Protecting foreign trademarks gets serious
Protecting foreign trademarks gets serious
09:54, March 19, 2010 
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Chinese law firms representing foreign trademarks are stepping up their efforts to protect their clients' intellectual property in China.
After last week's confiscation of fake badges with Hard Rock's trademark, Apple's trademark representative in China raided the Silk Street Market, a popular shopping center among tourists, Thursday for mp3 players with fake Apple logos.
A couple surnamed Zhang was arrested in Chongwen district for supplying fake iPods to Silk Street vendors. Apple's trademark representative, a law firm registered in Guangzhou, followed the couple for six months and caught their daily activities on tape before reporting the situation to the authorities. More than 200 fake iPhones and 400 fake iPods were confiscated.
Last week, IntellecPro, a Beijing intellectual property law firm representing the Hard Rock trademark, reported a fake Hard Rock badge vendor to the Xicheng Industrial and Commercial Bureau. More than 100 badges were confiscated and the vendor is now facing a fine.
"That's the hard part," said Zhao Tianying, lawyer with IntellecPro representing Hard Rock, "A fine isn't going to stop them. They just see it as the cost of doing this 'business.'"
Wang Ting, head of the trademark office for the Xicheng Industrial and Commercial Bureau, told the Global Times that there is nothing else the authorities can do besides fine offenders.
"It is not easy for foreign companies to protect their intellectual property in China," said Chen Dongpo, lawyer with Yingke Law Firm, "because the knock-off producers are highly flexible, the cost of collecting evidence is high and the returns are low." He added that lawyers are often forced to collect evidence on the edge of the law and such evidence is often deemed invalid by the court, mostly for invading other peo-ple's privacy.
Trademark representatives are willing to hire expensive investigators to serve their clients. Some prolific investigators can make more than 10,000 yuan ($1,464.72) a month, the Beijing Time reports.
China's laws require a Chinese law firm to represent foreign companies involved in intellectual property disputes. Intellectual property representatives are currently a booming market and violation investigators a hot job.
"We are not fighting for the result, but for the sake of fighting," said Zhao.
Source: Global Times
After last week's confiscation of fake badges with Hard Rock's trademark, Apple's trademark representative in China raided the Silk Street Market, a popular shopping center among tourists, Thursday for mp3 players with fake Apple logos.
A couple surnamed Zhang was arrested in Chongwen district for supplying fake iPods to Silk Street vendors. Apple's trademark representative, a law firm registered in Guangzhou, followed the couple for six months and caught their daily activities on tape before reporting the situation to the authorities. More than 200 fake iPhones and 400 fake iPods were confiscated.
Last week, IntellecPro, a Beijing intellectual property law firm representing the Hard Rock trademark, reported a fake Hard Rock badge vendor to the Xicheng Industrial and Commercial Bureau. More than 100 badges were confiscated and the vendor is now facing a fine.
"That's the hard part," said Zhao Tianying, lawyer with IntellecPro representing Hard Rock, "A fine isn't going to stop them. They just see it as the cost of doing this 'business.'"
Wang Ting, head of the trademark office for the Xicheng Industrial and Commercial Bureau, told the Global Times that there is nothing else the authorities can do besides fine offenders.
"It is not easy for foreign companies to protect their intellectual property in China," said Chen Dongpo, lawyer with Yingke Law Firm, "because the knock-off producers are highly flexible, the cost of collecting evidence is high and the returns are low." He added that lawyers are often forced to collect evidence on the edge of the law and such evidence is often deemed invalid by the court, mostly for invading other peo-ple's privacy.
Trademark representatives are willing to hire expensive investigators to serve their clients. Some prolific investigators can make more than 10,000 yuan ($1,464.72) a month, the Beijing Time reports.
China's laws require a Chinese law firm to represent foreign companies involved in intellectual property disputes. Intellectual property representatives are currently a booming market and violation investigators a hot job.
"We are not fighting for the result, but for the sake of fighting," said Zhao.
Source: Global Times
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