SME

The University of Bonn invites graduate and postgraduate students as well as young professionals from any field of study or discipline to a Summer School on Intellectual Property in Bonn. 

The Summer School on Intellectual Property will take place from July 25 to August 5, 2016.  

The program offers:

• classes that cover the main areas of Intellectual Property
• guest lectures on selected Intellectual Property issues 
• excursions (for example to innovative institutions and companies)

The Summer School is open to 30 participants. The program is conducted in English. 

The classes and guest lectures will take place in the main building of the University of Bonn. 

The Summer School introduces students to the main areas of Intellectual Property and examines important Intellectual Property issues. The students will be able to discuss Intellectual Property issues with professionals from Intellectual Property organizations, innovative companies, research facilities, law offices, and the University of Bonn.  

The Summer School aims to provide graduate and postgraduate students as well as young professionals with insight into the field of Intellectual Property and an appreciation of the significant role of Intellectual Property in furthering the economic and technological development, and particularly in promoting innovation.

Don't miss out on our upcoming free of charge training event, taking place on 4 November 2015, in Guangzhou. Attending trade fairs in China is an excellent opportunity for showcasing your product and find potential business partners, but it also poses some risk in terms of intellectual property protection and enforcement. Learn from China IPR SME Helpdesk Expert, Reinout van Malenstein about an effective trade fair strategy and practical tips of IP management. Click here for further details and registration.

Belgian SME BEA manufactures sensors for automatic doors. Before they were active in China they had the foresight to file for an international patent that included the PRC as a designated state. Christian Nowak, Science & Technology advisor at BEA, shares the company’s experiences with patent infringement, and how enforcement can be successful if you have your documents and protection in place.

BEA (short for Bureau d’Electronique Appliqué) was founded in Belgium in 1965 and currently has five offices worldwide. Christian Nowak says: “We set up a representative office in China in 1996 to analyse the market and to find potential future customers. We were quite sure that the market was appealing for us, [and] the risk of getting copied was not strong enough for us to give up the potential”.

The company then prepared well by including China in the designated states for patent protection, even though they were not active in the country yet. Christian says: “We applied from Belgium for patents in the United States and included China as well. We have design patents, invention patents and a trade mark registered in China. It’s a very simple design patent which helped us during our case in 2002.”

Christian continues to explain the case: “We received two sensors in the after sales service that were not manufactured by BEA. One of our customers noticed that there were copies on the market and could tell us who was behind it.” BEA then sought advice from a Chinese patent attorney and chose to take administrative action via the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC). “I prepared a file with all details, pictures of the original products and the copies, and all our patent registration certificates”, Christian adds.

They went to the SAIC in the city where the infringement took place and the manager in charge dispatched two officers to raid the premises of the infringing company. Christian says: “After searching for 45 minutes at the warehouse I could find one sample of a fake product. We had the company sign a statement of their wrongdoing after which the case was closed.”

Christian recommends other SMEs to act early: “Because we were quite early on this case it couldn’t spread throughout China. As SMEs are not always aware of IP issues, it is good to have a support service like the Helpdesk to give them all information”.

Lessons learnt:

• Get ahead of potential infringers and register your IP in China, preferably before entering the market.
• Keep your IP registration documents and proof of infringement at hand so you can immediately prove your case if needed.
• Don’t be afraid to enforce your rights, China’s IP legislative system is developed and the authorities can assist you.

For more information, please see:

• BEA Sensors
• China IPR SME Helpdesk guide to “Enforcement of IPR in China”
• China IPR SME Helpdesk guide to “Patent Protection in China”
• Watch the video: “Case study: manufacturer fights counterfeiting”

English Trackers provides English editing and proofreading services to companies worldwide. Bridget Rooth set up the company in 2008 and her vision was to build a strong brand that she would be able to sell one day. Bridget shares another reason for registering a trade mark in China – besides adequately protecting your brand.

“I think IPR is very complicated for small companies entering China because they don’t have big legal teams in-house”, Bridget says. “I had the advantage of having been exposed to business in China – and particularly IPR – while working my first four years in China for a foreign law firm. As soon as I had my business license I started the procedure to register my trade mark.”

Another issue Bridget mentions that small companies face in China, is working on a small budget. She says: “Having a miniscule budget meant I did the job myself. I found a local trade mark agent via a Chinese friend, the costs of registration in one class were ¥ 2,000 (± € 240).

Bridget mentions that the reason to register her trade mark was to enforce her rights in case of infringement, but so far no illegal copies of her brand have sprung up. However she recently encountered another use for having her trade mark registered. “If you want to verify your Sina Weibo account (Chinese equivalent of Twitter), which is definitely worth doing if you want to grow your fan base, you’ll want to use your logo in place of a photo on your account. To do that, you need to prove you own the brand.”

“Go register your brand!” says Bridget. She also advises SMEs to use all resources available when establishing themselves in the Chinese market. “Use Chambers of Commerce and services like the Helpdesk to assist you.”

Lessons learnt:

• Register your trade mark as soon as you register your company in China.
• Realise that your trade mark doesn’t just protect your brand name or logo, proving that you own the brand can be required for other business purposes as well.

For more information, please see:

• English Trackers
• China IPR SME Helpdesk guide to “Trade mark protection in China”
• China IPR SME Helpdesk how to guide to “How to record trade marks with customs in China”

European Chamber SME Conference 2015: Inside Affairs, Beijing, 30 June 2015

The China IPR SME Helpdesk is partnering with the European Chamber and the EU SME Centre for the fifth SME Conference in Beijing on 30^th June. This half-day conference will employ a hands-on approach, focusing on two of the biggest issues that European SMEs face when doing business in China: finance and human resources. European SMEs can attend this event free of charge. For more information, please click here.

China-Central and Eastern European Countries Investment and Trade Expo, Ningbo 8-12 June 2015

The Helpdesk IP Expert Reinout Van Malenstein will attend the China-Central Eastern European Countries Investment and Trade Expo, the first comprehensive exposition themed with investment and trade between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, to provide on the ground support for European SMEs exhibiting at the fair. Reinout will be on hand to provide IPR consulations on both enforcement actions during the fair and general China IPR strategy. European SMEs can pre-book a consultation session in advance at a convenient time by emailing. For more information, please click here.

Mission for Growth Taiwan, Taipei 3-5 June 2015

The China IPR SME Helpdesk is partnering with the European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs for a Mission for Growth in Taiwan. The Director-General Daniel Calleja will lead the Mission and will be accompanied by a delegation of representatives of business associations and entrepreneurs to discuss with Taiwanese entrepreneurs how to foster industrial cooperation and identify business opportunities.The aim of the visit is to help EU companies, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to operate internationally by exploiting business opportunities in Taiwan. SMEs will have the opportunity to participate in matchmaking events with local entrepreneurs. For more information, please click here.

17/04/2015 - SME Conference: Leading Strategies for SME Competitiveness, Shenzhen, 14 May 2015

The China IPR SME Helpdesk is partnering with the European Union Chamber of Commerce and the EU SME Centre for an half day  conference to provide a platform for sharing knowledge and best practices on the issues that matter most for SMEs in China, which include: intellectual property rights, human resource, and fraud. This conference highlights practical tools available for SMEs to help grow their businesses and SMEs will learn how to build leading strategies and compete for talent in the increasingly competitive market. For more information, please click here.