CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Thursday, August 26, 2021 | 15 IP Thousands of illegal Briefly CNIPA protects sports broadcasts rights of athletes The China National Intellectual posted during events Property Administration announced on its website that it has rejected 109 trademark By ZHANG LINWAN applications for their illegal use [email protected] of names of Chinese Olympians including Yang Qian, Chen Meng Online copyright infringements With the rapid and Quan Hongchan. The CNIPA said it will continue enhancing involving Olympic footage have development of remained a problem and more protection of the rights to public efforts are required to fight illegal internet figures’ names and cracking down on malicious registrations. activities, according to China technologies, Media Group, one of the broad- The star athletes saw their casters for the Olympic broadcasters and names used for trademark appli- Games. regulators are faced cations in various categories, CMG holds the exclusive media including alcohol, sportswear rights of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with unprecedented and tutoring industries, follow- in the Chinese mainland and challenges in regard ing their success at the Tokyo Macao, granted by the Interna- Olympics. “The athletes and the tional Olympic Committee. Other to copyright guardians of underage athletes organizations or platforms must protection.” have the rights to hold relevant get authorization from CMG if parties liable,” said a statement they intend to broadcast an event. Yan Bo, deputy director from the Chinese Olympic Com- of China Media Group’s mittee. CMG has authorized the online copyright operation center platforms of Migu Video, Tencent Xinhua-China Daily and Kuaishou for broadcasts of the Tokyo Olympics. infringing video links had been Members of the China national team wearing specially-designed masks attend the opening ceremony Joint info release To strengthen copyright protec- spotted on key commercial web- of the Tokyo in late July. Li Ming / xinhua mechanism created tion of the Games, the National sites by Aug 8. More than 50 per- Copyright Administration added cent of the links were taken down Fifteen tech trading centers related Olympic programs onto a after 24 hours. joined hands to establish a warning list. Network service pro- Analysts said that short videos, national information release viders were asked not to provide which are all the rage in China, can mechanism regarding intellectu- Fake Olympic masks al property, as well as technolog- related programs without permis- receive thousands of views in a sion and to delete illegal content short space of time and bring huge ical achievements, in mid- and links. advertising revenue to operators. August. The parties include the CMG also issued a statement in Driven by the profits, some sites China Technology Exchange in April, emphasizing the hazards of created a special tag or page for the Beijing and the IP International spring up after Games Exchange of Hainan. The move offering unauthorized broadcasts Games, attracting users to upload or videos. Meanwhile, it expanded pirated videos. aims to enhance cooperation in cooperation with monitoring insti- Commercial websites have the release of information and tutions and used advanced tech- become the most common platform Industry body warns consumers of potential ‘Olympic masks’ produced and sold improve efficiency in tech trade. nologies such as blockchain and offering unauthorized short videos, dangers of intellectual property infringement through unauthorized channels On the same day, they together big data to take more effective CCTV reported. The sites infringe could bring serious consequences,” released the first 100 tech and IP measures against infringers. the rights of copyright owners as said a representative of the IP pro- projects. Although authorities had inten- well as the interests of broadcasters, By HU YUYAN tection department of the COC. Beijing Daily sified a clampdown, online copy- said Liu Chuntian, who is chairman [email protected] “When necessary, the COC will take right infringements were still of the Intellectual Property Law legal action to protect its rights.” Hebei found during the Games, CMG Association of China Law Society. The masks Chinese athletes wore The functions of the Wang Jie, a researcher at the Center to provide said. Wan Yong, a professor at the law at the Tokyo Olympic Games trig- Olympic symbols are Intellectual Property and Competi- speedier protection Yan Bo, deputy director of school of Renmin University of gered a spike in sales, particularly in tion Law Academy of Shanghai Jiao CMG’s copyright operation center, China, said users must raise their unauthorized copies. similar to those of Tong University, told China Intellec- China has approved the estab- said, “With the rapid development legal awareness and realize that Xiao Zhi, a sports fan from Bei- trademarks. The tual Property News: “The functions lishment of a new center to pro- of internet technologies, broad- providing pirated videos online is jing, purchased 20 “Olympic masks” of the Olympic symbols are similar vide quicker services for casters and regulators are faced illegal. “Especially some serious from a store online. scope of protection to those of trademarks. The scope of intellectual property rights pro- with unprecedented challenges in wrongdoing may constitute a Upon receiving his order, he for the Olympic protection for the Olympic symbols tection issues in Bazhou, Hebei regard to copyright protection.” crime,” he added. found that the masks did not come is largely defined based on the rele- province, according to the China As of Aug 3, a total of 4,759 illegal Protecting the copyright of the with a quality certificate or proper symbols is largely vant provisions in the Trademark National Intellectual Property live broadcasting links had been Olympics is not only a duty that packaging, and the prints on the defined based on the Law.” Administration. The first of its kind in the province, the center detected. The clicks on these links China needs to undertake but a way masks were blurry, Beijing-based relevant provisions in The amended version of China’s had reached 100,000. to honor the Olympic spirit, said China Intellectual Property News Regulations on the Protection of will focus on offering more effi- In addition, major social media Peng Jianming, a representative reported. the Trademark Law.” Olympic Symbols, which came into cient IP protection services for sites and video platforms were rid- from CMG. CMG will work with all Xiao wanted to contact the store, effect on July 31, 2018, “is an