The European Patent Office (EPO) reports a rapid increase in patent applications for smart and connected objects. These include core technologies with hardware, software, and connectivity, enabling technologies, such as artificial intelligence and user interfaces, as well as applications of these technologies in the fields of business, home, mobility, or manufacturing. In recent years, EPO… Continue reading Fourth Industrial Revolution: Asian Companies Leap Forward
International Patent Applications: The Growth Comes from China
2016 was the year of Chinese patents. Overall, 233,000 applications were filed under WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) – which constitutes a 7.3 percent increase compared with the previous year. Chinese applicants are responsible for 98% of the overall growth in demand for international patent applications. Since 2002, China-based filers have recorded double-digit growth each year.… Continue reading International Patent Applications: The Growth Comes from China
China’s Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law
China has revised its Anti-Unfair Competition Law. Many changes in the amended law aim at the protection of fair competition in the Chinese flourishing e-commerce business. Thus, Article 8 prohibits deceiving or misleading consumers by publishing fake sales volumes, user comments, or information regarding prizes and rewards. Such widely used practices as click farming or… Continue reading China’s Revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law
The UAE – a Hub of Chinese Counterfeiting
Chinese counterfeiters act in an increasingly global context. Due to the massive prosecution in China, they relocate their production sites to neighboring countries such as Myanmar, distribute their fakes worldwide via the Internet, and use complicated logistics routes so that their consignments cannot be easily tracked by the authorities in the recipient countries. The free… Continue reading The UAE – a Hub of Chinese Counterfeiting
China Launches the First Cyber-Court
China’s new cyber-court in the city of Hangzhou started hearing cases on August 18, 2017. This court exclusively deals with e-commerce and Internet-related cases, and has the ability to handle all aspects of a case online from the beginning to the end (link to the article). Hangzhou has been dubbed the “capital of Chinese e-commerce”,… Continue reading China Launches the First Cyber-Court
3D Printing Boosts Product Piracy
The number of cases is growing rapidly, in which original spare parts and components are falsified by means of 3D printing. Counterfeiters use the new technology to copy not only car parts and aircraft components, but also surgical instruments, components for hearing aids and cardiac pacemakers, prostheses and implants such as hip or knee joints,… Continue reading 3D Printing Boosts Product Piracy
Camouflage and Deception: The New Routes of Counterfeiters
Chinese brand and product pirates are increasingly looking for tortuous paths, because investigators are more likely to reconstruct the way of counterfeit products shipped directly from China. In order to obscure the origin of the fakes, they deliver their products to final recipients through as many countries and borders as possible with the help of… Continue reading Camouflage and Deception: The New Routes of Counterfeiters
E-waste and Counterfeiting
Since last year, the Basel Action Network (BAN) has been continuously working on an e-Trash Transparency Project. It found that recycling companies in the US continue to export hazardous e-trash to Asia. Their latest data reveal 16 more instances of exports to developing countries involving 7 companies, most of which make public claims of never… Continue reading E-waste and Counterfeiting
Shenzhen launches an IP Service System
China’s technology metropolis Shenzhen takes the lead in innovation and IP protection once again. On September 12, 2017, the construction of the Shenzhen Intellectual Property City was announced, which builds on the already existing competitive advantages of Shenzhen against other Chinese cities. The service of the new IP hub includes the creation, administration, and protection… Continue reading Shenzhen launches an IP Service System
Alibaba Expands its Big Data-fueled Anti-counterfeiting Program
This summer, Alibaba announced a series of measures designed to fight counterfeiting – not just online, but offline as well. China’s leading online platform released its “anti-counterfeiting maps” based on the big data analysis, as well as a blacklist of 100 companies that sell counterfeits online. This has led to a massive close-down of 180,000… Continue reading Alibaba Expands its Big Data-fueled Anti-counterfeiting Program
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