Tight rules on intellectual property actively defend rights of inventors

Master Electrical Appliances, a subsidiary of Guangdong-based Master Group, won a lawsuit in April against an infringement of its intellectual property rights concerning its electrical grinder.

Ou Shuhui, chief of the IPR department at Master Electrical Appliances, said the victory on IPR protection will consolidate the company’s confidence in pursuing innovation-driven growth that boosts independent research and development.

“Constant pursuit of innovation is crucial for a company to win a market share in a context of intensified competition,” Ou said.

The company has filed more than 350 patent applications in China and overseas. And a hefty amount of investment has been channeled into R&D and IPR protection, according to Ou.

As Master Electrical Appliances is a regular participant in the China Import and Export Fair — which is also known as Canton Fair — the executive said the fair is not only an important venue for displaying products, but a platform for IPR protection.

Ou said she noticed the efforts that the event organizers made in IPR protection, which have created a level playground for companies and ensured fair and orderly business activities.

MB Colour based in Guangzhou, capital of South China’s Guangdong province, is a painting pigment producer that sells products at home and broad. It is participating the ongoing 128th Canton Fair.

Upon finding products infringing its IPR in the online Canton Fair, the company reported the matter to the Guangzhou delegation. On behalf of MG Colour, the delegation made a complaint to the fair’s trade dispute settling office.

After examining evidence offered by MB Colour — IPR-related documents and certificates and videos and pictures of the suspect products — the fair’s officials acted fast, removing the pirated products from the official online exhibition.

In addition to the Guangzhou delegation, the organizers of Canton Fair have forged close ties with many delegations from throughout the country to strengthen efforts in IPR protection.

Each delegation has also offered its own suggestions on and solutions to IPR protection.

The Beijing delegation, for instance, realized IPR protection is a much more challenging task for the online Canton Fair than any offline trade show. This is because more products are displayed on various platforms and it is almost impossible to closely examine exhibits online.

The delegation called on member enterprises to map out their solutions to prevent potential risks of IPR infringement. For instance, putting forward all the possible material evidence like patent documents and photos and video of suspect products to related organizations for dispute settlement.

While enhancing cooperation with the Canton Fair’s IPR and trade disputes settlement organizations, the Shanghai delegation has launched campaigns to raise IPR awareness among its member enterprises. 

Shanghai delegation officials highlighted the importance of standardized contracts and agreements. They suggest traders include force majeure and accountability-relief clauses, as well as agreed dispute settlement organizations in the contracts.

The officials also advise enterprises put their IPR document copies on the Canton Fair online platform to help buyers identify authentic products. They suggested members have their products and deals covered by insurance to avoid the risk of unexpected losses.

The Liaoning delegation has carried out extensive research on the typical IPR infringements and trade disputes that have taken place in previous sessions of the Canton Fair. It published its findings and studies on various media outlets to warn members of potential risks.

The delegation has established its own complaint and dispute settlement organization, hiring professionals in trade and IPR. It also made it a rule that members found guilty of infringement would be removed from membership for the following Canton Fair sessions.

“IPR protection will play an increasingly important role for the innovation-driven development of enterprises,” said an official from the Beijing delegation.