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The Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights has agreed to step up co-operation to raise the intellectual property (IP) awareness level of the public and enterprises in Guangdong and Hong Kong.
The decision was made today (July 16) at the group's eighth meeting held in Guangzhou.
At the meeting, the two sides reviewed the latest IP developments in the two places and concluded that many IP co-operation items had been successfully completed in the past year. These included:
* China's IP Strategy Forum;
* Exchange programmes for IP practitioners and enterprises in creative industries;
* Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminar on Intellectual Property and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises; and
* Participation in exhibitions to strengthen the knowledge of IP systems among enterprises in both places.
Guangdong and Hong Kong, in collaboration with the Economic Services of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, have also produced a booklet to provide enterprises and the public with information about the IP systems in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.
"Separate registration of IP rights in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao is vital for effective protection. One of the objectives of the booklet is to encourage registration of IP rights in the three places," the Director of Intellectual Property, Mr Stephen Selby, said.
Law enforcement authorities in Guangdong and Hong Kong continued to work closely to strengthen the co-ordination mechanism for IP-related cases during the past year. "Enterprises in both Guangdong and Hong Kong are concerned about good IP enforcement. The expert group plays an important role in strengthening enforcement in both places," Mr Selby said.
Projects for 2009-2010 include: promoting the preparatory courses for the National Qualification Examination for Patent Agents in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, organising a seminar on "Amendment and Implementation of the China Patent Law", facilitating exchanges on IP exploitation and management by enterprises in creative industries and strengthening business exchanges for IP professionals in both places.
The "No Fakes Pledge" Scheme will be extended further to Foshan, Zhongshan and Zhaoqing, the third batch of pilot cities in Guangdong. Both sides will continue to organise the Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminar on Intellectual Property and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Guangdong and to promote IP awareness among Mainland and Hong Kong enterprises in Guangdong.
The leader of the Guangdong delegation, the Director of the Intellectual Property Office of Guangdong Province, Ms Tao Kaiyuan, indicated that to implement Guangdong's measures to help Hong Kong enterprises in the province cope with the financial crisis and accelerate their restructuring and upgrading, training courses would be held in Guangdong to strengthen their use of patent information.
The expert group, set up after the sixth plenary of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Co-operation Joint Conference in August 2003, aims to enhance exchanges and co-operation on various aspects of IP protection, including promotion and education, training, enforcement, research study and information dissemination.
The Guangdong delegation is led by the Director of the Intellectual Property Office of Guangdong and comprises officials from the Public Security Bureau, the Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation Department, the Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Copyright Bureau, Guangdong Customs and the Hongkong and Macao Affairs Office of Guangdong Province. The Hong Kong delegation is headed by the Director of Intellectual Property and comprises officials from the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Customs and Excise Department.
A summary of the co-operation items is posted on the website of the Intellectual Property Department: (www.ipd.gov.hk).
Ends/Thursday, July 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:00
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