On August 1, 2017,the General Team for Food, Drug and Environment Criminal Investigation of Public Security Department of Shandong Province and the Quality Brands Protection Committee concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Shandong;
On November 23, 2017,the General Team for Food, Drug and Environment Criminal Investigation of Public Security Department of Shandong Province and the Quality Brands Protection Committee held in Shandong an Exchange and Training Seminar on Criminal Protection in Food, Drug, and Intellectual Right.
The Exchange and Training Seminar on Criminal Protection of Food, Drug, and Intellectual Right (the “Seminar”) was held on November 23 and 24, 2017 in Qingdao, Shandong by the General Team for Food, Drug and Environment Criminal Investigation of Public Security Department of Shandong Province (the “General Team”) and the Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC). Attendees from the General Team included Ge Wenlei, the Chief Officer, Liu Gang, a Deputy Chief Officer, Mei Jian, a Deputy Chief Officer, Yue Zengxiang, an associated researcher, Zhao Zhiguo, Deputy Detachment Leader of Detachment No. 2, and Deng Pengfei, the Deputy Director. Ninety-six law enforcement officers from brigades and detachments for food, drug and environment criminal investigation at city and county levels, together with 30 representatives (from seven industrial groups) and members from QBPC, were also present at the Seminar.
Ge Wenlei, the Chief Officer of the General Team, said that the General Team and QBPChave maintained effective communication since the conclusion of the MOUin August 2017. The reunion for the November Seminar in Shandong is an indication of their strong intention and efficient implementation of the cooperation on the criminal protection of intellectual right in Shandong. After this Seminar, the General Team will further its connection and cooperation with QBPC and its members, making efforts to advance the process of particular major cases in Shandong, and trying to offer better protection for members’ intellectual right.
The lecture of Jack Chang, Chairman of QBPC, started with a brief of the telephone communication, face-to-face exchanges, conclusion of the MOU, etc. between the General Team and QBPC. He said that QBPC would deepen its cooperation with the General Team in data analysis, product identification, and other related aspects. He also expressed his intention of finding out more valuable clues for the cracking of major cases. Jack said that cooperation between the General Team and QBPC might serve as an example worth generalization in other regions of China.
20 QBPC members from Unilevel, Wanmei, L Brands, Novartis, Sanofi, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, etc. introduced the attending public security officers to the counterfeit and infringing products frequently seen in the market and gave a detailed explanation of ways to identify them. They also shared their intelligence analysis methods in fighting against crimes and information about the areas with serious counterfeit and infringement problems. One major topic of the discussion was the challenges and problems in the fight against criminal cases, particularly those encountered in Shandong. Besides, the QBPC members shared their experience in fighting on the Internet, a hotbed for counterfeits.
Liu Gang explained case jurisdiction to the attendees. According to him, the General Team’s jurisdiction covers all crimes related to the infringing, fake and shoddy products and intellectual property crimes related to the infringement on trademark right, in areas including food, drug, health food, medical apparatus and instruments, cosmetics, and agricultural material products. All these criminal cases can be directed reported to the General Team.
Liu Gang and Colin Chen, Vice Chairman of QBPC, delivered summary remarks at the end of the Seminar. Liu Gang stressed again the close cooperation to be developed between the General Team and QBPC as well as its members. Colin Chen said that this Seminar enabled sufficient communication between QBPC members and frontline law enforcement officers, serving as a platform for effective exchanges and communication. He also admired the intelligence sharing proposed by Mr. Ge as an excellent innovation, saying that he was looking forward to the docking and sharing of intelligence between the intelligence systems of QBPC members’ and law enforcement agencies.
Goodbye, Shandong! See you again in Beijing at QBPC Annual Top Ten Cases in IP Protection and Model Cases Harmonizing Administrative and Judicial IP Enforcement Announcement & Exchange Meeting!