the Ministry of Finance and the Commission of the Development and Reform, China Trademark Office cut official fee by half since April 1, 2017. The detailed trademark fee schedule is listed as follows:

China Trademark Office

March 30, 2017

On February 24, 2017, “INTA 2017 Mediation Roundtable Meeting in Beijing” was held at Kerry Hotel hosted by Corner Stone & Partners. About 40 People from IP society including Ms. Vicky Dai from INTA China Shanghai Office, lawyers, attorneys and legal counsels from law firms and IP agencies participated in the meeting.

The moderator Ms. Brenda Zhao, member of the INTA ADR Committee, delivered an opening speech. Vicky introduced a rapid development of the INTA in China and the focus of future works.

Mr. Fu Zhenkun, senior partner of Corner Stone & Partners, made a keynote speech by introducing several typical cases, further elaborating a use of mediation in the patent infringement disputes and trademark infringement disputes in IP cases. He provides all the factors that shall be taken into account in the use of mediation in IP practice.

Guest speaker, Ms. Xie Zhenke, Chief Judge of IP Tribunal, Beijing Higher People’s Court, made an all-around introduction of the applicable policies and legal grounds as well as the development status of mediation in IP protection and important areas of mediation. Ms. Xie also made constructive suggestions for the establishment of “diversified dispute settlement mechanism that focused on mediation”. She introduced the practical use of mediation in IP administrative cases by presenting actual cases.

Speakers had a lively discussion with participants by clarifying questions raised by audiences as well as friendly talking with attendees during the coffee break. At the end, Brenda thanked all the guests and wrapped up INTA 2017 Beijing Mediation Roundtable Meeting.

 Source: WIPO

In 2017 we celebrate Innovation-Improving Lives

Every day, ordinary people are producing extraordinary new things to change the world for the better.

Their innovations take myriad forms, from the mundane to the seemingly miraculous: A billboard in Peru that harvests water from the air, supplying the local community with clean drinking water; a 3D-printer at an American university that regenerates damaged human tissue; a mobile money transfer and microfinancing service from Kenya, renewable energy solutions that power fridges in rural India; a graphene battery from China that charges a mobile phone in minutes; cutting-edge assistive technologies from the Russian Federation to help people with disabilities perform everyday tasks.

Problems to progress

From new medicines and materials to improved crop varieties and communications, innovation is making our lives healthier, safer, and more comfortable.

Innovation is a human force that knows no limits. It turns problems into progress. It pushes the boundaries of possibility, creating unprecedented new capabilities.

World Intellectual Property Day 2017 celebrates that creative force. We’ll explore how some of the world’s most extraordinary innovations have improved our lives; and how new ideas are helping tackle shared global challenges, such as climate change, health, poverty and the need to feed an ever-expanding population.

We’ll look at how the intellectual property system supports innovation by attracting investment, rewarding creators, encouraging them to develop their ideas, and ensuring that their new knowledge is freely available so that tomorrow’s innovators can build on today’s new technology.

Your turn

Which innovation has most improved your life? What more can be done to make sure new technologies reach the people who need them? What do you think should be the priorities for future innovation?

 On January 19, the State Intellectual Property Office of the P.R.C (SIPO) held a news conference in Beijing releasing the statistics and related situation of the major works in 2016. In 2016, all indexes - both quantity and quality ones - of the intellectual property (IP) development in China rose. The number of domestic inventions exceeded 1 million for the first time, and enterprises continued to play a dominant role in IP creation and utilization.

According to statistics released this time, in 2016, the SIPO received 1.339 million applications for inventions, which increased 21.5% compared with the previous year. The number has ranked top of the world for six successive years.

The data shows that in 2016, there were 4843 public patent applications filed by China in the “Belt and Road” countries (not including China), which increased 47.1% compared with the previous year. The were 18 countries to receive patent applications, which was three more compared with the previous year. The number of patent applications filed by the “Belt and Road” countries in China was 3697, which increased 18.2% compared with the previous year. Data related to administrative enforcement of patent law, cases involving requests for reexamination and invalidationt, and the patent agency industry was also released at the conference.

