VZCZCXRO2809
RR RUEHCN RUEHVC
DE RUEHGH #0252/01 1590856
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080856Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL SHANGHAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8020
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 8667

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SHANGHAI 000252 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USTR FOR CHINA OFFICE - AWINTER, TWINELAND; IPR OFFICE 
KALVIREZ; AND OCG - TPOSNER 
DOC FOR ITA/MAC: ESZYMANSKI 
LOC/ COPYRIGHT OFFICE - STEPP 
USPTO FOR INT'L AFFAIRS - LBOLAND 
DOJ FOR CCIPS - TNEWBY 
FBI FOR LBRYANT 
DHS/ICE FOR IPR CENTER - THIPELIUS 
DHS/CBP FOR IPR RIGHTS BRANCH - GMCCRAY 
NSC FOR JLOI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ETRD EINV EFIN PGOV CH
SUBJECT: NANJING CONTINUES TO LEAD ON IPR ISSUES 
 
SHANGHAI 00000252  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Nanjing continues to push the envelope on 
intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in East China. 
During a May 18 through 20 visit to the city, IPR Officer Conrad 
Wong from the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou engaged Nanjing IP 
Administration officials, who said that patent applications 
continued to rise despite the economic crisis.  In a separate 
meeting, Wong also engaged a group of 80 law students from the 
Nanjing University of Science and Technology (NUST) on trademark 
protection.  He also attended and spoke at a U.S.-China Seminar 
on Intellectual Property Protection co-organized by MPEG LA and 
NUST.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Patent Applications Increased in Spite of Economic Crisis 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Nanjing IP Administration (NIPA) Deputy Director 
General Huang Rong welcomed the visit and expressed his hope for 
more cooperation between the United States and Nanjing on IPR. 
He added that the Nanjing IP Administration plans on organizing 
a delegation to visit the United States in September to study 
the U.S. IP protection system.  He noted that there were 11,692 
patent applications filed from Nanjing in 2008, representing an 
increase of 45.6 percent over 2007.  The growth in patent 
registrations put Nanjing in first place among China's 
second-tier cities.  Huang attributed the growth to companies in 
Jiangsu paying more attention to patent filing because they have 
become more aware of the importance of "self-innovation" during 
the economic crisis.  On the enforcement side, Nanjing IP 
administrative authorities received 15 patent cases (12 of which 
were closed), handled 227 trademark cases, and confiscated 
726,352 pirated books in 2008.  The Nanjing Intermediate Court 
received 410 IP cases of first instance.  In addition, the 
Nanjing Public Security Bureau investigated 83 IP criminal 
cases, and Nanjing Customs handled 29 IP investigations in 2008. 
 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Huang emphasized that the Nanjing IP Administration 
promotes IPR awareness among the public and subsidizes patent 
applications, especially for universities.  Nanjing established 
an IP Legal Service Center, which provides consulting service 
for individuals and companies on IP issues.  An IP Public 
Service Platform also was built to provide a database for patent 
searches.  Huang also said that, although the traditional 
industries in Nanjing are petro-chemical, 
electronic-information, automation, and steel industries, some 
new industries are sprouting up, such as software, biotech, rail 
transportation and clean energy, which increasingly are filing 
patent applications.  Currently, patent applications from the 
electronic-information industry make up the lion's share of 
patents filed in Nanjing. 
 
 
 
Engaging NUST Students 
 
---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) Besides meeting with Nanjing officials, Wong gave a 
speech to 80 law students at Nanjing University of Science and 
Technology (NUST).  After explaining how to protect trademarks 
in the United States, he fielded a wide range of questions on 
the U.S. IP protection system, including questions on the 
electronic filing of trademark applications and the evaluation 
procedures for trademark registration.  In response to a student 
query, he discussed how the U.S. protects the American 
equivalent of China's concept of "well-known marks. "  These 
"well-known marks " represent some of China's most famous 
brands.  The U.S. treats "well-known marks " through its 
analysis of "acquired distinctiveness, " also known as 
"secondary meaning. "  As its products gain greater acceptance 
 
SHANGHAI 00000252  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
in the world marketplace, China is seeking protection for its 
trademarks in other countries. 
 
 
 
U.S. - China Seminar on Intellectual Property Protection 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In a separate event co-organized by MPEG LA and NUST 
entitled the "U.S.-China Seminar on Intellectual Property 
Protection", Wong gave another speech about challenges facing 
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the current economic 
climate.  Other speakers at the event included the following: 
MPEG LA Vice President Dean Skandalis, who spoke about patent 
pooling and how to use the model to commercialize China's IPR; 
NUST Professor Wu Guanghai, who discussed the interrelation 
between patent-pool management and anti-trust law; and an 
attorney from the Shanghai City Development Law Firm, He 
Xianghua, who reviewed the latest amendment of China's Patent 
Law.  Jiangsu IP Administration Joint Conference Office Director 
Wang Gang opened up the conference and noted that the Jiangsu IP 
Administration wants to increase cooperation with the United 
States and is planning to hold its third IPR joint seminar with 
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this year. 
 
 
 
Nanjing Sees IP Protection as a Way to Increase Innovation 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Comment:  Nanjing continues to be innovative in its 
approach to IPR protection, and is open to dialogue and 
cooperation on IPR.  City IP officials often emphasize that the 
municipality wants to be a center of innovation and an 
alternative to Shanghai for R&D and high tech.  Although the 
manufacturing sector accounts for the largest portion of 
Nanjing's economy (total GDP was roughly USD 55 billion in 
2008), followed by the service sector, high-tech companies 
increasingly are flocking to the city because of its top-notch 
educational and research institutions.  Nanjing IP leaders also 
have remained open to dialogue on IP with U.S. officials and 
business organizations.  For example, the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce and Jiangsu IP Office signed a Memorandum of 
Understanding (MOU) in early 2007 to jointly organize an IP 
Working Group Meeting.  Nanjing IP officials have engaged 
actively in the benchmarking process that was established 
through the MOU.  The city is gaining a positive reputation 
among U.S. businesses as a place that is serious about 
protecting IP through its court system.  As a result, IP-related 
civil litigation by foreign companies is increasing. 
Separately, Nanjing has been innovative on IP enforcement, 
setting up "model IP districts" and particularly cracking down 
on illegal software downloads at IT centers.  Copyright 
protection particularly has been important to Nanjing as it 
seeks to nurture its own nascent software industry. 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) IPR Officer Conrad Wong has cleared this report. 
SCHUCHAT