Release of GPLv3

GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007

Richard Stallman: Why Upgrade to GPLv3 (Chinese Version)

Two critical issues are addressed by GPLv3:

"Some devices are designed to deny users access to install or run modified versions of the software inside them, although the manufacturer can do so. This is fundamentally incompatible with the aim of protecting users' freedom to change the software. The systematic pattern of such abuse occurs in the area of products for individuals to use, which is precisely where it is most unacceptable. Therefore, we have designed this version of the GPL to prohibit the practice for those products. If such problems arise substantially in other domains, we stand ready to extend this provision to those domains in future versions of the GPL, as needed to protect the freedom of users.

Finally, every program is threatened constantly by software patents. States should not allow patents to restrict development and use of software on general-purpose computers, but in those that do, we wish to avoid the special danger that patents applied to a free program could make it effectively proprietary. To prevent this, the GPL assures that patents cannot be used to render the program non-free."

新颁《劳动合同法》

中华人民共和国劳动合同法

（2007年6月29日第十届全国人民代表大会常务委员会第二十八次会议通过，自2008年1月1日起施行）

保密与竞业限制（Confidentiality & Non-Competition）：

第二十三条

用人单位与劳动者可以在劳动合同中约定保守用人单位的商业秘密和与知识产权相关的保密事项。

对负有保密义务的劳动者，用人单位可以在劳动合同或者保密协议中与劳动者约定竞业限制条款，并约定在解除或者终止劳动合同后，在竞业限制期限内按月给予劳动者经济补偿。劳动者违反竞业限制约定的，应当按照约定向用人单位支付违约金。

第二十四条

竞业限制的人员限于用人单位的高级管理人员、高级技术人员和其他负有保密义务的人员。竞业限制的范围、地域、期限由用人单位与劳动者约定，竞业限制的约定不得违反法律、法规的规定。

在解除或者终止劳动合同后，前款规定的人员到与本单位生产或者经营同类产品、从事同类业务的有竞争关系的其他用人单位，或者自己开业生产或者经营同类产品、从事同类业务的竞业限制期限，不得超过二年。

K. Lesli Ligorner from Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP：用好中国的竞业限制协议

Recommended Post

Erik J. Heels: How to defend your brands on the Internet

First published 7/1/2007; Law Practice magazine, "nothing.but.net" column; American Bar Association

SECTION 337 INVESTIGATION ON CERTAIN NITRILE GLOVES

ITC INSTITUTES SECTION 337 INVESTIGATION ON CERTAIN NITRILE GLOVES

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Tillotson Corporation d/b/a Best Manufacturing Company of Menlo, GA, on May 30, 2007. The complainant requests that the ITC issue a permanent general exclusion order and permanent cease and desist orders.

Identified respondents from China in this investigation include:

Beijing Huateng Rubber Plastic of China（北京华腾橡塑乳胶制品有限公司）;
Ideal Healthcare Group Co. Ltd. of China;
and JDA (Tianjin) Plastic Rubber Co. Ltd. of China（兰奇天津塑胶有限公司）.

Sisvel & Aigo

Time for a Reverse Patent Troll to seek invalidation of Sisvel mp3 patents?

MP3不缴费就封柜 CeBIT展上演专利惊魂

Sisvel代理爱国者专利全球推广

Aigo acquires Sisvel license

What interests me is "A Reverse Patent Troll, seeking invalidation of the Philips’ mp3 patents asserted by Sisvel against major consumer electronics companies". Caution is needed in evaluating this proposal due to the complex dynamics among the licensor, licensee, and consumer.

COMMUNITY CUSTOMS ACTIVITIES ON COUNTERFEIT AND PIRACY

European Commission's Taxation and Customs Union: SUMMARY OF COMMUNITY CUSTOMS ACTIVITIES ON COUNTERFEIT AND PIRACY - RESULTS AT THE EUROPEAN BORDER 2006

Some highlights:

1 "In terms of overall quantities seized, China remains the main source for counterfeit goods, with over 80% of all articles seized coming from there. However, it should be noted that with regard to the number of cases treated by customs, the selection is far more widespread and China only accounts for a third of the cases."

2 "In the medicines sector, India is the number one source, followed by the United Arab Emirates and China. Together these 3 sources are responsible for more than 80% of all counterfeit medicines. In other cases, other countries predominate; in the food sector Turkey remains the main source and in the electrical equipment sector Malaysia has become the main source."

The summary points out that "reliable figures are required, in order to be able to better understand the scope and extent of the problem, which has become a global phenomenon. To this end, the Commission is committed to ensuring that relevant statistical data on customs actions in the EU is analysed and shared with customs in a timely manner. In addition, the Commission will continue to pursue the possibility of exchanging such data with customs in third countries, in accordance with relevant customs cooperation provisions that apply."

In May, U.S., China Customs Agreed to Combat Global Trade in Counterfeit Goods during the second meeting of the Sino-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue. This memorandum of cooperation on intellectual property rights calls for, among other things,

1 exchange of significant intellectual property rights seizures information each quarter in order to track violators and conduct enforcement actions. The country receiving information will have 90 days to report to the providing country on enforcement actions resulting from this disclosure of information.