impor- enterprises in the furniture Wang Jie, a researcher at the industry. Bazhou has attracted dled with re-edited clips from parties to step up the crackdown on only to find that it no longer existed Intellectual Property and tant regulation for protecting the authorized programs, CMG said. copyright infringements. Infringers online. Olympic symbols”, according to more than 2,000 enterprises in Competition Law Academy of the industry, with an annual According to data from monitor- will be held accountable for their Beijing Polay Pharmaceuticals, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Wang. ing institutions, nearly 60,000 actions, Peng said. the official manufacturer of the As per the regulations, unautho- sales volume of more than 19 bil- Olympic masks, issued a statement rized use of the Olympic symbols for lion yuan ($2.9 billion), account- on July 29 on its Sina Weibo different,” a representative of the commercial purposes constitutes an ing for 76 percent of the account. It said that the Olympic company told China Intellectual infringement of the exclusive rights country’s total. To date, 27 such masks they produced were provided Property News. to the symbols. fast IP right protection centers to the Chinese delegation to the In addition to the appearance, The Law on the National for- have been established nation- Tokyo Olympic Games in the form of another major difference is that most bids the use of the Chinese national wide. a donation and were for their use of the counterfeits are regular dispos- flag as the basis of any trademark, Xinhua only. All those being sold to the pub- able masks instead of surgical masks, patented design or commercial lic are counterfeits. according to the representative. advertisement, Tao Xinliang, honor- Jiangsu “Such behavior constitutes an On Aug 7, the Chinese Olympic ary dean of the School of Intellectual Yangtze delta service infringement of our intellectual Committee issued a statement on Property of Dalian University of alliance formed property rights and has caused seri- the Olympic masks. It made clear Technology, told China Intellectual ous damage to our reputation,” the that the masks worn by the Chinese Property News. An intellectual property service company said. delegation at the Tokyo Olympic “If businesses are to produce and alliance focused on the Yangtze “Comparing the genuine Olym- Games, that bear the logo of the sell ‘Olympic masks’, they must stop River Delta was founded in pic masks with the bogus ones, we COC, were for the use of the delega- using the national flag as a design Changshu, Jiangsu province. can see that the colors of the five- tion only. They had never been sold element, obtain the authorization to The new group attracted IP ser- pointed star are completely differ- to the public, including via online use the Olympic symbols, and ascer- vice providers from 16 cities in College students and teachers cheer for Chinese athletes while ent. The sharpness of the prints of channels. tain whether they have obtained the Shanghai and three provinces of watching the Tokyo Olympic Games in a classroom in the Olympic rings and the Chinese “Masks are very important COV- other IP rights and permits Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. On the founding day, they also early August. Chen Jimin / China News Service national flag are also completely ID-19 supplies. Wearing the so-called involved,” Tao said. signed agreements with asset assessment organizations and higher-education institutions for cooperation. The alliance will Ningxia wine’s geographic indication uncorks market potential innovate service models to improve IP protection and com- mercialization of IP assets in col- leges and universities in a bid to By YUAN SHENGGAO indigenous brands, Helan Moun- tains’ East Foothill Wine ranked promote high-quality develop- The winemaking industry in the ninth on the list of products under GI ment of the region, its organiz- Ningxia Hui autonomous region has protection, with a brand value of 30 ers said. been booming in recent years, and billion yuan ($4.62 billion). China Intellectual with the introduction of geographic The importance of GI means that Property News indications, the industry is embark- Ningxia brands not only get ahead in ing on a bid to increase its reputation the domestic market, it also allows Ningxia for producing world-class wines. them greater market penetration Special committees The Helan Mountains’ eastern overseas. foothill wine region, where the Ningxia Xige Winery, for example, to deal with disputes majority of Ningxia’s wine is pro- has had its products exported to Two mediation committees were duced, was granted the GI of Helan countries such as the United States founded to deal with intellectual Mountains’ East Foothill Wine in and France, selling 1.5 million bottles property disputes in the Ningxia 2014. in the process and earning more Hui autonomous region, the first Since that time, 25 of the region’s than 100 million yuan. of its kind in the region. With wine producers have been granted Ningxia’s wine industry is contin- dedicated attorneys and agents, approval to use the special GI status. uing in its global expansion. the committees are from two law The application of the GI status In July 2020, Helan Mountains’ firms in the region, offering con- has allowed these wine producers to East Foothill Wine was selected to be The Helan Mountains’ eastern foothill region has a vast expanse of vineyards. provided to China Daily sultancy services and mediating elevate their brands, boost their rep- placed on the protected list of the IP disputes at the request of utation and receive more exposure European Geographical Indications involved parties or entrusted by and profit. Agreement, further opening up the Pilot Zone was inaugurated. The annual output of 600 million bottles Currently, the wine industry cov- courts or administrative authori- As a result, during this year’s China European market. goal of the pilot zone is to ensure of wine, a comprehensive output ers 30 towns and farms, with an ties. Brand Day on May 10, an event initi- In July of this year, the Ningxia that by 2035, the Ningxia Helan value of 200 billion yuan, and com- annual output of 130 million bottles China National ated by the State Council to empha- National Grape and Wine Industry Mountain’s wine industry will cover plete the integration of the primary, of wine and an output value of 26.1 Intellectual Property size the importance of Chinese Open Development Comprehensive 100,000 hectares of vines, have an secondary and tertiary industries. billion yuan. Administration

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