VOL. 19 NO. 08 AUG. 16, 2011 http://www.industry.net.tw http://www.patent.org.tw
Cross-Strait IPR
The Chinese National Federation of Industries Published a Research Report
on Issues Related to Cross-Strait Intellectual Property Rights and Plans
to Protect the Rights of Taiwanese Investors in July 2011.
Taiwan is the 7th largest trade partner and the 5th largest investing country to China, at the same time China is the largest trade partner to Taiwan.
Taiwanese investors have invested from the traditional industries to high tech industries in China, regarding China as a manufacturing base with significant strategic importance. As the operating cost incurred in China increases, intellectual property right protection becomes an important key to ensure the corporations can establish a long term development in China.
However, the economic interactions across the Strait have always been a cooperative and competitive one. Taiwan has transformed itself into an economy focusing on research and development as well as creativity in recent years.
As the high tech companies in Taiwan planned out global strategies for expansion, the reliance on the trade investment in China has increased dramatically. As such, it is necessary to find rapid and effective solutions to resolve intellectual property rights issues faced by the
Taiwanese investors. In the post-ECFA era after the signing of the Cross-Strait Agreement on IPR Protection, it is exceptionally important to implement the IPR protection for the Taiwanese investors in China.
As a result, the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs assigned the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) to complete the Research Report on Issues Related to Cross-Strait Intellectual Property Rights and Plans to Protect the Rights of Taiwanese Investors in July of this year.
The purpose of this Report is to facilitate the implementation of the collaborative mechanism in enforcement related to the intellectual property rights across the Strait so as to prevent issues from happening, to reflect existing issues, and to effectively resolve the issues encountered by the Taiwanese investors in accordance with the government policies. It is also the purpose of this Report to help the Taiwanese investors to understand that the government does pay attention to their rights in China. Thus, this Research is conducted from a practical aspect to study the administrative protection of the intellectual property rights in China, the judicial protection of the intellectual property rights in China and the actions to be done by the Taiwanese investors, as well as the strategies and operations to combat piracy across the Strait.
The Research is not only used as a reference to the Research on Contacts and Collaborative Handling Mechanism for Cross-Strait Intellectual Property Rights Issues, but also will help the Taiwanese investors in the administrative enforcement and judicial protection in intellectual property rights.
Additionally, in order to provide the Taiwanese investors with information on the handling procedures related to intellectual property rights, the CNFI not only published the Manual on Intellectual Property Rights Services in China for Taiwanese Investors for the first time, but also continues operating and publishing the Intellectual Property Rights Service Network for Taiwanese Investors in China as well as the monthly Intellectual Property Rights Electronic Newspaper for Taiwanese Investors in China.
The CNFI hopes to effectively assist the Taiwanese investors in handling intellectual property rights related issues in China, and at the same time facilitate in combating piracy across the Strait so as to protect the intellectual property rights of the Taiwanese investors.
The CNFI also hopes to provide the Taiwanese investors with sufficient information to resolve intellectual property rights related questions.
The main points of this Research Report are summarized by chapters as below:
1. Judicial protection of the intellectual property rights in China as well as actions to be done by the Taiwanese investors: The Research is conducted in the following topics: court organization and judge system in China, intellectual property rights review system, jurisdiction of each court level responsible for civil actions related to intellectual property rights, intellectual property rights cases
reviewed by the court, review court for intellectual property rights, as well as a pilot program of three reviews in one, current status and practice on the determination of infringement, representative cases of major types of cases related to the Taiwanese investors, and ways to resolve the issues faced by the Taiwanese investors in China.
2. Administrative protection of the intellectual property rights in China: The Research is conducted from the following aspects to study the operation of the administrative enforcement of the intellectual property rights in China: current enforcement practice in administrative protection of the intellectual property rights in China, the link between the administrative enforcement of the intellectual property rights and the judicial review in China, the legal basis, enforcement institution, types of cases related to patent, trademark, anti-competition as well as custom, as well as the legal responsibility, data analysis, infringement and piracy related questions.
Additionally, this Research focuses on the main issues and the resolutions regarding the administrative enforcement across geographical areas and related agencies in China, as well as the main issues and the resolutions regarding existing administrative enforcement and judicial links.
