Blizzard, Valve or Others, Who will get DOTA Trademark in China?

—Analysis of DOTA (the Defense of the Ancient) Trademark Dispute 

Highlight: Recently Blizzard voiced its concern over Valve’s attempt to trademark DOTA, a popular map of Warcraft III. Could Valve register the trademark, and what measures could Blizzard take to against Valve’s attempt? Bridge IP Commentary will give you our analysis. 

DOTA is the only officially recognized Warcraft RPG map by Blizzard Entertainment, who is furious about Valve’s attempt to trademark DOTA. “To us, that means that you’re really taking it away from the Blizzard and Warcraft III community and that just doesn’t seem the right thing to do” as commented by Rob Pardo from Blizzard.

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The Legal Protection over Open Source Software in China

Highlight: Although the OSS is the legal works protected by Copyright Law in China, there has promulgated few legal regulations on it. In this essay, you could know the method to protect the OSS by the current laws and regulations.

It has shown up an increasing trend to open the source code in the intellectual property practices of the world software industry, which is remarked in China by Microsoft’s decision to open part of its operating system code to China government. The protection over open source software is still a legal practices field with little specified regulations in China. However, on the other hand, most important software of China’s own intellectual property is developed on the opened source code and subject to the restriction of the OSS License. Bridge IP Commentary will introduce you the protection over the OSS under current legal environment in China and its legal status.

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The Copyright Dilemma of the Online Literature Industry in China

   

Highlights: The online literature in China is jeopardized by piracy. And for the safe harbor rules and massive uploading by netizens, such long-standing could not be effectively combated. Bridge IP Commentary will make analysis on such phenomenon.

In 2010, Shanda Literature (“Shanda”) sued Baidu over pirated literature works on mobiles net and its refusal to delete such works upon the complaint from Shanda. To Shanda’s claim, Baidu holds that it has removed the infringed part while others are examined of no infringement, and it shall take no liability hereby. Baidu was sentenced to take the liability in first instance, and then appealed but withdrew the suit at the end. Thus Baidu shall compensate Shanda RMB 500,000 yuan by the effective decision of the hearing. In this essay, Bridge will analyze the case and legal issues concerning the development of the original literature on the internet in China.

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No “iPad” Chinese trademark right for Apple after payment in the transaction, and our analysis.

—-the Key points to the trademark transaction under the frame of China laws

Highlight:Apple gets involved in the litigation against a Chinese company for the ownership of iPad trademark, which Apple has claimed the property from purchase. However, such conflict could be averted if proper preparation has been done before the trademark transaction.

Recently, the trademark conflict over “iPad” initiated by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL, the “Apple”) against Proview Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (the “Proview”) was heard for the third time on Shenzhen Intermediate Court. In the trial, Apple affirmed it owns the global trademark right of “iPad”, which was stroke back by Proview that such right in mainland China is exclusively held by Proview and the claimed transaction of Apple for the acquisition of such right has no permission or authorization from it, furthermore, Apple was also accused of its malicious purchase of the registered “iPad” behind the IP Application Development Company worldwide.

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Nikon Succeeds in Combating the Trademark Infringement in Non-video Classes

—Judicial Solutions to the Conflict between Company Name and Trademark Right in China 

Highlight: The free-riding on the well-known trademark is not rare in China for the startups’ eagerness of rapid development, some ones may even register such marks as their company names. Bridge IP Commentary will introduce you the key elements in the trademark  right protection for trademark owner.

Recently, China’s Supreme Court released the Annual Ten IPR Cases in China, among which a case concerning the conflict between company name and well-known trademark heard in Xi’an Intermediate People’s Court of Shaanxi Province gets the attention of Bridge IP Commentary. In the case, a company established on 28th March, 2000 in Jinghua City of Zhejiang Province altered its name to Zhejiang Nikon Co., Ltd., which mainly sells bikes and scooters and applied for trademark registration. That discontented century-old Nikon Corporation (TYO:7731) and aroused the legal battle. Zhejiang Nikon was finally sentenced to abandon the registration, alter its infringing name and take the compensation liability.

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How Could McDonald’s Beat Free Rider of Trademark in China?

Highlights:This article introduces the case initiated by McDonald’s to protect its trademark right against malicious imitation and the related laws and regulations in China, also the legal suggestions from Bridge IP Commentary to McDonald’s in the case that to protect its right basing on the general vocabulary defined in the Trademark Law and the copyright of its trademark.


Recently, the McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) administrative litigation against the imitation of its trademark by a Beijing company attracts the media’sattention. Several years ago, the trademark “wonderful and its graph” (hereinafter referred to trademark “W”)was registered by  the company in the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, and the registered ranges include restaurant, café, research and development, clothing design and so on. On finding the trade mark and the judgment of similarity with its “M”, McDonald’s then filed an opposition against the trademark to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board(hereinafter referred to the Trademark Board) under the State Administration of Industry and Commerce for re-examination. The Trademark Board finally decides to cancel the registration of the trademark “W” in the field of restaurant, café, cocktail party service, hotel, bar, teahouse service, however, while to maintain the registration in clothing design and package design. Therefore, MacDonald filed an administrative litigation to the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court to cancel the decision of the Trademark Board.

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Should Apple Bear Liability for Infringing Contents in App Store?

Highlights:Two software developers was sentenced to bear the compensation liability recently in Beijing for the infringing gadgets in Apple App Store. Bridge IP Commentary will introduce you the liabilities Apple may take in such case.

