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The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China
(AQSIQ) is a governmental organization that determines the rules and regulations for China’s Compulsory Certification System (CCC), and reviews and approves Catalog items in cooperation with CNCA. AQSIQ maintains “Local Branches” throughout China that are responsible for surveillance over the products listed in the Catalog.
The AQSIQ Local Branches consist of designated “local quality technical supervision bureau and local import/export inspection and quarantine agencies.”
AQSIQ Local Branch functions and duties include:
* To supervise the listed products within each jurisdictional area:
o Products not certified and products not affixed with certification markings.
o Products with questionable and counterfeit certification marks.
o Prohibit uncertified products into the jurisdiction.
o Local branches levy penalties for violations by certification, inspection, and test organizations.
* To enforce all illegal activates relating to compulsory product certification:
o Manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, importers.
o Enforce penalties in accordance with management rules for compulsory product certification.
China Services Offered by SIMCOM
AGIPNEWS2236
13/10/2005 09:00 GMT
ag-IP-news
Preparations for the 2005 International Trademark Expo are Underway
SHENZHEN - The 2005 International Trademark Exposition (ITE) will open in Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center December 9 - 11, 2005 in Shenzhen, Guangdong, P.R. China.
It is a component of the China Trademark Festival (CTF) 2005, which is the first international gathering in China trademark circle. Famous Chinese and international enterprises, officials from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and EU Trademark Office, concerned personnel in the trademark circle from Asia and other areas of the world will participate and discuss issues on the trademark development with the China counterparts, a press release by the 2005 ITE stated.
The main theme of 2005 ITE is to promote the exchange and cooperation of the trademark field around the world, enhance the trademark consciousness of China’s society, and help enterprises to propagate brands, show brands, protect brands, and implement the brand development strategy of the trademarks. This exposition is the grand ceremony of the trademarks world and exhibition world, with the purpose of establishing China’s national trademark brand image.
Content of this expo includes: the China trademark construction achievement section, the trademark service section, section of famous trademarks, comprehensive section of trademarks, and overseas trademark brand section, etc. All these five sections will sufficiently show and propagate the status and function of the trademarks in the social economic activity. It can help Chinese national brands move towards the world economic competition and participate in the global range, and protect the world trademark brand in China.
2005 International Trademark Expo will be a grand ceremony in the circle of trademarks, together with "International Trademark Protection Annual Meeting 2005" and "Evening Party named ‘Entering into the Era of Trademark".
For further information please contact: Zhongqi Trademark Development Center CIEC Exhibition Company Ltd. ADD: A-301, No. 85 South Yuetan Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, P.R. China P.S.: 100045
TEL: +86-10 51951138/51951131/68537347/51951165
FAX: +86-10-51951139/51951148
E-MAIL: heyu@ciec-expo.com CONTACT: Ted He
Website: www.trademark-expo.com
Related Articles
First Trademark Festival to be hold in Shenzhen
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The first Trademark Festival of China will be held in the first half month of December in Shenzhen.
Officials of World Intellectual Property Organization and European Trademark Office, along with experts from Ameriaca, Malaysia, Hongkong and Taiwan and representatives from famous enterprises from home and abroad will take part in the festival and discuss about the issues on trademark regulations in major countries and regions.
Chinese government officials will also make important speeches on China's intellectual property rights policy and the international protection on trademarks.
By People's Daily Online
You are right bribes have to be what is the grease that makes the counterfeit system work. With all the effort that China is putting into protecting IPR rights and stopping counterfeiting, I would hate to be one of the people caught and thrown in China jail. They will throw away the key. China has realized that counterfeiting not only deprives the real makers of the products profits, but it also deprives the Chinese Government of tax revenues. Not to mention the World Trade Organization is on them big time to get this problem fixes or face penalties or revokation of their membership.
From Brand315 translated website. We will be there!!!
4 The recommendation includes S-DNA The element mark information technology and so on the many kinds of at present domestic and foreign advanced guards against false technical the cooperation network protection brand special-purpose guards against false marking;
5 Participation " Chinese trademark festival " related activity.
Two, time place
2005 Year 12 Month 10 Date to Guangdong Province Shenzhen new big continent hotel registration (address: North Shenzhen Fukuda area new continent village 51 After number Hubei building, telephone: 0755-83307166 12 Month 11 Date to 12 The date holds a meeting.
Chinese Trademark Festival.
19/11/2005 08:22 GMT
ag-IP-news
First ITE during China’s 11th Five-Year Plan
SHENZHEN - The 2005 International Trademark Expo (2005 ITE) Organizing Committee announced on Saturday that an approximate 700 exhibitors from China and overseas have enlisted in the Expo.
More than 700 enterprises are following procedures to participate in the 2005 ITE, representing all sectors of the industries from China and overseas in over 400,000 square feet (40,000 square meters) of exhibit space in Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre, December 9-11, 2005.
In order to strengthen the intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection in China and the protection of renowned brands worldwide, the China Trademark Festival 2005 & 2005 ITE are conformed with the Eleventh Five-Year Plan of China (the 11th FYP), which is put forward by the Fifth Plenum of the 16th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee’s Proposal on the Formulation of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) for National Economic and Social Development.
Along with the 2005 ITE, the Organizing Committee will also host the Annual Meeting of the International Protection of Trademark 2005 (IP seminars), 50 Chinese Trademark People 2005, and the Evening Party named Entering into the New Era of Trademark, to establish a platform for professionals from China and overseas to exchange information and experience for the betterment of trademark cooperation.
Officials from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), EU Trademark Office, US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Japan Patent Office will deliver speeches in the IP Seminars during the corresponding period of the 2005 ITE, as well as leading officials from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), General Administration of Customs, Supreme People’s Court of People’s Republic of China.
Representatives from Brand International Promotion Association, International Trademark Association, China Trademark Association and well-known international enterprises will participate and give lectures in the mentioned seminars. The China Trademark Festival is aiming to confirm the resolution of Chinese government to protect intellectual property rights in China, so as to fulfill the solemn commitment of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The main theme of 2005 ITE is to promote the exchange and cooperation of the trademark field around the world, enhance the trademark consciousness of China’s society, and help enterprises to propagate brands, show brands, protect brands, and implement the brand development strategy of the trademarks. This exposition is the grand ceremony of the trademarks world and exhibition world, with the purpose of establishing China’s national trademark brand image.
Content of this expo includes: the China trademark construction achievement section, the trademark service section, section of famous trademarks, comprehensive section of trademarks, and overseas trademark brand section, etc. All these five sections will sufficiently show and propagate the status and function of the trademarks in the social economic activity. It can help Chinese national brands move towards the world economic competition and participate in the global range, and protect the world trademark brand in China.
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I think the Chinese Trademark Festival will be one our press releases next week. It is on the Brand315 website and we are scheduled to be there.
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Chinese Counterfeits Hurting Industry in China, Experts Say
Domestic producers could be greatest beneficiaries of reduced theft
By Peggy B. Hu and Berta Gomez
Washington File Staff Writers
This article is one in a series on U.S.-China economic relations.