According to person-in-charge of the SIPO, a comprehensive analysis of the major statistics reveal the following four characteristics: 1) the number of domestic ownership of inventions in China exceeded 1 million, which made China the third country in the world with the number of domestic ownership of inventions exceeding 1 million, following the U.S. and Japan; 2) the creation of inventions in China improved both in terms of quantity and quality. The percentage of domestic applications for inventions among all types of patent application remained at 40% in 2016, with the enterprises’ applications for and authorization of inventions reaching over 60%. The patent creation and utilization ability of innovative subjects - mainly featured by enterprises - continued to rise; 3) compared with other countries, there still exists disparities between the patent layouts in some fields. Among the 35 technology fields divided by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the number of domestic patent ownership in 29 fields was higher than the number of inventions filed by foreign countries in China, which was one more compared with the previous year. However, in 6 fields such as optics and engine, the disparities are still obvious; 4) the tendency of Chinese applicants applying for patents overseas is growing rapidly. During the implementation process of the “go global” strategy, numerous innovative enterprises which attached importance to and relied on IP for international competition appeared, and the number of international applications for PCT set a new record. However, China still falls behind developed countries in its ability of overseas patent layout. (Translated from China IP News)

Nov.28 (China Daily) -- China is driving Asian-led growth in innovation worldwide, becoming the first country to file 1 million patent applications in a single year, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said on Wednesday.
Chinese innovators filed most of their 2015 applications in electrical engineering, which includes telecoms, followed by computer technology and semiconductors, and measurement instruments, including medical technology, the UN agency said.
"The figures for China are quite extraordinary. It is the first patent office in the world to receive more than 1 million applications," WIPO director-general Francis Gurry told a news briefing to launch its report, "World Intellectual Property Indicators".
The bulk of China's 1.01 million applications were for domestic protection in patents, trademarks and industrial design, with only some 42,154 filed abroad, he said.
But there is a "slow and gradual" increase in China's applications for international patents, Gurry said. "They are in process of making innovation a central point of their economic strategy."
"Once again we see an increasing dominance almost by Asia as the origin of filing activity for intellectual property. If you look at the figures, you see 62 percent of global filing activity for patents is located in Asia, 55 of global activity in trademarks is located in Asia and 68 percent of design applications are in Asia," he added.
Worldwide, some 2.9 million patent applications were filed last year, a 7.8 percent increase over 2014, WIPO said. Roughly two in three patents are ultimately approved, Gurry said.
The United States ranked second last year with 526,296 patent applications, followed by Japan at 454,285 and South Korea with 238,015.
Gurry was asked about protectionist remarks by US President-elect Donald Trump, who has announced he would kill an ambitious regional trade pact, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), and consequences for innovation. Gurry said there had been no general policy statement on innovation thusfar.
"In respect of the trade element, what we can say is that the United States remains clearly the biggest filer of applications externally (abroad). So this obviously is related to trade and investment," he said.
"So they have important stakes, very important stakes in intellectual property and trade." 

Nov.29 -- Recently, cohosted by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the 13th Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum (SIIPF) was opened in Shanghai. The theme for the forum was "Building Respect for Intellectual Property - Stimulating Innovation and Creativity." Mayor of Shanghai Yang Xiong, Commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office of the P.R.C (SIPO) Shen Changyu and Deputy Director General of the WIPO Wang Binying attended and addressed the opening ceremony.
Assistant Director General of the WIPO Minelik Getahun and Deputy Mayor of Shanghai Zhao Wen also attended the opening ceremony. Over 300 representatives from the WIPO, Chinese and foreign government administrative departments in charge of IP affairs, the business circle and the IP circle participated in the forum.
During the forum, Shen Changyu, Wang Binying and Zhao Wen together witnessed the founding of the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property. Relying on the Tongji University, the college was an international college built by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government to cultivate high level IP talents. Shen Changyu expressed his congratulations to its founding, and hoped that the college makes use of its multiple excellent resources, highlights its features of internationalized school-running, and strives to become an eminent institution that cultivates IP talents for the nation. The college is expected to become a base for academic researches and an important platform for international cooperation and communication at the same time and the ultimate purpose is to provide strong talent and intellectual supports to building China into an IP-strong country. Secretary of the party committee of the Tongji University Yang Xianjin and Principle Zhong Zhihua attended the founding ceremony. (Translated from China IP News) 

