Model of a high-speed train made by China CNR Corp Ltd on display in Shanghai. Jing Wei / China Daily

1 Liaoning

First exports of proprietary high-speed train components head for Bangladesh

The Dalian research and development center for China CNR Corp Ltd recently took orders for rail car traction inverters and network control systems that will be exported to Bangladesh, a first for key components in China's proprietary high-speed trains.

Industry observers said the orders show Chinese companies now have their own core technologies that compete with overseas peers.

Beijing Times

2 Tianjin

Tianjin University wins gold prizes in patent awards from city government

With two gold prizes, Tianjin University was the biggest winner in recent patent awards from the city government.

The school's faculty and students had filed more than 1,100 patent applications by the end of last year, with more than a third of them granted.

During an awards ceremony at the Tianjin Grand Theater, Deputy Mayor Wang Zhiping also outlined the city's intellectual property work planned for the year ahead.

022NET.COM

3 Beijing

SIPO releases patent analysis as aid to innovation by domestic companies

The State Intellectual Property Office unveiled an industry patent analysis report last week to facilitate innovation and marketing by domestic companies.

During a conference to release the report, SIPO Deputy Commissioner Yang Tiejun noted the importance of patent analysis.

Yang encouraged companies to acquire a range of patent information from industry conferences and publications to understand their markets and for use in research.

The Beijing office started the project in 2010 with a focus on 10 fields ranging from high-tech industries and emerging strategic science to traditional sectors.

This year's research fields include machinery used in agriculture and packaging, power devices, short-distance communications, cooking oil, high-performance fibers, LCD technology, rubber, smart TVs and auto safety. SIPO will continue to publicize the results, Yang said.

SIPO.gov.cn

Student competition calls for new hardware and software designs

A contest for high school students that began in March is expected to enhance the capacity for innovation among young people and help them experience the benefits and responsibilities of intellectual property rights, according to organizers.

The competition soliciting hardware and software designs is open to schools from across the country.

The event, organized by the Chinese Association of Art Archives, is supported by IT giants Samsung and Microsoft.

BEIJING YOUTH DAILY

Zara clothes were re-labeled and sold to malls. Jing Wei / China Daily

4 Jiangsu

Businessman stitched up for garments that infringed on Zara's trademark

Nanjing police recently arrested a local businessman for infringing on the trademark of Spanish fashion brand Zara.

The suspect surnamed Cao, who operates a trading firm, bought more than 20,000 garments early this year that were left in a warehouse by Zara's Shanghai company after their labels were removed.

Cao then had counterfeit Zara labels made in Shanghai, attached them, and shipped the clothing to shopping malls for sale at prices ranging from 99 yuan ($15.7) to 399 yuan. Because he originally paid 46 yuan for each garment, he turned a profit of about 280,000 yuan.

Despite faking the trademark, Cao said he thought his business was legal because the clothes were real Zara items.

The Spanish company's Beijing office informed industrial and commercial officials in Qixia district, Nanjing of the violation in early March.

Cao's remaining inventory of nearly 8,000 clothing items was seized.

Xinhua

Nanjing college student granted patent for lamp made of common plumbing

A college student in Nanjing was recently granted a design patent for her invention, an energy-saving lamp.

Inspired by the architecture of the Pompidou Centre in Paris - which has an exposed steel structure and prominently displayed utility pipes on the exterior - the patented lamp is made of a faucet, water pipes and a discarded metal base.

It "can also be used as a house decoration and a spot for hanging keys", said inventor Jia Menglin, a junior at Nanjing Forestry University.

JSCHINA.COM.CN

5 Zhejiang

Customs seizes fake NSK automobile bearings destined for Thailand

Yiwu Customs seized more than 30,000 fake NSK auto bearings in a container intended for export to Thailand in mid-March.

It was the largest infringing shipment detected by local customs since it initiated an operation early this year to stop export of counterfeit goods.

Medicine, food and auto parts are priorities of the campaign.

CQN.COM.CN

6 Anhui

Huge home-developed video screen enters service, costs 90 percent less

China's first home-developed super-large video screen recently made its commercial debut in the provincial capital Hefei.

The 20-meter-long, 12-meter-high screen displays images at the same quality as imported systems and even outperforms them in sound effects, said Yang Xuepei, head of the China Film Science and Technology Research Institute.

Costing 90 percent less than imported systems, 15 of the huge screens are expected to go into use nationwide this year.

YNET.COM

7 Hubei

Intellectual property training by industrial zone and city officials

Xianning Economic Development Zone and the city's intellectual property office recently held a training program on patent applications for high-tech companies.

Lecturers explained procedures to file patents, registration of high-tech products and the writing of application papers.

Engineers and inventors, as well as management officials from 25 local companies, attended the session.

XNNEWS.COM.CN

(China Daily 04/18/2012 page17)