Porcelain patent pirates pay piper
( 2003-12-23 09:30) (China Daily)
Known as China's porcelain
capital for its marvelous craftsmanship, Jingdezhen city is taking companies to
court to safeguard its reputation and to protect its patents.
"Laws are the best weapons to protect Jingdezhen's intellectual property
rights," said Hong Kemin, presiding judge over intellectual property rights at
the Jingdezhen City Intermediate People's Court in eastern Jiangxi Province.
"It is undoubtedly a life-or-death war for Jingdezhen to revive its glory
against patent infringement," Hong said. "Trademark violations and patent
encroachment are the major cause for the decline of the Jingdezhen porcelain
industry."
Since its establishment in October 1999, the intellectual property rights
court in Jingdezhen has handled 130 cases, helping trademark holders and
craftsmen retrieve direct economic losses of some 30 million yuan (US$3.6
million).
Meanwhile, applications for patents on ceramic products in Jingdezhen have
currently to more than 2,000 every year from just 60 before 1999, according to
city government statistics.
Increasing awareness of patent and trademark strategy has even led to the
registration of "Jingdezhen," the porcelain capital's name, as a trademark by
the Jingdezhen Ceramic Association in 1999.
The association sued Shanghai Guorong Investment Company recently for
intellectual property rights infringement, saying the company's organization of
a ceramic products commodities fair in name of Jingdezhen porcelain early this
year in Singapore and Cambodia had damaged its trademark rights.
"This row over the trademark of 'Jingdezhen' is just tip of the iceberg,"
Hong said. "The concept of intellectual property rights has just begun to be
aroused in the city."
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