2 exchange of counterfeit and pirated goods seizure statistics every six months for goods originating in or destined for the other country. The statistics exchange will describe the number of seizures, quantity and value of goods, description and/or Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification of the commodities, mode of transportation and the main ports of import and export for the goods in the two countries.

Mu Xinsheng, Minister of Customs for the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, told some background stories about the Sino-U.S. customs cooperation in an interview:

"美国对我们的知识产权保护，包括海关的知识产权边境保护一向颇多指责，态度强硬。最常见的是拿美国海关查获的源于中国的侵权产品说话。我们曾一再要求美方将其查获与我国有关的进口侵权货物的信息向我方通报，以便中国海关有针对性地加强执法，但是一直没有得到有效的回应。

2006年12月中旬，美方向我们提出了签订中美双方海关知识产权执法合作备忘录的要求，并提供了合作备忘录的建议文本。由于今年４月初美方决定将中美知识产权争端提交WTO争端解决机制解决，中美海关知识产权保护执法合作备忘录工作曾一度暂停。"

See THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COUNTERFEITING AND PIRACY PART IV. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY produced by OECD from a global, economic view.

版权贸易逆差

新闻出版总署报告显示我国版权贸易逆差依然巨大

以下摘自“2006年全国新闻出版业基本情况”：

1、2006年全国共引进出版物版权12386种，其中图书10950种，期刊540种，录音制品150种，录像制品108种，电子出版物174种，软件434种，电影29种，电视节目1种。

图书版权引进地情况如下：美国2957种，英国1296种，德国303种，法国253种，俄罗斯38种，加拿大40种，新加坡156种，日本484种，韩国315种，香港地区144种，澳门地区2种，台湾地区749种，其他地区4213种。

2、2006年全国共输出出版物版权2057种，其中图书2050种，期刊2种，电子出版物5种。

图书版权输出地情况如下：美国147种，英国66种，德国104种，法国14种，俄罗斯66种，加拿大25种，新加坡47种，日本116种，韩国363种，香港地区119种，澳门地区53种，台湾地区702种，其他地区228种。(说明：以上统计未含香港、澳门、台湾地区的相关统计数据。)

版权贸易逆差危局 外版图书中国市场持续性高烧

引进十本 输出一本：中国书业贸易逆差之痛

版权贸易中进口多出口少：中国图书要学会卖版权

SIPO does not handle patent infringement disputes

Mr. Danny Friedmann's paper "How to work within China’s IPR enforcement system for trademark and design rights" takes SIPO as one of the administrative IPR enforcement routes in China:

"Article 3 Patent Law promulgates that the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) is responsible for the patent work throughout the country, including the enforcement of counterfeit patented products and patent infringement. Provincial offices generally deal with patent complaints. Pursuant to article 57 Patent Law when parties are unwilling to consult with each other or where the consultation fails, the parties may institute legal proceedings in the people’s court or request SIPO to handle the matter. When an infringement is established, SIPO may order an injunction and upon request of the parties mediate in the amount of compensation for the damage caused by the infringement. ... Where a person passes off the patent of another, he shall be ordered by SIPO, pursuant to article 58 Patent Law, to amend his act. SIPO will confiscate the illegal earnings and may impose a fine of not more than three times the illegal earnings, or if there are no illegal earnings, a fine of not more than RMB 50,000. If the infringement constitutes a crime, SIPO will transfer the case to the People’s Security Bureau. SIPO has limited enforcement resources. Therefore, it has less power than the other administrative bodies."

The patent administration department under the State Council, namely SIPO, is responsible for the patent work throughout the country, including receiving and examination of patent applications and grant of patent rights for inventions-creations, but excluding "the enforcement of counterfeit patented products and patent infringement".

SIPO NEVER handles patent infringement disputes in China. The local administrative authority for patent affairs under the local governments takes the role.

SigmaTel, Actions Settle Patent Suits

SigmaTel, Actions Settle Patent Suits

To quote: "The two companies dismissed all litigation pending against one another and reached a three-year cross license agreement. Financial terms are confidential."

A press release from Actions: Actions and SigmaTel Settle All Patent Litigation and Enter into Cross-License Agreement

Hsiang-Wei (David) Lee, Chief Financial Officer of Actions Semiconductor, has told Actions' litigation story at the Summit on Overseas Protection of Intellectual Property of Chinese Enterprises, part of the 2007 China High-Level Forum on Intellectual Property Rights Protection in Beijing this April. That speech was, in my view, quite helpful to Chinese enterprises' business strategy in terms of IP disputes.