Nov.28 (China IP News) -- "It is my very first time to visit China. The great achievement of State Intellectual Property Office of the P.R.C (SIPO), the number of staff at SIPO and the huge volume of Chinese designs made extremely impression on me." said Mr. Christian Archambeau, Deputy Executive Director of European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). In an interview of China Intellectual Property News (CIP News) during 2016 ID5 Annual Meeting, Archambeau spoke highly of the ID5 and of the bilateral cooperation between SIPO and EUIPO.
In recent years, EUIPO launched fruitful IP cooperation with SIPO. According to Archambeau, as early as 2012, SIPO and OHIM (EUIPO's predecessor) have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on bilateral cooperation. A great series of achievements have been made over the years. "As the largest EU agency dealing exclusively with IP rights and the office dealing with the largest amount of design applications, the great relationship between SIPO and the EUIPO is certainly worth highlighting," said Archambeau. To him, communications between the two offices are very friendly and constructive. "We are always delighted to learn more about what we have in common and any differences so we can share best practices," he added.
With more and more Chinese companies going abroad, the European market shows its welcome to them. "I have seen the exhibition of Chinese companies' designs. Companies like Lenovo made outstanding achievements in IP field." Archambeau expressed great willingness to work together with SIPO in providing better service on IP for industries, especially for those Chinese companies which go abroad.
Archambeau expressed his appreciation of SIPO's accomplishment in the ID5 Annual Meeting in Beijing. "In 2016 ID5 Annual Meeting, the most important thing from EUIPO's perspective is that we focus on projects and outcomes and not simply studies." Archambeau declared the main goal of EUIPO to implement the outcome. Besides, Archambeau showed his interests in ID5 temporary website, which was launched during the annual meeting, "This should help publicize what we are doing and make things more transparent."
"Next year EUIPO is looking forward to hosting the third round of ID5 mid-term and annual meetings. For the future cooperation with SIPO, we are finalizing a new MOU that will further enhance cooperation," said Archambeau, "Under the framework of EUIPO's new Strategic Plan 2020, we hope to strengthen the cooperation between the two offices with even greater focus on helping Chinese and European users." According to him, the main aims of the cooperation will be to improve operational effectiveness, improve access to the IP system and jointly build a highly-efficient and interoperable IP system. (by Sun Di/photo by Jiang Wenjie) 

Nov.30 (China IP News) -- The 12th National People's Congress of China recently passed Cyber Security Law, which would be a basic law in China's cyber field. The Law will be put into force on June 1st, 2017, and will be focused on personal information protection, cyber intellectual property protection, and anti- cyber fraud.
According to the law, the State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall make overall plans and provide more financial investment to support cyber security technology in key industries and projects, to promote researching and application in cyber security technology, to popularize safe and credible cyber products and services, to protect cyber intellectual property, and to encourage companies, research agencies and universities taking part in China's cyber security technological innovation projects.
To address the issue of personal information protection, the law rules that, any cyber product or service may collect users' information shall express the function to users and obtain the consent first; any ISP shall not reveal, tamper and damage users' personal information collected; any person or organization shall not steal or illegally obtain users' personal information, and shall not illegally sell or supply users' personal information to others. The law also ruled the responsibility to be borne by the offender. 

Nov.30 (China Daily) -- China continues to drive the world's development of innovation and intellectual property in various sectors, according to the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2016, unveiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization last week in Geneva.
"As policy-makers seek to invigorate growth around the world, it is encouraging to report that intellectual property filing activity saw healthy progress in 2015," said WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry. "While China continues to drive global increases, IP use grew in most countries in 2015, reflecting its increasing importance in a globalized knowledge economy."
The report said that innovators around the world lodged some 2.9 million patent applications in 2015, representing a 7.8 percent increase over 2014 and the sixth consecutive year of rising demand for patent protection.

 Individuals and organizations in China filed more than 1.1 million patent applications last year, making the State Intellectual Property Office of China the first office to receive more than 1 million applications in a single year - including filings both from residents in China and from overseas innovators seeking patent protection in China.
The number nearly equals that of the next three offices combined: the United States, Japan and South Korea. These countries and the European Patent Office, which took fifth place, accounted for 82.5 percent of the world total in 2015.
Computer technology took the largest share of published patent applications worldwide, accounting for 7.9 percent, followed by electrical machinery and digital communication.
More than 1.2 million patents were granted worldwide in 2015, up 5.2 percent from 2014, the fastest growth rate since 2012. The report said the main reason for the growth is the increase of patents granted in China, totaling 359,316 in 2015, overtaking the US Patent and Trademark Office to become the largest office in terms of patents granted.
Meanwhile, roughly 6 million trademark applications, covering 8.4 million classes, were filed globally in 2015, increasing 15.3 percent year-on-year, representing the highest growth rate since 2000.
China, again, saw the highest trademark filing activity in that year, with 2.8 million applications, followed by the US, Europe, Japan and India.
Around 4.4 million trademark registrations covering 6.2 million classes were recorded worldwide in 2015.
In terms of industrial designs, professionals from across the world filed 872,800 applications in 2015, growing by 2.3 percent year-onyear. They contain 1.1 million designs, as some offices allow applications to contain more than one design.
China's IP authority received applications containing 569,059 designs, accounting for half of the world's total.
In addition, this year's report considered the gender of inventors listed in patent filings under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. The statistics showed that female inventors remained a minority, although women's participation in international patenting has increased over the past two decades.
The share of PCT applications with at least one female inventor increased from 17 percent in 1995 to 29 percent in 2015.
The total number of female inventors recorded in PCT applications increased from only 7,780 in 1995 to 81,316 in 2015, while male inventors recorded in applications stood much higher at 455,624 last year.