Washington –- Chinese counterfeiters and pirates do harm in countless ways, including by holding back China's own innovators and entrepreneurs, according to the top U.S. intellectual property rights (IPR) official in Beijing.
“China has a glorious tradition of innovation that is greatly hampered by today's IP [intellectual property] environment," Mark Cohen, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) attaché, said from his office. "When piracy is reduced, the experience of many countries and regions is that the principal benefactors are their own firms."
U.S. officials believe that ineffective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) hurts both countries. Domestic innovators and investors will be discouraged from developing new products if their hard work is likely to be stolen by IPR thieves. To remain dynamic and growing, an economy needs innovation, they say.
The gains to China from improved IPR protection could be huge. Chinese innovators filed only 1,782 international patent applications in 2004 under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), yet this was an increase of 37.8 percent over the previous year and the highest rate of increase for any country, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
But, despite ample evidence of China's creative power, most experts agree that piracy is eating away at the country's overall potential.
Piracy in China is rampant and negatively affects everything from computer software and pharmaceuticals to clothing, auto parts and chewing gum. It affects both Chinese and foreign IPR holders, and is a growing concern for major trading partners such as the United States and the European Union.
During an April visit to Beijing, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce William Lash displayed for reporters counterfeited U.S. products -- ranging from playing cards, golf clubs and running shoes to recently released Hollywood movies -- purchased from shops and kiosks in China, including licensed retail stores.
The "epidemic" of piracy in China is spreading, Lash told reporters, adding that U.S., European and Japanese companies had reported combined losses to Chinese piracy of at least $60 billion in 2003.
POTENTIAL SANCTIONS, WTO ACTION
At the national level, the Chinese government has taken some positive steps to comply with global IPR requirements, especially since the country's 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The government has moved to counter piracy through tougher domestic laws, more enforcement activities, public information campaigns and cooperation with trading partners and organizations such as WIPO, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Those efforts to date, however, are coming up short due to lack of effective enforcement, U.S. industry leaders and government officials say.
In April, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a special review of China's IPR enforcement practices and reported "unacceptably high" infringement levels "at 90 percent or above for virtually every form of intellectual property."
U.S. business groups such as the Recording Industry Association of America have called for the Bush administration to initiate action at the WTO over China's failure to provide adequate IPR protection.
Although USTR did not file a formal WTO complaint, it elevated China onto the "priority watch list" of countries with serious IPR problems and left open the possibility of WTO action. USTR said it would invoke WTO transparency provisions to require China to document aspects of IPR enforcement that affect U.S. rights under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs). The United States also continues to work with China bilaterally through the IPR working group in the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. The U.S. has also provided technical assistance, including training for Chinese judges and officials.
LOSSES TO CHINA
Apart from the potential for trade sanctions, piracy on a vast scale can affect a country's development when legitimate rights holders, deprived of their profits, decide not to create new jobs through investments in product development and manufacture, according to the OECD and other development organizations.
According to the OECD, lack of IP protection might eventually reduce foreign direct investment (FDI) in China as multinationals become wary of transferring sophisticated technology or trade secrets. Multinationals might also slow the growth of research and development (R&D) investment in China. The OECD reports that the number of foreign-invested R&D facilities in China grew from just a few at the end of the 1990s to about 600 in 2004.
"Developing a strong IPR system is crucial, not just for attracting FDI and accessing to foreign technology but also for nurturing China's innovation capability," the OECD said in a 2005 working paper.
In a 2004 presentation to the Washington-based International Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI), information-technology analyst Amie White said that a 10 percent decrease in China's software piracy rate could add $120 billion to its economy over four years. There is "a linear relationship between piracy and losses," said White, director of the Global Research Organization of IDC, a global market and advisory firm specializing in technology and telecommunications.
Moreover, "the countries with the highest piracy rates have the most to gain," she said.
PTO's Cohen said that when consumers lose confidence in products or brands that are widely counterfeited they create a potential "multiplier effect" in the form of lost retail and research and development jobs. Businesses can face higher legal costs, health and safety costs, and product liability and warranty costs associated with consumers' attempts to return faulty counterfeit products.
Governments also lose significant revenue to piracy as counterfeiters can avoid paying taxes or may even counterfeit records of tax payments. The losses to the government of a counterfeit pack of cigarettes, for example, "most likely exceed the losses to the rights holder, due to the high taxes imposed in many jurisdictions on cigarettes," Cohen said.
STEPS TOWARD PROGRESS
Despite the challenges facing China on IP issues, Cohen says the country is taking steps in the right direction.
China today has the most active trademark office in the world, one of the most actively growing patent offices in the world and the third-most-active plant variety protection office in the world, he said.
Cohen added that China's specialized civil intellectual property court has shown increasing expertise and that the country's Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate has enacted a new judicial interpretation to lower criminal thresholds for IPR crimes. The number of criminal and civil IPR cases "is increasing significantly," especially for copyright-related disputes, he said.
According to Cohen, other steps that China could take include permitting private investigators to operate as licensed professionals and establishing in Chinese civil courts a system of "discovery" such as exists in U.S. courts, where parties to a legal dispute exchange information under threat of compulsory sanctions.
ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS
Without effective enforcement, including penalties sufficient to deter IPR thieves, the problem will persist. The United States is seeking determined and forceful actions by China to considerably and measurably reduce IPR crime.
Cohen underlined the need for China to improve its enforcement system -- an issue of particular concern for U.S. industry.
"There are too many laws and rules and too little predictable enforcement of key laws and rules," he said. "In certain key areas as well, such as protection of copyright over the Internet, the laws need to be broadened to reflect the latest international treaties and practices."
For many U.S. industries, China's IP enforcement record is deficient. Criminal prosecutions of pirates and counterfeiters are still rare and civil fines too low to serve as a disincentive, they say. According to Lash, China's own State Administration for Industry and Commerce reported IP-related fines of about $30 million in 2003, which would correspond to about 0.05 percent of the estimated value of piracy in China.
"That's not deterrence. That's not even a licensing fee. That's not even small change," Lash said of the penalties.
Cohen and other experts view local protectionism as one of the greatest challenges to IPR enforcement in China. The Chinese legal system consists of four levels of courts, and only the Supreme People's Court is nationally paid. All local investigative police and prosecutors are paid by the local economy, making it difficult for rights holders from outside a region to receive a fair hearing when challenging local pirates.
"Few localities would deny that they are interested in IPR," Cohen said, but "they might refuse to act in a constructive manner." This is especially the case for regions that are home to well-developed and lucrative counterfeiting industries, he said.
LOOKING AHEAD
The United States is stepping up its efforts to work with China to improve the recognition, protection and enforcement of IPR, and is looking for a positive and vigorous response from Beijing. IPR protection will be one of the key issues discussed at this year’s U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) meeting, planned for this summer.
Overall, Cohen said that China has undergone "massive" economic changes over the past 20 years, adding that China can fully enforce intellectual property "if there is adequate interest to bring about the necessary changes."
On that front, he pointed to some positive signs. Chinese rights holders have become "increasingly active" and are demanding better protection of their rights, Cohen said. He cited the emergence of "many Chinese IPR-related trade associations" and said that the Chinese media "cover IPR matters extensively."