IP & Antitrust

最近，断断续续地在听 Oral History Task Force (This program is "established to permanently document the perspectives and memories of those who have figured prominently in the development of US antitrust law")，于是，就联想到国内知识产权与反垄断的一些讨论与报道。我以为，严肃的讨论，首先需要深刻地理解问题本身，无论是学理上的，还是实务上的，否则，是无法提出富于建设性的解决方案的。

今年4月，DOJ & FTC发布了ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: Promoting Innovation and Competition的报告，其中很多问题，比如Patent Hold Up, Patent Pool，国内的企业或多或少已经触及。AVS就是一个很好的例子。AVS工作组已经做了很多不错的工作：知识产权政策、关于AVS专利池管理的建议性规定、关于AVS专利池许可的建议性规定、会员缺省许可义务、会员提案专利披露与许可承诺、标准草案审阅期专利披露与许可承诺等等。这样的努力，让人鼓舞。据我所知，这些工作也得到了不少的外部帮助。

发展中国家的反垄断本来就是有争议的、新鲜的话题。在这种背景下，在中国，动辄就将知识产权与反垄断联系起来，这个调子或许定得太高了，相反，脚踏实地，理性地去尝试解决现实中的一个一个问题，可能才是正解。

毕竟，仅仅在《反垄断法（草案）》里写下“经营者依照有关知识产权的法律、行政法规行使知识产权的行为，不适用本法；但是，经营者滥用知识产权，排除、限制竞争的行为，适用本法。”，只是一个起点。

李书通为什么要这么做呢？

商標訴訟、ヤマハ発動機が中国で勝訴

ヤマハバイク、商標権侵害で勝訴　中国で賠償額「最高」

剪不断 理还乱——李书福家族矛盾显露冰山一角

在看了最高人民法院就浙江华田工业有限公司因与雅马哈发动机株式会社，台州华田摩托车销售有限公司、台州嘉吉摩托车销售有限公司、南京联润汽车摩托车销售有限公司商标侵权纠纷一案的民事判决书后，我想问的却是，李书通先生究竟为什么要这么做呢？

我想到了吴晓波先生写的《狼图腾的终结》，还有《中国企业失败的基因》：

“这些年，我一直在探寻中国企业失败的基因，现在，我称之为‘中国式失败’。

‘中国式失败’的前提是，存在一个独特的中国式商业环境。在过去的三十年里，中国一直处在一个剧烈转型的时代，法制在逐渐的建设和完善之中，冒险者往往需要穿越现行的某些法规，这造成很多商业行为都将在一种灰色的中间地带运行，企业家将遭遇商业之外的众多挑战。”

此外，《新兴市场公司创新面对的困难和对策》中的下述评论亦有见地：

“其实包括中国在内的很多新兴的国家是有知识产权立法的，但是很难执行。即使政府愿意执行这些法律，但是受保护的有商标的产品和普通仿制品价值差别非常大，消费者则非常支持这些仿制品。而大多数亚洲社会没有尊重无形商品的惯例，比如品牌、软件和业务模式，这样又加重了这个情况。但是，这也并不意味着创新者不需要寻找保护自己的方式，或者说不要阻止仿制者进行仿制。”

USPTO's pilot peer to patent project

USPTO Releases Notice Setting Forth Rules for Pilot

Also in NYTimes:

"The patent office is experimenting with the concept of opening the examination process to outsiders, inviting public peer reviews. On June 15, Mr. Dudas said, the patent office will begin a pilot project for open reviews of software patents. The patents in the pilot program will be posted on a Web site, and members of the public with software expertise will be allowed to send the patent office technical references relevant to the patent claims.

But the pilot project applies only to patent applications in the field of information technology, and only with the approval of patent applicants. Legislative changes would be required to have public peer views without an applicant’s approval, and thus to extend the concept to other fields."

起初知道这个项目，是去年5月通过IBM的David J. Kappos在北大所作的一次学术报告。 后来，IBM发布的"Building a New IP Marketplace - A Global Innovation Outlook 2.0 Report"也谈到了这个项目，其中的一组对话很是精彩：

“Community Patent Review is one of the most exciting and revolutionary changes to the patent system in decades. In today’s networked world, the wisdom of a wide array of experts—not just the examiner and the applicant—can be brought to bear in manageable and affordable ways.”
— Beth Noveck, New York Law School

“Community review is a very interesting idea which should be supported.”
— Charles Fish, Time Warner

“At first glance, Community Patent Review seems a good idea. But the experience in China suggests that it may not work well as we expect…The patent office found there were very few meaningful challenges coming from the public. So the 1992 patent law abolished this arrangement. So the problem is: Is there really a community full with technical experts and competent patent agents who are interested in the onerous work of patent review during their part-time?”
— Guobin Cui, Tsinghua University Law School

“The community is keenly interested in ensuring that patents don’t issue improperly in a way that will impinge upon their work. We have seen a lot of support thus far from technical professionals—I don’t think that will be a problem—also some participation is better than none.”
— Marc Ehrlich, IBM

“The intent of community review may be to foster a friendly community of volunteers willing to improve patent quality by pointing out uncited art, but when millions in R&D and patent filing fees are at stake, I believe that an open market economy will create an environment wherein competitive commercial interests will capitalize on the opportunity to invest in reviews for the express purpose of eliminating a competitor’s claims to a market.”
— Andy Gibbs, Patent Café

“The real challenge is the development of secondary institutions and resources that allow the market to self-organize.”
— Kevin Werbach, Wharton School of Business

崔老师的担心不无道理，毕竟中国的很多情况不同于美国。至于这个项目的实际效果如何，还是耐心等待相关的facts and figures吧。