IP news

BEIJING
New committee to protect artists
The Copyright Society of China established an art copyright committee on June 29 to protect artists' rights and interests. The committee will focus on defining artists' rights and determining how to legally deal with infringements. Noted artist Jin Shangyi said art copyright is a new issue in China and the establishment of the committee is seen as a positive step in cultural and art circles. CSCCN.ORG.CN. 

HUBEI
Postgrads get classes in IP
More than 200 science and engineering postgraduate students at the Wuhan Institute of Technology attended the province's first training classes on IP, innovation and entrepreneurship in late June. The classes, which ran over the course of three days, included instruction in IP strategies, patent systems and patent document writing. The organizers of the classes said they helped trainees learn more about IP work and inspired them to create IP, adding that the province would continue to hold such events.

HUBEI INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE
SICHUAN
Scheme aims for copyright trade
The province has seen 33,278 copyright registrations for works since it began to provide free registration in January, more than double the amount seen over the previous two decades. The ultimate goal of the scheme is to promote copyright trade rather than simply increase the number of registrations, said Liang Hong, director of the Sichuan Copyright Affairs Center, adding that the center is considering setting up an online trade platform to bridge the gap between copyright owners and investors.

SICHUAN DAILY
GUANGDONG
Export fair sees disputes drop
IP disputes dropped by 20.6 percent to 479 at the latest China Import and Export Fair in the provincial capital Guangzhou, which ran from mid-April to early May. The drop was partly due to the province's IP-driven growth campaign, according to local authorities. Most of the disputes centered around home appliances, motorcycles and kitchenware. Of the more than 23,000 exhibitors at the event, 326 were found to be involved in IP infringement.

CHINA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY NEWS
OVERSEAS
Portal shines at international expo
ACG-IP Trading Center, a government-supported business portal for animation, comics and games, was one of the highlights of the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas in late June. As the first business-to-business trading platform in the Chinese IP sphere, the center is designed to import overseas brands, help Chinese companies' overseas expansion and facilitate transactions and cooperation between copyright and trademark owners, agencies, ACG studios, and businesses related to derivative products around the globe.