Although criminal penalties such as fines and prison terms for IP violators are sometimes needed, he said, "IP rights are primarily private rights, and private enforcement should be among the first lines of attack against infringement."
"If industry does not take an active role, then it is unlikely that the Chinese government will act to protect [industry's] rights," he said.
"There is no constitutional or well-recognized human right authorizing individuals to steal the creative efforts of others without compensation," Cohen said. "Simply because theft is easy does not make it right. In fact, the WTO obligates member countries to punish this activity."
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More interesting websites.
http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/xglj/default.htm
http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo_English/default.htm
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From Brand315 translated website.
Hits about the convention brand enterprise guards against the union experience exchanges the promoted symposium notice
Various brands enterprise unit:
Little while ago, cooperated the net organizes one specially investigation face the large-scale brand enterprise. The result indicates, at present the brand enterprise product suffers pretends the right infringement phenomenon very is still serious, specially " approaches the name brand " the phenomenon has the rise tendency. For further carries out consummates the cooperation network " pretends the right infringement market monitor service system ", exchanges the member enterprise and hits in the market monitor guards against the union aspect the experience realizes, decides convention brand enterprise hits guards against union experience exchanges promoted symposium. Related matters concerned notice as follows:
One, conference content
1 The notification cooperation network in the near future will work and participates solves the system vacation sells the false case situation;
2 The discussion revises the cooperation network " pretends the right infringement market monitor service system " and " hits guards against the integration " the implementation plan;
3 The exchange " the market monitor " and " hits guards against the union " the aspect experience experience;
4 The recommendation includes S-DNA The element mark information technology and so on the many kinds of at present domestic and foreign advanced guards against false technical the cooperation network protection brand special-purpose guards against false marking;
5 Participation " Chinese trademark festival " related activity.
Two, time place
2005 Year 12 Month 10 Date to Guangdong Province Shenzhen new big continent hotel registration (address: North Shenzhen Fukuda area new continent village 51 After number Hubei building, telephone: 0755-83307166 12 Month 11 Date to 12 The date holds a meeting.
Three, the senate meets the personnel
1 The enterprise is in charge of the brand protection, hits the false dimension power, the quality control, the product packing, guards against the person in charge which aspect and so on false technical application works;
2 The cooperation network unification guards against the false marking production base and assigns to guard against the false technical promotion unit representative;
3 Invited key region law enforcement department concerned leader and staff.
Four, correlation matters concerned
1 The senate meets personnel each person hands over the conference affair material food lodging allowance total 1500 The Yuan (conference affair material spends 300 Yuan). The cooperation network key protection brand enterprise exempts two person of conference affairs materials expense, has paid the year expense cooperation member enterprise exempts the junction one person of conference affair material expense;
2 The conference affair group is set up in the Chinese technology surveillance information association brand protection department (cooperation network total liaison office).
Please to 12 Month 8 Other day met the senate the receipt facsimile to the conference affair group, also might land the national brand cartel hits the false dimension power cooperation network ( www. Brand315.com Downloads the registration table.
Telephone: 010 - 58811421/22/23/24 80604896
Passes on Really: 010 - 58811421
Association Is Person: Zhao Ze Yuan Wang Zhi Min Leaf Hibiscus Cao Ze Yi
E-mail: brand315@126.com brand315@sina.com
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USTR Urges China To Open Markets, Protect Intellectual Property
Portman calls on Pacific Rim nations to help conclude WTO Doha round
USTR Rob Portman
By Todd Bullock and Peggy B. Hu
Washington File Staff Writers
Washington -- The United States and China have a broad economic relationship that, for the most part, is mutually beneficial, but there are a number of issues that still need resolution, according to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman.
In remarks November 14 at a conference on U.S.-China relations hosted by former President George H.W. Bush in Beijing, Portman said the United States is especially concerned by the growing trade deficit with China, which is expected to top $200 billion in 2005.
"I believe the problem is not so much the deficit per se, but what the deficit represents," Portman said. "If the U.S. Congress and the American people believed that the current trade deficit with China were the result of fair and open market processes, I genuinely believe it would not get the attention it receives today." However, he continued, "Americans today are greatly concerned about China's role in the world economy and, in particular, whether China is playing by the rules."
The United States welcomes China's economic growth, Portman said. However, he added, China also must recognize that such growth "means that it must take on even more responsibility to the rules-based international economic system that has enabled that growth."
Portman called on China to open its economy further to foreign investment and U.S. products, address limitations in market access that continue to hamper U.S. companies seeking to participate in the Chinese market and "act vigorously" to address intellectual property (IP) infringement.
Intellectual property rights protection benefits Chinese companies as much as -- if not more than -- U.S. companies, the USTR said.
"While U.S. firms suffer huge losses from IP piracy and counterfeiting and while this has a disproportionate impact on U.S. knowledge-based exports, the losses faced by Chinese firms and by Chinese entrepreneurs and the Chinese economy are even greater," he said.
"Well-known Chinese marks such as Haier, for example, suffer from copycat productions of their goods. Chinese musicians, movie studios, and authors lose profits from their own efforts because they cannot enforce their own legal rights throughout the country," Portman continued.
At a press conference following meetings with senior Chinese officials the same day, Portman said China also needed to ease restrictions on direct sales companies as part of its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments.
"I believe it would be good for China to allow direct sales because it gets Chinese entrepreneurs directly involved in selling," which makes Chinese products more competitive in the global market, he said.
Portman also discussed a recent agreement between China and the United States on U.S. imports of Chinese textiles and apparel. The trade representative said the agreement benefits China because "it gives Chinese exporters and manufacturers some predictability so that they can plan for employment." (See related article.)
However, Portman said any future textile agreement would depend on the Doha round of WTO trade talks, formally known as the Doha Development Agenda, which is aimed at creating market access opportunities and reform in agriculture and expanding opportunities for manufactured goods and services. (See related article.)
Portman will lead the U.S. delegation to the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong December 13-18. Ministerial conferences are the highest decision-making bodies within the WTO. The Hong Kong meeting will be vital for enabling the four-year-old Doha Development Agenda negotiations to move forward sufficiently to conclude the round in 2006.
Portman cited agricultural export subsidies and tariffs, particularly ones in the European Union (EU), as issues to work through before WTO talks can focus on other topics such as reducing industrial tariffs and barriers on services.
"I'm concerned right now that unless we can break this deadlock on agriculture it will be hard to make progress on all the other issues, including development," he said.
Portman urged China and other Asia-Pacific nations to play a stronger role in building consensus on issues in order to conclude the Doha round.
The Doha round is "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring down trade barriers, to generate worldwide economic growth and to alleviate poverty," he said.
"China and its neighbors in Asia have as much to gain as anyone from a successful Doha round because these countries in the Pacific Rim and China trade substantially. That's why we need their voice at the negotiating table, to push for an ambitious and successful result in the Doha round," Portman said.
For more information on U.S. policy, see USA and the WTO and The United States and China.
The text of Portman's remarks and a transcript (PDF, 13 pages) of his press availability are available on the USTR Web site.
