The Shanghai government will make it easier for businesses to create, apply for and manage the protection of their intellectual property.

By the end of 2010, 18 pieces of legislation, regulations and policies will have been announced to shore up intellectual property rights, city officials told a press conference yesterday.

The government is hoping to give a boost to the copyright industry and promote trademark strategy and brand building.

It will provide the service industry with consultations, training, record-filing facilities and registration services, as well as encourage companies to establish regulatory organizations, such as an alliance for IPR protection.

Tax and fiscal laws that are conducive to the development of IPR will also be unveiled, officials said.

The cost of copyright protection is expected to be reduced and the mechanism by which IPR disputes are solved will be improved.

A system to protect the intellectual property of major science, technology and economic projects will be put into place, and methods to protect IPR in the creative and outsourcing industries will be formulated, officials said.

The number of effective registered trademarks in Shanghai had reached 122,000 by the end of last year - a 90-percent increase from 2002. Between 2003 and 2007, the city's Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau handled 5,100 cases of trademark infringement involving foreign brands.

(Shanghai Daily September 25, 2008)