Recently, a case concerning the alleged video infringement in App Store is sentenced by a local Court in Beijing, in which the LeTV Information and Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (the “LeTV”, SZSE: 300104) found a TV series with the right to network dissemination of information reserved by it played on a software available from the App Store and then filed a suit against the two companies developing and operating the software. The first instance’s decision supported the claim of LeTV with the sentence of the compensation of RMB 40,000.

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Will International Software Company Benefit from China’s New VAT Policy?

— the interpretation on the preferential policy of value-added tax

Recently, the Notice on the Policy of Value-added Tax of Software Product (the “Policy”) was jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation of P.R.C., which shall back cover any VAT after 2011.1.1. The stock market reacts positively to the new policy.

However, as far as Bridge IP Commentary knows，the Policy is just the continuation of the past regulations, which include the Policies for the Development of the Software & Integrated Circuit Industries issued in 2000 (the “Policy in 2000”) and the Notice of Policies for Further Development of the Software and Integrated Circuit Industries released in first half of 2011 (the “Notice”). Even so, the introduction of the Policy once again shows the ambition of China government to boost the software industry. And the following is the interpretation on the Policy from Bridge IP Commentary:

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Could Tmall Beat Back the Attack with the Aid of Police?

                   —Analysis on the Possible Legal Countermeasures against Attack on Tmall

Highlights: Tmall is facing the attack from its small merchants for the dissatisfaction on the ons side increase on the annual fee. We would like to analyze the possible legal measure Tmall may take to combat such attack.

Recently, many merchants of Tmall, a subsidiary of the biggest China e-commerce company Alibaba Group, attacked the big merchants on that platform for the upsetting on the higher annual fee with a flood of fake orders and regulatory products return leading to the cripple of the brand sites.

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The First Criminal Case on Internet Video Copyright Infringement in China

Highlights: to introduce the first criminal case on the internet infringement, and also the analysis on the relevant laws and regulations in China. 

As one of the biggest video websites in China, the openV.com, which claims being able to provide multi-platform VOD services through mobile phone, computer and television, has been prosecuted for criminal offenses, with the website itself and six staffs are brought to the court. OpenV has been the first video website put subject to criminal liability for unauthorized film and television works on demand services. This unprecedented case shocks the industry currently with widespread infringements, and also shows the determination to combat internet infringement of China government.

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Malicious Squatting of Trademarks in China Will Be Curbed

                                —Comment I on the revision of China Trademark Law 

Highlights: The Comment One on the draft of China Trademark Law amendment. The new regulation expands the scope of malicious squatting of trademarks and the protection on well-known ones, while it still leaves an ambiguous space for application.

The draft of China Trademark Law amendment (the “Draft”) is issued by the Legislative Office of State Council (LAO), a working body to the State Council assisting the Premier in handling legislative affairs and other legal affairs, for the public comments. After study on the draft, Bridge IP Commentary will make series analysis on it.

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Introduction on Chinese laws concerning the Invasion of Privacy by Malicious Android Apps

Highlights: More and more malicious APP on Android phones have been spotted, to prevent the legal rights and interests of smart phone users in China, Mr. You Yunting, the founder of Bridge IP Commentary gives his suggestions and analysis.

With the popularity of smart phones, it comes to the security companies’ attention that more and more APP malwares are hitting Android phones as well as the jailbroken iPhones. And unlike surreptitious charge, the unauthorized uploading of personal data is difficult to be perceived by the user for less time and flow hereby taken.

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What’s behind Gucci’s elegance?

                       —Gucci faces the allegations of sweatshop

Highlights: Gucci is claimed to maltreat its employees in China, which even leads to miscarriage of pregnant workers, thus not only impedes Italian luxury brand the expansion in China, but also brings the arbitration and demands for huge compensation.

Gucci, the luxury giant, recently becomes the subject of criticism for it being claimed by former employees of Shenzhen flag-store to be a sweatshop, and the maltreating includes overtime work without fair compensation, unethical treatment for pregnant workers, double compensation for stolen goods, etc. (News related)

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The Patent Application of 2-Dimensional Bar Code in China

According to the New York Times, 2-dimensional bar code technology has been applied in some television shopping programs in USA, where a scan of the onscreen 2-dimensiaonal bar code would put the product directly in the viewer’s shopping cart. In the mobile internet age, 2-dimensional bar code technology could enjoy a wide application area, however, that also necessarily leads to the battle of intellectual property on such technology just like other patent competitions over mobile technology.

The 2-dimensional bar code technology has been rapidly developing in recent years in China. According to the preliminary retrieval by Bridge IP Commentary concerning the application of 2-dimensional bar code in China on October 9th, 2011, there were over 650 patents applied with the 2-dimensional as the key word, and through preliminary analysis, these patents have the following characteristics:

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How Sony Can Avoid Copyright Risk?

Highlights: The article analyzes the case that SONY sued for the infringing content of internet Video-On-Demand service integrated in TV set and the provisions of port principles in China Copyright Law.

It is reported that SONY (TYO: 6758, NYSE: SNE), along with a VOD website, was sued by a Chinese cartoon company (the “copyright owner”), and Beijing Dongcheng District People’s Court has accepted the suit.

As news­ reports, the copyright owner claimed that SONY integrated the internet unicast service software in certain type of its TV set. Furthermore, with SONY’s TV set instruction, the consumer could watch the content of infringing program after registering the serial number of TV online and an account with a website in sequence.

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