Foreign owners of intellectual property rights (IPR) receive the
same protection as their Chinese counterparts, because local IPR
laws are typically in tune with international ones, a senior
judicial official said yesterday.
"China adheres to 'national treatment' principles for foreign
rights holders, and they get due protection just like domestic
holders," said Cao Jianming, vice-president of the Supreme People's
Court.
Cao was commenting on the newly released list of the Top 10
civil IPR cases of 2006.
Involving disputes over patents, trademarks, copyright, unfair
competition and new plant species, the cases have aroused extensive
social attention. They have also resulted in the payment of more
than 3.3 million yuan ($427,500) in compensation, with the highest
single payment being 864,000 yuan.
International brands such as Sony, Starbucks, Louis Vuitton,
Nippon Paint, Chanel and New Balance have all filed and won IPR
cases as plaintiffs.
Louis Vuitton won a trademark infringement suit against
Carrefour's Shanghai joint venture for selling fake handbags.
In April 2006 it sued the supermarket after finding bags with
either a trademark or pattern similar to those used by the designer
label on sale at an outlet on Wuning Road.
Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court ordered Shanghai
Carrefour Lianhua Supermarket Co Ltd to pay 300,000 yuan
compensation.
Starbucks also won a trademark infringement and unfair
competition dispute with the Shanghai Xingbake coffee shop
chain.
Starbucks sued in December 2003 on grounds of the overuse of a
shared Chinese name. Last year, Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's
Court ordered Shanghai Xingbake to change its name and pay
Starbucks 500,000 yuan.
Sony, too, won its dispute with Guangzhou Top Power Electronics
Co Ltd, which it sued in April 2004, for infringing patent rights
by making type QM71D batteries.
Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court ordered the Guangzhou firm
to cease production, destroy stocks and moulds, and pay Sony
100,000 yuan compensation.
From 2002-06, courts dealt with 54,321 civil IPR cases on first
trial and concluded 52,437. Of those 931 involved an overseas
party.
Cao said that despite China's huge progress some developed
countries keep applying pressure as global IPR competition
intensifies.
He called on Western countries to choose dialogue to deal with
disputes so as to increase understanding and reduce opposition.
"It is impossible to solve in a short time contradictions
between China's economic and technical shortcomings as a developing
country and the high IPR protection standards proposed by developed
countries," Cao said.
(China Daily April 26, 2007)