On the afternoon of April 23, QBPC 2023-2024 Annual Top Ten Cases Announcement was successfully held in Beijing. There were more than 200 participants attended the event onsite or online, including leaders from State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), General Administration of Customs (GACC), National Copyright Administration, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Administration for Market Regulation (AMR), Shanxi Provincial AMR, Food, Drug and Environment Crime Investigation Brigade (FDECIB) of the Heilongjiang Provincial Public Security Department, FDECIB of Public Security Department of Shandong Province, Tianjin Environment, Food, Drug, Safety Security Brigade of Public Security Bureau (Tianjin EFDSSB) and China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (CAEFI), representatives from recommended agencies of Top Ten Cases, foreign embassies, international organizations, IPR research institutions, e-commerce platforms, media and QBPC members.
Firstly, QBPC Chair Michael Ding delivered opening remarks for the event. According to him, as an indicator of China’s investment and IP environment for international society, QBPC Annual Top Ten Cases were the latest intellectual property cases that were nominated and selected from the perspective of right holders, including criminal, civil, and administrative cases, involving trademark infringement, patent determination, copyright infringement, and anti-unfair competition infringement. Through the selection and announcement of the Top Ten Cases, QBPC expected to extensively promote the best practices for the continuous optimization of the soil for brand protection and innovation. Meanwhile, he hoped that through the selection and subsequent sharing of these cases, QBPC could strengthen communication and interaction with international IPR stakeholders, focus on difficult and hot issues, and work on solutions together.
Michael Ding
Cao Hongying, Executive Vice President of CAEFI, Zhou Yong, Director from Division of Fight against IPR Infringement and Counterfeiting, Bureau of Law Enforcement and Inspection of SAMR, Sun Xiaolu, Deputy Director from IPR Division of General Operation Department of GACC, Michael Mangelson, IP Counselor of U.S. Embassy Beijing, Gyta Berasnevičiūtė-Singh, Project Leader of IP Key China and Kirstine PEDERSEN, Head of IIPCIC, INTERPOL Global Academy, INTERPOL General Secretariat (online) made keynote speeches.
Cao Hongying expressed sincere gratitude to the representatives of the selected 2023-2024 QBPC Top Ten Cases handling agencies. He stated that successful handling and adjudication of relevant cases had effectively protected the health and safety of the people, safeguarded the brand image and legitimate rights and interests of right holders, cracked down on and deterred criminals and lawbreakers infringing on IPR, educated relevant industry practitioners, demonstrated the determination of the Chinese government to protect IPR and technological innovation, and made important contributions to creating a market-oriented, legal, and international first-class business environment. In addition, he affirmed the bridge role and expertise of QBPC as a trade association, and expected to see QBPC’s greater contributions to the IPR protection cause of China.
Cao Hongying
Zhou Yong
Sun Xiaolu
Michael Mangelson
Gyta Berasnevičiūtė-Singh
Kirstine PEDERSEN
Cao Hongying, Michael Ding, QBPC Vice Chair Kelvin Liu and Ji Ying presented plaques of appreciation to the representatives of relevant enforcement agencies and medals to QBPC members who nominated the selected cases.
As a conclusion, Michael Ding congratulated the representatives of the selected 2023-2024 QBPC Top Ten Case handling agencies while expressing his sincere gratitude to colleagues from all walks of life for their support and assistance over the years. He expected all parties to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, to consistently improve capabilities and expand horizons through case studies, so as to protect the environment of innovation and creativity, and build a shared future for sustainable development.
Michael Ding
The event is the 23rd Top Ten Cases Announcement of QBPC, with a new record of 78 nominations. The selected cases came from various industries and fields such as medicine and medical devices, daily chemical products, household appliances, electronics, electrical machinery, software, watches, clothing, shoes and hats, chemicals, toys, wine industry, sports, etc. These cases had significant social influence and representativeness in IPR protection in related fields.
Through the Top Ten Cases of QBPC in recent years, right holders could tell that the effectiveness of China's intellectual property protection system has been significantly improved in all aspects. In terms of judicial protection, a professional adjudication pattern has been formed; In terms of law enforcement, more resources have been invested, and special investigation and prosecution actions intensified, communication and cooperation with right holders closer and information sharing more efficient; Cross-regional and cross-departmental coordination has become smoother while cross-border international law enforcement cooperation constantly strengthened.
Since 2002, we have seen the continuous improvement of the organization of the event, more engagement by QBPC members, more nominated cases with better quality. Its reputation and influence in both domestic and international IP community grew with the passage of time. The activity had now become an indicator of China’s investment and IP environment for international society. The cases were nominated and selected by QBPC members through voting.