THE Longgang branch of the Shenzhen Administration for Market Regulation has recently issued the country’s first intellectual property administrative ban, sznews.com reported. The release of the administrative ban was based on the opinions provided by China (Shenzhen) Intellectual Property Protection Center. The center, entrusted by the market regulatory department in Longgang District, issued advisory opinions within two working days on whether an enterprise’s products had infringed on intellectual property rights. To ensure that the opinions are fully demonstrated, experts from the center’s multiple departments formed a panel with patent examination experts to discuss the advisory opinions through a video conference, in which the preliminary opinions and conclusions were unanimously reached by the participants. According to the Shenzhen Administration for Market Regulation, the intellectual property administrative ban is a “tailor-made” intellectual property administrative protection measure to restrain intellectual property infringement, strengthen intellectual property protection and create a satisfactory business environment. The city’s regulations on intellectual property rights protection clearly stipulate that the market supervision department can issue a ban first if there is evidence to prove an infringement. The ban will effectively stop the infringement and safeguard the beneficiary’s legitimate rights and interests in a timely manner before the substantive dispute is resolved. (Zhang Yu) |