Beijing

Furniture design dispute

Local furniture maker Beking recently announced they are filing lawsuits against three competitors at the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. The company claims the defendants have violated its patent rights by copying the design of many pieces of its furniture, including desks, sofas, dining tables, wardrobes and bedside cabinets. It asked for total compensation of 100 million yuan ($16.1 million), the largest amount of any furniture design dispute so far in China.

Beijing Business Today

Copyright agent training

The Copyright Protection Center of China organized two training programs for copyright agents this month in Qingdao and Beijing. The courses, focusing on copyright operation in multiple fields, involved more than 100 representatives from IP agencies, law firms and movie, TV and animation makers in China and South Korea. The CPCC started the training program in 2010 and organizes a number of sessions each year. The first session this year was held in June in Kunming, Yunnan province.

Copyright Protection Center Of China

Shanghai

Museum shows Shanghai style

Shanghai Business School opened a commercial culture museum on Dec 15, the first of its kind run by a college in China. The exhibits include more than 300 trademarks, packages and posters made in Shanghai in the early 20th century. Among the more than 100 commercial brands in China in 1936, 80 percent were from Shanghai. It was an honor then to buy goods made in Shanghai, said Zuo Xuchu, a professor from the school.

Shanghai Morning Post

Chongqing

Motor trademark transfer

Local automaker Changan Automobile Co recently reached an agreement with Guangzhou GAC Motor, purchasing a trademark for 3 million yuan ($482,680). Changan was granted a V-shaped trademark in 2012, but GAC Motor had a similar trademark registered before that, which was not used on a product. Both sides started to negotiate the trademark transfer last year. Changan's President Zhu Huarong said the transfer was a win-win result.

China Youth Daily

Guangdong

Second IP court's first cases

The Guangzhou IP Court began to receive cases on Sunday. By noon of the first day, six litigants and agents filed 10 case documents to the court concerning invention and design patents, exclusive rights of trademarks and unfair competition. It is the second IP court in China after Beijing. It will begin hearing its first case in the New Year, as IP cases are complex, said officials from the court.

Guangzhou Daily