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Since I have limited posts, I will include several articles together in one post.
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U.S. Seeks Data on Chinese Protection of Intellectual Property
Japan, Switzerland also submitting requests on China's enforcement efforts
The United States has initiated a special process under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to obtain information on China's intellectual property enforcement efforts, according to an announcement made in Geneva October 26 by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Rob Portman.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the violations of intellectual property rights in China," Portman said. "Based on all available information, piracy and counterfeiting remain rampant in China despite years of engagement on this issue."
Japan and Switzerland have joined the United States in submitting similar requests, the USTR release said.
"Our goal is to get detailed information that will help pinpoint exactly where the enforcement system is breaking down so we can decide appropriate next steps," Portman said.
According to a USTR report published in April, China's inadequate enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) is believed to result in infringement levels of 90 percent or more for virtually every form of intellectual property. U.S. industry groups are concerned, the report said, that China's government is unwilling to provide sufficiently detailed information regarding its enforcement efforts and criminal prosecutions. (See related article.)
The new U.S. initiative takes advantage of a process established under Article 63.3 of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, known as the "TRIPS Agreement." The process allows WTO members to request information pertaining to judicial decisions or administrative rulings on IPR-related matters when their rights under the TRIPS Agreement are affected. The United States expects a response from China in about three months, the USTR said.
For more information on U.S. policy, see The United States and China and U.S.-China Trade and Economic Ties.
Following is the text of the USTR release:
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Executive Office of the President
Washington, D.C. 20508
USTR Press Releases are available on the USTR website at www.ustr.gov
2005-65
For Immediate Release:
October 26, 2005
USTR Contact:
Christin Baker/Neena Moorjani
(202) 395-3230
USTR Pursues WTO Process to Probe IPR Enforcement in China
GENEVA - U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman announced that the United States has initiated a special process under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules today to obtain information on China's intellectual property enforcement efforts. Japan and Switzerland joined the United States in submitting similar requests.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the violations of intellectual property rights in China," said U.S. Trade Representative Portman. "The development of intellectual property is one of the driving forces of U.S. economic competitiveness, and we will utilize all tools at our disposal to ensure that U.S. intellectual property rights are protected."
"Based on all available information, piracy and counterfeiting remain rampant in China despite years of engagement on this issue. If China believes that it is doing enough to protect intellectual property, then it should view this process as a chance to prove its case," Portman added. "Our goal is to get detailed information that will help pinpoint exactly where the enforcement system is breaking down so we can decide appropriate next steps."
The United States is utilizing a process established under Article 63.3 of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS Agreement"), which, among other things, allows WTO Members to request information pertaining to judicial decisions or administrative rulings in the area of intellectual property rights (IPR) that affect their rights under the TRIPS Agreement. The U.S. anticipates a response from China in approximately three months.
The request will be made available on USTR's website at www.ustr.gov.
Background:
As indicated in last year's Out of Cycle Review (OCR) of China, published in USTR's April 29, 2005, Special 301 Report, industry sources believe that China's inadequate IPR enforcement is resulting in infringement levels of approximately 90 percent or above for virtually every form of intellectual property. USTR observed at that time that "lack of transparent information on IPR infringement levels and enforcement activities in China continues to be an acute problem." The Special 301 Report noted expressions of concern by several industry groups about the Chinese Government's unwillingness to provide sufficiently detailed enforcement information. The OCR results also noted that "when criminal prosecutions are pursued, a lack of transparency makes it difficult to ascertain whether they resulted in convictions and, if so, what penalties were imposed." As a consequence, USTR announced its intent to invoke Article 63.3 of the TRIPS Agreement.
The U.S. request seeks to obtain a more complete picture of China's intellectual property enforcement efforts since 2001. The U.S. transparency request calls upon the Chinese government to make available detailed information concerning the application of criminal, administrative, and civil remedies for infringement cases that affect U.S. right holders.
China's promise to "substantially reduce IPR infringement" during bilateral talks in April 2004 has yielded mixed results. Recent commitments made during July's bilateral talks have proven promising. Data collected from the Article 63.3 transparency request will help to evaluate China's progress implementing its commitments to substantially reduce counterfeiting and piracy.
Created: 26 Oct 2005 Updated: 26 Oct 2005
http://usinfo.state.gov/ei/Archive/2005/Oct/26-168537.html
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http://www.stopfakes.gov/
Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!)
Stopfakes.Gov
The Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) is the most comprehensive initiative ever advanced to smash the criminal networks that traffic in fakes, stop trade in pirated and counterfeit goods at America's borders, block bogus goods around the world, and help small businesses secure and enforce their rights in overseas markets.
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Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!) Initiative
-- Building on Results --
Building on the Bush Administration’s track record of success, the STOP! Initiative is launching new innovations to end counterfeiting and piracy via the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2005, establishment of an IPR academy, and expansion of IPR experts abroad, among others. Administration agencies are working together like never before, strengthening collaboration, forming new partnerships around the world, and taking concerted action to stop IP theft with significant results.
Announced in October 2004, the STOP! Initiative has united nine federal agencies to effectively smash the criminal networks that traffic in fakes, halt counterfeit and pirated products from entering our borders, block bogus goods from moving around the world, and help American businesses secure and enforce their rights in the global marketplace.
STOP! Is Expanding Its Efforts By:
• Proposing the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2005 to strengthen criminal intellectual property protection, toughen penalties for repeat copyright criminals, and add critical investigative tools for both criminal and civil enforcement authorities.
• Establishing a Global Intellectual Property Academy to consolidate and expand intellectual property training programs for foreign judges, enforcement officials, and relevant administrators.
• Increasing the number of U.S. IP attaches abroad in our embassies located in China, India, Brazil and Russia, who will assist U.S. businesses, advocate U.S. intellectual property policy and conduct IPR training.
• Pursuing tangible results based upon commitments made at the highest levels in multilateral forums such as the G-8 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and bilateral venues with the European Union and China.
• Creating networks through the Small Business Administration to small and medium-size enterprises (SME) so they have greater resources and knowledge to protect their innovations at home and abroad.
• Launching the China IPR Advisory Program in conjunction with the American Bar Association, the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Chamber of Commerce in China to provide legal counsel for SMEs to protect and enforce their IPR in China.
• Reaching out to an expanded group of trading partners to encourage coordinated domestic enforcement and increased international cooperation.
• Raising student awareness of intellectual property in America, while promoting student creativity to become innovators through a joint-program with the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation.
• Carrying out Ambassador’s Roundtables in cooperation with industry in intellectual property countries of concern to improve IPR enforcement and coordination among like-minded governments.
- 1 -
STOP! Is Realizing Its October 2004 Goals:
The STOP! Initiative is delivering on its promises. It has brought new forms of federal assistance to American companies across the country, increased law enforcement resources to stop pirates and counterfeiters, and developed an international law enforcement network to increase criminal enforcement abroad. STOP! has also resulted with the endorsement of our initiatives in numerous multilateral forums to address issues ranging from improved enforcement to public awareness to commercial supply chain integrity. Accomplishments include:
Empowering America’s Innovators to Secure and Enforce Their Rights at Home and Abroad
Provided new federal services and assistances to U.S. companies by: •
-- Establishing a hotline (1-866-999-HALT) to counsel businesses on how to protect their IP at home and abroad. Incoming calls are fielded by specialized attorneys who work with callers on how best to resolve problems.
