After having lessons on intellectual property right (IPR) protection at school, Liang Jinchao, a sixth primary school grader in South China's Guangdong Province, has one more homework to investigate registration of trademark.

Liang, a pupil at the Dali Experimental Primary School in Nanhai, Foshan City of Guangdong, has been busy applying his knowledge about IPR protection learned at class to investigating the registration of the trademark "Guangtai," a chainstore operated by his father Liang Zhikai.

However, to his surprise in investigation, he found out that the chainstore has not yet been registered for a trademark.

Persuaded by the son, his father Liang Zhikai got to know the importance about trademarks and decided to register "Guangtai" as a trademark for his chain business in a bid to avoid potential losses in the future.

The elder Liang is just one of the beneficiaries over the IPR protection campaign first launched in Nanhai in 2002 with the purpose of increasing knowledge about intellectual property right protection among all primary and middle school students.

Nanhai, where more than 80,000 private businesses are located, was first in the country to popularize IPR education in primary and middle schools.

"Popularizing education about intellectual property right protection is very important in helping improve social awareness of protection in this regard," said Tang Yi, deputy director of Guangdong Provincial Intellectual Property Bureau.

"As a matter of fact, it is quite effective in fostering a healthy social environment wherein intellectual property is respected and protected."

With knowledge acquired from classes, many students have become conversant in intellectual property rights.

Some of the students have drawn cartoons featuring the benefits of IPR protection and disadvantages of piracy.

Mpazi Sinjela, director of the World Intellectual Property Organization Worldwide Academy, spoke highly of the Nanhai experience during his visit to the region last July.

The Nanhai experience has been rewarded by new overseas investment too. Learning of the intellectual property education in Nanhai during an investigative tour, representatives of Honda Auto Parts Manufacturing Co. Ltd. finally made up their mind to locate a new plant with a budget of 98 million U.S. dollars there.

Guangdong, one of China's economic powerhouses, has decided to spread the Nanhai experience to other cities of the province. It has also built special two schools where lessons on IPR education are conducted.

Other Chinese regions such as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Jiangsu have also followed suit. Jiangsu Province, also an economic powerhouse in East China, for instance, has incorporated IPR protection into the educational plan of the province's primary and middle schools during the 2006-2010 period and has decided to train more than 100,000 IPR protection professionals during the same period.

IPR education, which is closely associated with scientific and technological innovation, has become one of the many hot topics by deputies to the on-going annual session of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) and members attending the annual session of the Tenth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

With China's joining in the World Trade Organization (WTO), no Chinese companies dare neglect intellectual property right protection, said Li Zhongduo, director of Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Intellectual Property.

Source: Xinhua