The Seventh China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) has adopted an intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and management procedure, which has added to the attraction of the fair. This procedure will be referred to by the Ministry of Commerce in drafting a national expo management law, which might be issued next year.

The procedure was worked out on the basis of experiences from industrial exhibitions in Shenzhen in recent years, said a source with the Shenzhen Municipal Intellectual Property Office on Sunday.

"We referred to the practice of the clock and watch industry, the gift industry, and many other industries, and now the procedure is put into use for the first time. The result at the fair is satisfactory," the source said.

The procedure was first adopted in organizing the fair. An IPR regulation was observed as the guideline in selecting exhibitors. Each exhibitor was required to sign an IPR commitment letter before they could attend the fair. In the letter, they promised to respect the intellectual property rights of the exhibitors and to prevent piracy.

In case of any dispute relating to piracy during the fair, the process would be brought to mediation. In this year's fair, two intellectual property disputes were reported and solved soon afterwards in the manner.

"In the past, for such kind of disputes, exhibitors quarreled and even fought in the hall, causing a lot of trouble for organizers as well as negative influences among audiences. This year, disputes were solved smoothly," the source said.

The two disputes, handled Friday and Saturday, were about the functions of an MP3 watch presented by a South Korean exhibitor and the design of a wardrobe. The exhibitors finally removed the disputed products from the fair, to the satisfaction of the complainants.

"We think the procedure is very practical and effective. We are proud to keep the fair very 'clean', as innovations and renovations are highlighted, and piracy is driven away. We'll keep on optimizing the procedure so that IPR protection can become a practice of more and more people," the source said.

Source: Shenzhen Daily