-- Developing IPR resources, including a website (www.stopfakes.gov) and brochure, to provide information and guidance to right holders on how to register and protect their IP in markets around the world.
-- Creating “IP toolkits” to guide businesses through securing and enforcing their rights in key markets around the world. Available at the www.stopfakes.gov website, toolkits for China, Russia, Mexico, Korea and Taiwan are downloadable.
• Conducted extensive education campaigns across the country to teach small and medium sized enterprises how to secure and protect their rights and where to turn for federal resources and assistance.
-- Seminars and training have occurred in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington DC. More are planned throughout 2006.
Trained U.S. embassy personnel to be effective first responders to IPR issues in order to identify problems abroad and assist rights holders before fakes enter the market and/or supply chain.
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• Strengthened enforcement capacity by making it easier for right holders to record their trademarks and copyrights with Customs. Created a web-based resource explaining the recordation process and providing rights holders with an online recordation application.
Building International Support and Rules to Block Bogus Goods
Commissioned a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on the impact of global counterfeiting and piracy.
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Conducted initial outreach to Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore and the United Kingdom laying the basis for increasing cooperation on IP enforcement. Outreach to other like-minded countries is underway.
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Facilitated the transfer of IP criminals to justice in America by revising and modernizing mutual legal assistance treatises and extradition treaties with Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, the UK and Luxembourg. Additional treaties are under negotiation.
Keeping Fakes Out of Global Supply Chains
Conducted post-entry audits to identify companies vulnerable to IP violations and worked with them to correct their faulty business practices. •
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Worked closely with the Coalition Against Counterfeit and Piracy, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers led association, on the “No Trade in Fakes” program to develop voluntary guidelines companies can use to ensure their supply and distribution chains are free of counterfeits.
Stopping Trade in Fakes at America’s Borders
Cast a wider, tighter net on counterfeit and pirated goods entering the U.S. by implementing new risk assessment methodologies to zero-in on imports of counterfeit and pirated goods, and stop them at our borders.
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Seized tens of millions of dollars of counterfeit and pirated products, preventing entry of these items into the U.S. market.
Dismantling Criminal Enterprises that Steal Intellectual Property
• Pursued numerous operations targeting criminal organizations involved in online piracy and trafficking in counterfeit goods. Indicted the four leaders of one of the largest counterfeit goods operations ever uncovered in New England – broke up a scheme to sell more than 30,000 luxury goods -- including handbags, wallets, sunglasses, coats, shoes, and necklaces, and found the materials to manufacture at least 20,000 more counterfeit items.
• Led Operation Site Down, an international online piracy investigation involving more that 90 searches in twelve countries. Such cases have led to numerous arrests and convictions around the globe, seizure of millions of dollars worth of pirated products and the dismantling of criminal operations.
• Led Operation Ocean Crossing, a joint U.S. and Chinese law enforcement action that disrupted an organization trafficking in counterfeit pharmaceuticals. The action resulted in arrests in China and the U.S. and the capture of hundreds of thousands of fake pharmaceuticals.
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Executed measures to maximize law enforcement’s ability to pursue perpetrators of IPR crimes. For example, increased from 5 to 18 the total number of Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property
Units in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. This increased to 229 (one in each federal district) the number of specially trained prosecutors available to focus on IP and high-tech crimes.
Reaching Out to Trading Partners and Building International Support to Block Bogus Goods
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Obtained endorsement of increased protection for IP in multilateral forums such as the G-8 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and bilateral venues with the European Union and China.
Aggressively prosecuted organized groups that steal and illegally distribute IP around the globe. More efforts are ongoing.
Targeted for action criminal organizations involved in importing goods.
Educating Governments and the Public about Intellectual Property Rights
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Conducted numerous training and capacity building programs working with foreign judges and law enforcement officials from around the world to improve criminal and civil IPR protection. Such technical assistance programs have been delivered both in the U.S. and in countries throughout the world.
Educated America’s youth about the importance of protecting IP. High school students heard directly from both the creators of intellectual property and the law enforcement officials who protect copyrighted works.
STOP! Background:
A major administration initiative, STOP! was announced in October 2004, at a joint press conference with Attorney General Ashcroft, Commerce Secretary Evans, Ambassador Zoellick and Under-Secretary of Homeland Security Asa Hutchinson. STOP! was created to better coordinate the federal agencies charged with IP enforcement and increase efforts to protect IP at home and abroad.
Nine federal agencies are actively engaged in the STOP! initiative, including USTR, the Departments of Commerce (along with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), Homeland Security (both Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement), Justice, State, and the Food and Drug Administration. A recent addition to the STOP! team has been the “Coordinator of International Intellectual Property Enforcement” who has taken a central role implementing the initiative and ensuring seamless execution of U.S. enforcement action.
STOP! has proven largely effective because of its clear and focused mandate. It also benefits from leadership by the White House and oversight by the National Security Council that guides agency actions through regularly held interagency meetings attended by senior level officials.
STOP! is a team effort. Since October 2004, participating STOP! agencies have been coordinating amongst each other, working with the private sector, reaching out to stakeholders and taking comprehensive actions to realizing last year’s goals.
U.S. Department of Justice
November 18, 2005
PREPARED REMARKS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL ALBERTO R. GONZALES AT THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN BEIJING
BEIJING, CHINA
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19th, 2005
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
This is my second trip to China, and both have come as part of an official visit... first when I was General Counsel to then Texas Governor George Bush and now as Attorney General. These trips -- I might add -- are always too short and rarely allow for the time to fully explore. I'm reminded of Marco Polo's famous declaration in response to those skeptical of his fantastical stories from the East: "I have only told the half of what I saw."
I feel as if the reverse is true during these official visits: "I have only seen the half of what I'm told." The richness of the culture, the beauty of the countryside, the vast natural treasures... As you can imagine, I'd very much like to return someday as a tourist to better examine China's unique heritage.
Given that Polo's tales from the Silk Road made him a best-selling author, I think you could also argue that he was just protecting his intellectual property with his famous epitaph. It was more than 700 years ago that Marco Polo traveled here to Beijing, but his experiences can still inform our joint efforts today.
While it might be a stretch -- okay, it definitely is a stretch -- to connect Marco Polo to intellectual property rights... his service in the Court of the Great Khan is a good model for a modern partnership between China and the United States -- a partnership that bridges cultural and geographic distances to achieve common goals for our citizens and our economies. And I am here to say that this partnership must include a mutual commitment to enforce the intellectual property rights that form the foundation of our dynamic global economy.
We are at a critical time in the history of international intellectual property rights enforcement. Many global developments, both economic and technological, have created unprecedented challenges to this task. As you know, the intellectual capital of the United States and China are among our respective countries' greatest resources -- and most valuable assets -- and it has also become a significant source of trade between our two nations.
