GUANGZHOU, China, March 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Canton Fair’s Intellectual Property Administration announced that this year the Fair will underline cloud-based IPR protection to provide exhibitors with more convenient online instructions and IPR protection services. The 131st Canton Fair is coming, and the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) services are in progress.
The Canton Fair witnessed the birth of IPR protection in China. With raising awareness of IPR protection in the 1990s, complaints of patent infringement at the Canton Fair have risen rapidly.
“Many Chinese exhibitors had weak IPR awareness at that time,” said Junhong Cui, former Deputy Director General of China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC). The exhibitors and the Fair suffered many negative impacts.
To protect the legal rights and interests of all exhibitors, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation issued the Notice of Trademark Inspection at the 71st Canton Fair in 1992. The first special campaign was also organized at the Canton Fair, marking the start of IPR protection.
In 1999, the 85th Canton Fair set up a Complaint Station and issued the Regulations on Handling Complaints during the Canton Fair. In 2002, the 91st Canton Fair firstly took the principle of “reverse onus” to increase the efforts to combat infringement cases, and achieved remarkable results. At the 92nd Canton Fair, the Interim Provisions on IPR Protection Management was amended as the Measures on Complaints of Suspected IPR Infringement and Handling.
The “good practice of Canton Fair” has been recognized by the Chinese government and China’s convention & exhibition sector. In 2021, the 130th Canton Fair IPR complaint module was launched on the official website to protect the IPR.
“Only when IPR is protected can exhibitors feel more secure in showing their innovative products at the Canton Fair, and can we do justice better to the Intelligent Manufacturing in China”, said Maggie Pu, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of Canton Fair. Through two decades of efforts, the Canton Fair has harvested increasing experience and developed a maturing mechanism in IPR protection.
Canton Fair now serves as a model for IPR protection in the sector to guide independent innovation, create new competitive advantages, and promote high-quality development for Chinese enterprises. Even though IPR protection still has a long way to go, the Canton Fair will march on resolutely.
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