For the second time since July, the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade plans to present the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) with a list of 30 pseudo Italian brands in an ongoing war targeting shady marketing strategies used by Chinese businesses. Giovanni de Sanctis, an intellectual property representative with the Institute’s Beijing office, said the Institute had lodged complaints with SIPO saying that unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers had been discovered distributing goods falsely labelled as being Italian and made in Italy. De Sanctis also noted that Chinese consumers were among the victims of the practice. “The consumers find it hard to tell if these are authentic Italian brands and end up paying high prices for something that is not necessarily shoddy but not authentic,” he said. The fake products could “damage the image of the country and of made-in-Italy goods”. Some Chinese manufacturers have turned to such shady marketing strategies – projecting their made-in-China products as international brands – to take advantage of a faith in foreign brands among notoriously brand-conscious consumers, amid a credibility crisis facing Chinese brands. Most of the 30 Chinese businesses that the Italian institute named for trademark irregularities in its complaint last year are in Guangdong province and Beijing.

A draft amendment to China’s Copyright Law which would deprive a songwriter of the rights to his or her work three months after it is released has sparked strong protests from the Chinese music industry. An online campaign has begun against article 46 in the draft with many musicians telling stories about how they are already the victims of insufficient copyright protection. Article 46 says that three months after a song is publicly released, anyone would be allowed to use it without asking permission from the writer. In a separate article, those profiting from musical works written by others would have to pay a service fee to the “copyright management organization” one month after they start using it. That organization would be the Music Copyright Society of China, which has often been involved in disputes with songwriters and musicians. Gao Xiaosong, a Chinese songwriter, music producer and singer, said that it was impossible for a new song to gain great popularity in just three months. So allowing unlimited and unpaid use of new songs so early was “sheer encouragement for online plagiarism” and would harm creativity in the industry, Gao added.

American heater manufacturer A.O. Smith has taken three Chinese companies to court over alleged trademark infringement. The company has registered a series of Chinese and English “A.O. Smith” trademarks in China and the defendants – Shanghai Yajiasi Electronic Appliance Co, Guangzhou AO.Simihe Electronic Appliance Co and Zhongshan Aboluo Electronic and Gas Appliance Co – are accused of using similar Chinese and English names on their products.

Jiangsu topped other Chinese provinces and municipalities with nearly 200,000 patents granted and more than 348,000 patent applications filed in 2011. Its investment from overseas has ranked at the top of the nation for eight consecutive years. More than 15,800 companies in the province filed patent applications last year, an increase of 57.3% over 2010. The number of companies with at least 100 patent filings grew to 405 from 20 in 2006. Some 1,800 companies in the province now have databases to analyze technologies and search for patent information before starting R&D, a process that helps avert both infringement and duplicate research. “Intellectual property is a key factor in enhancing proprietary innovation and an effective means of competing for the pinnacle of future development,” said Xu Nanping, Assistant to the Jiangsu Governor. Provincial authorities formulated local intellectual property management regulations on companies in 2008 to encourage innovation, the first in the nation, and held a series of invention awards. Eight intellectual property centers in the province have trained about 15,000 people over the past five years. Jiangsu is also among leading provinces in other aspects of intellectual property including trademarks, copyrights, software and new varieties of plants, according to local officials.

Another trademark battle is looming over the name of New York Knicks NBA star Jeremy Lin as Wuxi Risheng Sports Utility had registered the trademark for USD700 before Lin’s rise in July 2010. The company makes about one million basketballs, volleyballs and soccer balls a year. Nike started selling Lin-themed shoes on its website and launched its “Linsanity” line of clothes at Foot Locker stores last month. Lin is applying for a trademark in the U.S. to the term “Linsanity”. Risheng will start selling basketballs under the “Lin Shuhao Jeremy SHL” trademark in China this month.