In addition, people around the world enjoy the fruits of the hard work of our creative communities -- be it movies, music, business software, computer games, clothing, automobile parts, or even pharmaceutical products. Today, modern technology gives intellectual property owners unprecedented opportunities to distribute their works to a worldwide audience.
But as demand for these products increases, criminals will attempt to profit from the hard work and creativity of others. And the same technology that allows for legitimate widespread distribution to consumers has also made it relatively easy and inexpensive to illegally peddle pirated and counterfeit products around the world. For instance, resourceful criminals can use the Internet to violate both trademark and copyright laws simultaneously by creating and selling products, such as software, that appear legitimate to the average consumer, but are not.
The fact of the matter is that intellectual property crimes have become too common. Counterfeit and pirated goods are too easy to access -- from bootleg CDs, DVDs and games ... to fake watches and sunglasses on street corners … to online file sharing. While these crimes may appear harmless to some, nothing could be further from the truth.
Criminals who manufacture and sell fake merchandise steal business from honest merchants, defraud innocent customers, illegally profit from the hard work of employees and entrepreneurs, and undermine our values of competition and creativity. This underground economy costs legitimate businesses billions of dollars every year -- and causes significant harm to the economies of both the United States and China.
What can our respective law enforcement authorities do about this problem? In my view, our work must proceed on several fronts. We must strengthen our global enforcement efforts, ensure strong intellectual property rights laws, increase law enforcement resources devoted to intellectual property enforcement, and work to increase the number of joint U.S.-China operations.
Intellectual property crime is now undeniably global in nature. The digital age has created a borderless world for large criminal conspiracies -- so our law enforcement efforts must be global and borderless as well. Every member of the global economy has a responsibility to keep counterfeit goods out of the global market.
One of the fastest growing challenges is Internet-based, commercial-scale IP crime. As FBI Assistant Director Louis Reigel stated during his visit to China last week, almost 40 percent of the 500 commercial piracy cases now under investigation by the FBI have ties to China. The range of pirated and counterfeit products originating here stretches across a wide range of industries, including counterfeit pharmaceuticals, cigarettes, handbags and clothing, and pirated digital works, such as movies, music, software, and computer games.
To combat this growing threat, law enforcement agencies from China and the United States must work together to develop and prosecute international piracy cases. Individually, we must both have strong domestic enforcement, and I support China's efforts to increase its capacity in this area. But we cannot work alone. Yesterday, I personally urged my counterparts here in China to continue China's growing cooperation with U.S. law enforcement in combating intellectual property crime.
In the United States, we have made the protection of intellectual property rights a law enforcement priority, and we are waging an aggressive and successful campaign against intellectual property crime on multiple fronts.
The Department of Justice has been an integral part of President Bush's Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy, or STOP initiative. This comprehensive initiative seeks to involve all stakeholders -- government agencies, small businesses, international partners, law enforcement officials, and other independent organizations -- in a coordinated and aggressive strategy to fight the global problem of counterfeiting and piracy.
In addition to the significant role the Justice Department has played in the international outreach and educational efforts conducted through the STOP initiative, last week the Bush Administration sent to Congress legislative proposals developed by the Department of Justice to help strengthen and update U.S. intellectual property statutes.
This legislative package would strengthen penalties for repeat copyright criminals, expand criminal intellectual property protection, and add critical investigative tools for both criminal and civil enforcement. Those who steal the hard work and innovation of honest entrepreneurs and workers should not be allowed to enjoy the profits of such activity. This legislation would also make clear that exporting infringing goods is the same as importing them ... and should be punished accordingly.
Our policy-making must advance along with modern technologies if we are to keep pace with this evolving area of criminal activity. The proposed legislation sent to Congress last week should help ensure that U.S. laws are in step with the changing nature of intellectual property crimes.
The Justice Department also created a Task Force on Intellectual Property to strengthen the Department's protection of the nation's valuable intellectual resources. A year ago, the Task Force issued a comprehensive report detailing more than 25 separate recommendations for improving intellectual property enforcement efforts -- and we continue our work to implement those initiatives.
Through this Task Force, we've designed programs focused on awareness and prevention, and devoted considerable prosecutorial resources to enhance our ability to aggressively protect the intellectual property rights of our citizens and industries. Foremost, we recognize our responsibility to enforce IP laws -- and develop a culture of respect for IP rights -- in order to harness America's creative energy and ingenuity for the future of the global economy.
In the United States, our message to criminals who seek to profit from the intellectual property of honest and hard-working citizens and businesses is clear: There is nothing fake about our commitment to prosecute counterfeiters and pirates. The United States is devoting more of its law enforcement resources -- including Justice Department prosecutors and investigators -- than ever before toward the enforcement of intellectual property rights. And during this trip, I've encouraged my law enforcement colleagues in China to do the same.
This increase in law enforcement manpower is necessary to prevent commercial scale IP crime and to dismantle the organized crime syndicates that commit such crimes around the world. In the past 18 months, the Department of Justice has successfully led the two largest international enforcement actions ever undertaken against online piracy. Operation FastLink and Operation Site Down together involved more than 16 countries across five continents. These U.S.-led operations synchronized the execution of more than 200 search warrants, the confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs, and the removal of more than $100 million worth of software, games, movies, and music from illicit distribution channels. Of the 32 people charged with felony copyright infringement so far, 20 have been convicted and the rest are awaiting entry of plea or trial.
The list of countries cooperating in these efforts is long, and the Department is committed to building on these successes and achieving even greater global participation in the future. For instance, we hope to include Chinese enforcement authorities in these widespread international operations in the future. In the increasingly connected global economy, nothing short of this type of a global enforcement effort will suffice.
However, we are not without examples of joint enforcement work between the United States and China. Recent cooperative efforts highlight how, working together, we can dismantle criminal organizations engaged in intellectual property crime on both sides of the Pacific.
In the first-ever joint Sino-American law enforcement operation targeting intellectual property crime, Chinese authorities last year arrested and convicted an American ringleader and two Chinese associates involved in an international criminal ring responsible for pirated DVDs in more than 20 countries. Chinese authorities successfully seized hundreds of thousands of counterfeit DVDs, and located and destroyed three warehouses used to store the pirated DVDs for distribution worldwide.
That same criminal ringleader now has been extradited to the United States and, last month, was charged with criminal copyright and trademark infringement, illegally importing infringing goods, and money laundering. We are seeking forfeiture of more than one million dollars in profits he made as a result of this scheme, and the sixteen counts with which he has been charged carry maximum sentences ranging from five to twenty years each.
More recently, in another joint investigation, Chinese and American agents broke up a criminal ring operating in the United States and China that was manufacturing and distributing counterfeit and misbranded pharmaceutical drugs using the Internet. Two months ago, U.S. prosecutors indicted and arrested one American for importing and distributing counterfeit goods, and Chinese authorities arrested 11 Chinese nationals who were involved in the manufacture of the counterfeit drugs. Chinese authorities also shut down five manufacturing facilities in Tianjin and in the Henan province and seized hundreds of thousands of fake tablets and hundreds of kilograms of raw materials used to manufacture counterfeit drugs.
