Peanut Milk Patent is a Tough Nut to Crack
A man in Suizhou, Hubei province, sued the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) for 5.4 billion yuan ($813 million) in compensation after it neglected to respond to an application he filed for a patent 15 years ago and then told him it was out of date.
Gong Baogui submitted his application for a patent on peanut milk production in 1995. He heard nothing afterwards and when he finally pursued the matter, the SIPO formally dismissed the case in February 2009 because the application was out of date.
He took the SIPO to court in 2010, demanding 1 billion yuan in compensation. The judges ruled in favor of the SIPO. He then decided to appeal against the decision, raising the amount of compensation to 5.4 billion yuan.
An appeal trial opened on Jan 6. The SIPO argued that a dismissal notice was issued on Sept 29, 2009 after Gong failed to respond to an earlier letter, dated June 8, 2009, regarding the application processing fee. The file on Gong's application was subsequently destroyed after he did not reapply for a patent within two years of the initial dismissal notice.
In reply, Gong said the notices were mailed to an address in Shanghai, while he resides in Hubei province. He claims the SIPO should be held accountable for mishandling his case.
A man in Suizhou, Hubei province, sued the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) for 5.4 billion yuan ($813 million) in compensation after it neglected to respond to an application he filed for a patent 15 years ago and then told him it was out of date.
Gong Baogui submitted his application for a patent on peanut milk production in 1995. He heard nothing afterwards and when he finally pursued the matter, the SIPO formally dismissed the case in February 2009 because the application was out of date.
He took the SIPO to court in 2010, demanding 1 billion yuan in compensation. The judges ruled in favor of the SIPO. He then decided to appeal against the decision, raising the amount of compensation to 5.4 billion yuan.
An appeal trial opened on Jan 6. The SIPO argued that a dismissal notice was issued on Sept 29, 2009 after Gong failed to respond to an earlier letter, dated June 8, 2009, regarding the application processing fee. The file on Gong's application was subsequently destroyed after he did not reapply for a patent within two years of the initial dismissal notice.
In reply, Gong said the notices were mailed to an address in Shanghai, while he resides in Hubei province. He claims the SIPO should be held accountable for mishandling his case.
Adidas Awarded 200,000 Yuan in Trademark Similarity Case
On January 4, 2011, Guangdong Dongguan Intermediate People's Court entered a firs-instance judgment on the Y-3 trademark case between Adidas and EXXEL International Group and Dongguan Advanced Material Company, ordering the two defendants to cease producing and distributing infringement products, delete relevant websites and pay Adidas 200,000 yuan in damages.
Adidas is the operator of Adidas products, and it registered several series of trademarks of Y-3. On April 2009, Adidas found a travel bag marked with Y3 trademark, and discovered its dealer is EXXEL. Adidas held that the two companies' action of using Y3 on products and websites constituted trademark infringement on the ground of its similarity in pronunciation and visual recognization.
The court held that the products in question are similar in function, use, target consumers and distribution channel. The defendants' acts of using both Y-3 and Y3 trademark on the package are enough to mislead and confuse consumers. So ordered.
China's Customs Seize Counterfeit Products Worth 120 Million Yuan
China's Custom has seized 2,153 patches of 38.36 million infringing cargos with 120 million yuan in goods value since the launch of the special campaign on IPR infringement, counterfeiting and piracy, according to the latest statistics released by the General Administration of Customs.
The Customs nationwide have made great progress in enforcement efficiency by waging inspection, taking tips or complaints on IPR infringement and stepping up administration enforcement. Hangzhou Customs, from October 2010, investigated eight cases and seized 10,924 tablets infringing IPRs of Viagra via post channel with the value of 546,000 yuan, seized some sport shoes in export investigation with a value of 760,000 yuan. Xiamen Customs, in November 2010, checked some CD/DVD players which were declared for export by a Shenzhen-based trading company, and found 9.7134 million cigarettes marked with Marlboro trademark, with 6.33 million yuan in goods value.
Use of Licensed Software in Chinese Companies Soars
China has achieved notable results in licensed software application, and the proportion of use of licensed software in Chinese companies soared. As of November 2010, 17,592 companies fared well in running only licensed software on their computers, 11,625 of which go legitimate in software use. State-owned companies continue to take the lead in using licensed software, according to the National Copyright Administration.
Among the 11,625 companies cleared for compliance, 129 are state-owned companies and 100 subsidiaries of theirs.
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