Deyang Patent Mortgage Pilot Scheme Gets Nationwide Recognition

A pilot program aimed to encourage the use of patents as collateral for loans, launched in the city of Deyang in Sichuan in 2016, will be expanded nationwide, according to a report by the city's Intellectual Property Office. In May of this year the provincial government confirmed that the Deyang pilot scheme could be promoted as a model for replication.

The State Council recently published a notice on Reform Measures Promoting Support for Innovation, in which it listed 12 reform measures to be promoted nationwide, among these was included "loans, insurance and financial risk compensation services tied to the mortgaging of patent rights".

In 2016, the city was approved as a pilot scheme city for loans based on patent rights as collateral. It was one of the first to set up a "bank loan + insurance guarantee + financial risks compensation" collaborative mechanism.

So far, the city has seen funds of RMB¥116 million (US$17.4 million) raised on the back of patents, involving 30 businesses and 52 patents.

Travel Agency Trolls Former EVA Air Chairman by Registering Trademark

After leaving the Evergreen Group, the former chair of EVA Air Chang Kuo-wei announced that he was planning to launch Starlux Airlines, but media reports have stated that when Chang tried to register the Chinese and English trademarks for the new company, he discovered that they had already registered by a Taichung travel agency. Although the Intellectual Property Office has not yet examined the Starlux Airlines case, Chang has already launched an opposition to the Chinese trademark held by the Taichung travel agency.

Sung-lin Travel Agency registered the trademark for the Chinese version of the announced name on December 2. The trademark was registered under category 39, denoting "tourism, transport services" and category 43, denoting "VIP rooms in airports".

Executive Yuan Approves First Large-Scale Draft Revision to Copyright Law in 20 Years

Taiwan's Executive Yuan passed a draft revision of the Copyright Law on October 26, which will now be passed over to the Legislature. In this revision, the Intellectual Property Office have added "rebroadcasting rights in public". This means that in the future using the internet and screen equipment to broadcast sound and images in a place of work may constitute infringement.

The changes constitute the first major revamp of the Copyright Law in almost 20 years, and the revisions are aimed at bringing it up to date in terms of digital technologies and the internet revolution. 93 articles have been revised and 17 articles have been added.

The changes are focused around five main areas:

• Adjusting the definitions of "public broadcast" and "public transmission", and adding "public re-broadcasting rights".
• Adjusting the rights of performers.
• Revising the limits of copyright.
• Expanding compulsory licensing for copyrighted works in cases in which authorship is unclear.
• Revising the out-of-date regulations around criminal liability.

Changhua Christian Hospital Secures US, TW Patent for qPCR Embryo Screening Test

Changhua Christian Hospital has been granted patents in both Taiwan and the US relating to quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technology, used to test test tube embryos before they are implanted in the womb, according to a report by the Broadcasting Corporation of China. The Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey was the first in the world to secure a patent for the technology, and Changhua Christian Hospital is the second.

The test is an improvement on previous screening techniques which were too sensitive, leading to the disposal of healthy embryos, according to the leader of the research team Dr. Chen Ming. The qPCR test is cheaper to produce and more accurate than previous screening methods.

The president of the hospital Kuo Shou-jen stated that the research team plans to transfer the technology in the hope that it will be taken up by hospitals across Taiwan, providing more resources for women with fertility issues.

Kojen Chair Set to Face Charges for Trademark Violation

Taipei prosecutors may charge Kenneth Hou, the chairman of online English-learning business Kojen for violating trademark law, according to the Liberty Times. Kojen was sued for trademark infringement by industry rival TutorABC for their use of the letter "o" depicted wearing headphones, similar to the TutorABC's mark, which is pictured wearing an earpiece on one side and a microphone.

After losing the civil suit on first instance, Kojen continued to use the infringing mark on its website. The Taipei Prosecutors' Office intends to press charges against Hou in November for continued use of the trademark after losing the civil suit against TutorABC.

Hou stated that the company had used the disputed mark after taking advice from legal professionals, but said that although he had ordered the image removed after losing the civil suit, many instances remained on the site in error, according to a report in the Chinese-language Liberty Times, and that it was not an intentional violation of trademark law.

China Kiwi Growers Disseminate Zespri Seeds without Permission

Two patented species of kiwi, SunGold and Gold9, owned by New Zealand kiwi company Zespri, have allegedly been disseminated without permission to other planters by a Chinese contractor, leading to illegal planting of the patented species in China, resulting in Zespri launching intellectual property litigation.

Australian media outlet Stuff reported that Zespri has cancelled its license with the contractor, forbidden them from continuing to plant and demanded that they destroy kiwi vines.

Facebook Follow the IP Observer on our FB Page