Neither of these successful operations would have been possible without the cooperation and hard work of investigators and prosecutors in both the United States and in China. These types of joint law enforcement operations help send a clear message that neither China nor the United States will tolerate intellectual property crime anywhere in the world.
International borders cannot stop our vigorous pursuit and prosecution of those who would steal the intellectual property produced by creative and hard-working people in our two countries. By building on these successful cooperative efforts, we can turn the tide in our battle against intellectual property crime. And we can ensure a just and prosperous future for both China and the United States.
Thank you, again, for the opportunity to be with you today.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
xml
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=November&x=20...
China to crack down on illegal handsets
Thursday,November 24,2005 Posted: 09:43 BJT(0143 GMT) Shanhai daily
BEIJING, Nov. 24 -- China has launched a guideline to crack down on counterfeit mobile phones starting this month, the Ministry of Information Industry said on its Website.
The models, known as shuihuo in Chinese, are often foreign-brands with low prices compared to legitimate phones. The illegal sales have hurt home-grown firms, most of which rely on lower-priced models, industry insiders said.
The guidelines include closing illegal phone markets in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu. The secondhand phone market will also be regulated.
Meanwhile, public security bureaus will strengthen its crackdown on underground mobile phone manufacturing plants and the customs bureau will fight against smuggling, according to the statement.
"We want to better regulate the mobile phone market and protect consumers," the statement said.
Seven bureaus signed the guideline, including MII, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the General Administration of Customs, the State Administration of Taxation, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
They will report to the government by the end of March.
Counterfeits of Samsung and Sony Ericsson handsets are poorly made. They also do not provide adequate after-sales services.
More than 20 million shuihuo phones are sold each year, about one fourth of total handset sales in China, said officials from domestic mobile phone manufacturers.
China-brand handsets held less than 40 percent of the market at the end of third quarter, compared with about 55 percent two years ago, according to Analysys International.
(Source: English Site of Cebu)
http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/counselorsreport/asiareport/200511/20051100862552.html
I wonder if ssty would be interested in this trade show?
China Brand Show
Thursday,December 08,2005 Posted: 10:00 BJT(0200 GMT) Economic and Commercial Counsellor's Office
Date: December 8-11, 2005
Place: Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York
Sponsor: Ministry of Commerce of P.R.China
Contact: Genertec International Advertising and Exhibition Co., Ltd.
Tel: 86-10-68991423
Fax: 86-10-68991084
Email: genertec_exh@126.com
Website: http://www.chinabrandshow.com
Also:
On the November 14th, Vice Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong met with David A. Sampson, Deputy Secretary of the US Commerce Department. the two sides exchanged views on the IPR protection, government procurement of software, import of American beef and governmental procurement agreement.
(Source: Network Center of MOFCOM)
http://maxiuhong2.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/activity/200511/20051100793702.html
Also
The Second Session of the Organization Committee of the Achievement Exhibition on China's IPR Protection Held
2005-11-10 07:20 MOFCOM
Zhang Zhigang, Director of National Office of Rectification and Standardization of Market Economic Order, and Jiang Zengwei, Vice Minister of Commerce, attended the second session of the Organization Committee of the Achievement Exhibition on China’s IPR Protection on Nov. 4. The Session discussed and concluded the outline and design program of the exhibition, and overall arrangement of exhibition hall.
(Source: Network Center of MOFCOM)
http://jiangzengwei2.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/activity/200511/20051100751888.html
Once on the website click the second icon from the left at the top, then click news and information, then click news for 11/8/05.
It states that a contract was signed on 11/8/05 for 2 billion. Probably yaun, but still $250 million U.S.
It is not just the conference call that everyone is excited about it is this information that is on the Trueproduct ID webside when you translate it from Chinese to English. This is just the first part of it.
Success signature large amount sale contract
For even better protects our country brand enterprise the rights and interests and the consumer benefit, together promotes the brand protection work development, the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company and the Chinese technology surveillance information association ties in the bilateral success for in the strategic partner relations foundation, after further in a friendly way consults, leading world S-DNA element mark information technology which (Beijing) the limited company one's own has the science and technology, In cooperated the office by the Chinese technology surveillance information to initiate and the leading national brand cartel dimension power cooperation network promotes " 315 syntheses face this net 600 extra brands enterprises guards against false marking " above the application concrete cooperation matters concerned achieves the mutual recognition, and signed the scalar to November 8th, 2005 reaches 2000000000 large amount sales contracts.
Here is the link
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://www.trueproductid.com/&pre...
Firearms ammunition administration
The firearms and the ammunition safety control is very important, any firearms and the ammunition management out of control or is robbed snatches, the loss all possibly creates the serious consequence. But uses the S-DNA element mark information technology in the firearms and the ammunition administration, then may have the strong permeability using the S-DNA mark fluid, may permeate the metal matter in the surface and the molecular structure technical characteristic and the performance, directly carries on the mark to the firearms and ammunition itself.
After 标记处理 after, each firearms and each kind of ammunition all respectively will obtain one group of S-DNA element code. In each S-DNA element code when synthesizes, this element code represents this firearms and this kind of ammunition and user's complete information is all gathered and the memory in the safety control database.
The national governmental agency's safety control personnel uses grasps portable knowledge read, in under the safety control database system support, carries on the real-time examination to each kind of firearms and the ammunition, guarantees the firearms and the ammunition takes care of is absolutely safe.
(1) each firearms allocates user's information may store up through the S-DNA element mark in the safety control database, once has the firearms loss event, may depend upon the element mark to the firearms which loses carries on traces.
(2) is marked by the element the firearms one but without authorization is in private brought to to stipulate when region, the knowledge reads the equipment may coordinate 门禁 the system to send out the police shows.
(3) as a result of S-DNA element mark anti- high temperature, after even if the bullet is launched, so long as seeks to the warhead or 弹壳, also regardless of warhead or 弹壳 whether already distorted, still was allowed to use knowledge read accurately to discover the S-DNA mark, depended upon the safety control database system, was allowed rapidly to verification about this bullet related information, thus found the direct responsibility person.
* Solution (WQ- series): Applies the S-DNA element mark information technology in the firearms and in the ammunition administration work the main method as follows:
The mark method may choose in following several methods wilfully one kind or the combination use: (1) wilfully chooses the information spot on the gun body, directly brushes the S-DNA mark fluid spreads carries on on information the mark; (2) in the bullet warhead, 弹壳 as well as on the cartridge clip separately chooses the information spot, directly brushes spreads the S-DNA mark fluid.
Many applications for the S-DNA technology in China. The marking of cultural artifacts.
China has 5000 the history of civilization, the history leaves behind under the massive precious cultural relics, the literature and the artware, how determines these goods the ownership power, how does protect and prevents the cultural relic, the literature and artware drain, and carries on the effective safety control to it, continuously is the topic which the government department concerned faces. The S-DAN element mark information technology can help people overcome their difficulties for the department concerned.