3. Contacts for issues related to cross-strait intellectual property rights and the collaborative handling procedures: The Research focuses on the following topics to study the contacts for issues related to cross-strait official intellectual property rights and the collaborative handling procedures:
The need to contact involving issues related
to cross-strait official intellectual property rights as well as the types of problems related to the collaborative handling procedures, the current operation of the Taiwanese official contacts for issues related to intellectual property rights and the collaborative handling mechanism, as well as the strengthening of the contacts for issues related to cross-strait intellectual property rights and the handling procedures. Additionally, the Research focuses the following topics to study the assistance of civil platform to strengthen the contacts for issues related to cross-straight intellectual property rights and the collaborative handling procedures: The current operations and functions of the existing civil platform for cross-strait intellectual property rights, the operating models of Quality Brands Protection Committee of China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (“QBPC” hereinafter) and experience and recommendation sharing, as well as the strengthening of the civil platform for cross-strait intellectual property rights.
4. Collaborative combat against piracy: The Research focuses on the developing trend of the criminal activities in patent, trademark and copyright infringements across the Strait and the comparison thereof, judicial collaboration to combat piracy across the Strait, the operating mechanisms and measures between the United States, European Union, Japan and China to combat piracy as well as the operating mechanism across the Strait to combat piracy and the difficulties faced.
5. The first edition of the Manual for Intellectual Property Rights Service for
Taiwanese Investors in China is published.
The content includes (1) the organization, function, website and contact information related to important intellectual property rights institutions in China, including the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, the National Copyright Administration of the People’s Republic of China, and 5 Copyright collective management organizations; (2) the intellectual property rights protection system in China:
the legal system, the administrative protection system, the judicial protection system; (3) the intellectual property rights filing, registration and the standard operation procedures (SOP) for administrative and judicial protection, 29 tables in total; (4) copyright authentication for video music articles; (5) frequent intellectual property rights Q&A in China, 25 items in total; (6) case summary and representative meaning of the 10 most important cases in the judicial protection of the intellectual property rights in China; (7) important intellectual property rights report, laws and regulations, and judicial interpretation documents in China.
6. Establish and operate the Intellectual Property Rights Service Network for Taiwanese Investors in China and publish the Intellectual Property Rights Electronic Newspaper for Taiwanese Investors in China.
7. Important research findings and conclusions:
(1) Piracy is an important issue faced by the Taiwanese investors and is in need of government assistance. It is important to know why the Taiwanese investors seldom
request assistance from the government; (2) Collaboration mechanism has room for improvement and is in need for discussion; (3) Organize intellectual property rights protection seminar for the Taiwanese investors in China can help establish win-win situations for the two governments as well as the Taiwanese investors as well as facilitate the exchange between the cross-strait administrative institutions; (4) The strengthening of the intellectual property rights protection for overseas corporations in the United States, European Union and Japan is worth paying attention;(5) The successful model and recommendations of the QBPC is worth noting.
8. Recommendations: (1) To our government: 1.
Review the mechanisms and measures in the United States, European Union and Japan to protect the intellectual property rights of the overseas corporations in China to help our investors; 2. Strengthen the awareness of piracy handling procedures; 3. Open the authentication business of the Taiwan Copyright Protection Association to expand to Internet copyright authentication; (2) To the Chinese government: 1. Further improve the enforcement mechanism to collaborate between agencies and accommodate between geographic areas; 2. Further improve
administrative enforcement and criminal and judicial connection; (3) To both governments:
1. Establish Enforcement Taskforce for cross-strait intellectual property collaboration mechanism; 2. Conduct regular discussion meetings; 3. Strengthen corresponding mechanisms for cross-strait official collaboration mechanism, such as the corresponding mechanism for cross-strait official administrative enforcement collaboration, establish single contact window across the Strait and information exchange platform, push cross-strait judicial cooperation to fight intellectual property rights crimes and establish long term mechanisms to protect the intellectual property rights of the Taiwanese investors; (4) To the Taiwanese investors in China: 1. Make use of the cross-strait intellectual property rights related help and relief channel and information; 2. Establish intellectual property rights protection organization for the Taiwanese investors in view of the success of QBPC; (5) to civil intellectual property rights communication platform: 1. Prepare white book regarding recommendations related to investing and operating environments in the Chinese intellectual property rights; 2. Organize intellectual property rights protection seminar for the Taiwanese investors in China under the support of the government.
TAIWAN IPR NEWS
PUBLISHER／PRESTON W. CHEN PUBLISHING AGENCY／
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF／LIEN-SHENG TSAI INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMITTEE,
DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF／JOSEPH C. CHEN CHINESE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIES EDITORS／FRANCK LIN‧ANFERY HSU‧ALAN LAI ADDRESS／12TH FL., 390, FU HSING S. RD., SEC. 1,
TRANSLATOR／SUZY SHOUNG TAIPEI, TAIWAN, R.O.C.
TEL／886-2-27033500 FAX／886-2-27042477 E-MAIL／intell@cnfi.org.tw
THIS PUBLICATION IS FUNDED BY
THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION OFFICE AND THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE, MOEA
