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The 12th Meeting of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights was held in Guangzhou today (August 6). The Expert Group agreed to continue deepening and actively promoting co-operation on intellectual property (IP) in Hong Kong and Guangdong to foster the development of IP trading in both places.
Co-operation projects of the Expert Group for 2013-14 include:
* Actively promoting and developing IP trading in Guangdong and Hong Kong;
* Organising IP seminars and exchange programmes for enterprises in both places;
* Holding IP seminars applicable at exhibitions and conventions; and
* Organising IP activities for enforcement officials in both places.
The two sides shared their latest developments in IP co-operation and reviewed the projects completed in the past year at the meeting. These developments included the "Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminars on IP and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises"; continuously promoting the development of IP trading in Guangdong and Hong Kong; and organising exchange programmes between IP-related non-government organisations in Guangdong and Hong Kong.
Law enforcement authorities in Guangdong and Hong Kong continued to work closely during the past year to further improve the co-ordination mechanism for handling IP-related cases, and focused on co-operating to combat cross-boundary IP rights infringements on the Internet.
During the press conference, the Director of Intellectual Property, Mr Peter Cheung, said, "The close relationship between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province allows ample co-operation opportunities between IP-related parties in the two sides under the competent framework of the Expert Group. By synergising the strengths of the two sides, Hong Kong and Guangdong Province have great potential in jointly developing into an IP trading hub in the region. The Expert Group will continue to deepen co-operation on IP in Hong Kong and Guangdong as well as foster the development of IP trading in the two places."
The leader of the Guangdong delegation, the Director-General of the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office, Ms Tao Kaiyuan said, "In the next stage, to promote a new level of co-operation in the two places, Guangdong and Hong Kong will focus on IP trading to develop new trends aimed at consolidating co-operation accomplishments, enhancing the level of co-operation and exploring new co-operation areas to drive future developments with radiating effect."
The Expert Group was set up after the Sixth Plenary of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Co-operation Joint Conference in August 2003. It aims at enhancing exchanges and co-operation on various aspects of IP protection, including promotion and education, training, enforcement, research study and information dissemination.
The Guangdong delegation was led by the Director-General of the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office and comprised officials from the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department; the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation of Guangdong Province; the Guangdong Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce; the Copyright Bureau of Guangdong Province; the Guangdong Sub-Administration of China Customs as well as the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People's Government of Guangdong Province. The Hong Kong delegation was headed by the Director of Intellectual Property and comprised officials from the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Customs and Excise Department.
Ends/Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:30
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