* Solution (WW- series): In the artware, the cultural relic and the historical literature applies the S-DNA element mark information technology as follows the method:
The application method may choose in following several methods wilfully one kind or the combination use: (1) in the artware, the cultural relic and the historical literature wilfully chooses the information spot, directly brushes the S-DNA mark fluid spreads in the artware, the cultural relic and the historical literature surface carries on the mark; (2) may in the artware, the cultural relic and in the historical literature related certificate printing printing ink joins the S-DNA mark fluid; (3) in the artware, the cultural relic and the historical literature uses includes the S-DNA mark fluid the special-purpose security poster.
Through to each artware, the cultural relic and the historical literature S-DNA element code, each artware, the cultural relic and the historical literature and the collection complete information is all gathered and the memory in the safety control database.
The cultural relic control section, the cultural relic appraisal department uses grasps portable knowledge read, in under the safety control database system support, to each kind of artware, the cultural relic and the historical literature carries on the real-time examination, guarantees each kind of artware, the cultural relic and the historical literature cannot counterfeit, steal and smuggling.
I have been checking out the True Product ID website. It appears that the Chinese are looking at this technology for us in many different applications from controling counterfeit products, authenticating precious artifacts, for transportation systems management, firearms, document management. They are seeing this product as a replacement for the barcode and are including gps tracking technology so they can track shipments. I think this is going to be bigger than we are thinking and will be used in many applications in China.
Posted on Fri, Nov. 11, 2005
Schwarzenegger departs to China, leaving political trouble behind
MICHAEL R. BLOOD
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - After a humiliating election loss, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this weekend jets to China and Hong Kong where he'll try to exchange his blistered campaign image for the role of celebrity statesman and retailer.
Officially, the Republican governor's long-scheduled, six-day tour will take him to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong to promote trade along the Pacific Rim. He'll arrive Monday with a retinue of nearly 80 corporate and business executives eager to sell products from pharmaceuticals to chardonnay to Mickey Mouse in the world's largest emerging market.
A business-connected foundation is picking up part of the trip's costs, including for the Republican governor, an arrangement that alarmed good-government advocates.
For Schwarzenegger, the trip provides a convenient opportunity for favorable publicity just days after his collapse at the polls - voters rejected all four of his "year of reform" ballot proposals Tuesday, severely downsizing his Terminator political reputation.
Schwarzenegger needs to show he's "not just a politician, not just an actor, but a world leader," Democratic consultant Joe Cerrell said.
The message he should convey?
"He's not the guy who just got his clock cleaned ... he's for real, he's not a joke," Cerrell said.
Schwarzenegger is in the midst of a rapid, post-election makeover. He acknowledged Thursday that voters are looking for results, not political sniping. He retired his campaign brawler persona and has talked of a new era of cooperation with his Democratic rivals in Sacramento.
He also dropped a legal fight over hospital staffing ratios with the California Nurses Association, a 60,000-member union that has attacked him relentlessly since the start of the year.
The China trip "does have the effect of changing the subject," said Jim Brulte, the state Senate's former Republican leader.
"No election loss is terminal. It's how you react to it that matters," Brulte said.
Schwarzenegger will leave California Sunday and arrive Monday in Beijing, heading directly to a Special Olympics ceremony and an evening reception with the members of his business entourage.
Along with business meetings and forums to pitch California products, Schwarzenegger will attend a film premiere in Shanghai, give a speech at Qinghua University and tour a steel factory.
The governor is expected to raise several sticky issues with Chinese officials, including the spread of pirated U.S. software, music and movies. Aides said part of the mission is to try to get Chinese government officials to take voluntary steps to stop the flow of billions of dollars in U.S. property to counterfeiters.
Nearly 80 companies and trade groups are sending executives to accompany the governor, including the Walt Disney Co., Miller Brewing, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Pfizer Inc., according to the governor's office.
The mission will be Schwarzenegger's third overseas trip, after visiting Israel and Germany in spring 2004 and Japan in the fall of that year.
It comes at a time when the Bush administration is eager to open Chinese markets to more U.S. goods. The president leaves Monday on an Asian trip that will take him to Japan, South Korea, China and Mongolia. He plans to pressure China to revalue its currency, reduce its trade surplus with the United States and curb the piracy of American movies, computer programs and other copyrighted material.
California is the major gateway for U.S. trade to China, with cotton and computer-related products leading the way. The state exported $6.8 billion in goods to China in 2004, double what it exported in 2000, according to the California Chamber of Commerce.
"You have a growing segment of the Chinese population that is able to afford these things," said Dewardric McNeal, assistant director of the China Initiative at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
"From the political standpoint, we are in a position where the U.S. and China are enjoying relative stability in their relationship. From the economic standpoint, there are quite a few issues where if there is not tension, there is concern, particularly with the currency issue and the growing trade imbalance."
While the actor-turned-governor is virtually assured of considerable publicity, it's not clear how much good it will do his diminished public standing in California.
"He's got to rebuild - if he is to rebuild - on a lot of other things that are closer to home," said Stephen Hess, a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University. "Arnold in Beijing? Arnold in Shanghai? He needs results. He doesn't need more publicity."
The China trip originally was planned for last April but was postponed so Schwarzenegger could devote his attention to qualifying several ballot initiatives for the Nov. 8 special election.
The Sacramento Bee reported last month that many costs for Schwarzenegger and his aides will be paid by the tax-exempt California Protocol Foundation, which is soliciting contributions of up to $50,000 from business donors. The foundation, which is affiliated with the California Chamber of Commerce, isn't legally required to disclose its donors and is not disclosing its contributor list, the newspaper said.
"I think that it's great that he goes on the trip ... but it's amazing to me he hides the donors," said Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, a research group. "This is a government getting favors from who knows? It's important we know who is trying to curry favor with the governor."
Schwarzenegger spokesman Rob Stutzman said the foundation had funded trips for two previous governors.
"They're onto us. We're trying to improve California businesses. Guilty," Stutzman said in an e-mail.
Schwarzenegger knows from experience that trade missions can backfire.
Returning from the trip to Israel, Schwarzenegger boasted to business leaders that he struck deals to bring almost 1,000 jobs to California that would mean millions of dollars for the state treasury.
But officials at those companies later said they made their deals without help from the governor or his administration, and in some cases either were already based in California or were making the arrangements well before he took office.
2005/11/12
WASHINGTON, AP
Democratic senators are urging Republican President George W. Bush to insist during an Asian trip next week that China and Japan change trade policies that the lawmakers say destroy American livelihoods.
The 14 Democrats sent Bush a letter Thursday saying manipulation of currencies in China and Japan and massive Chinese piracy of copyrighted American products make competition impossible for U.S. workers and companies.
Bush will meet with the leaders of China, Japan and other countries during next week's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The lawmakers said he should press them to change their trade policies that conspire to make American products artificially more expensive than Asian imports.
The Commerce Department reported Thursday that the deficit with China jumped by 8.9 percent during September to a record US$20.1 billion (euro17 billion). The annual rate is approaching US$200 billion (euro170 billion), far above last year's record deficit of US$162 billion (euro137.7 billion), the highest imbalance ever recorded with a single country.
"We have a one-way trade relationship with China," Sen. Byron Dorgan said. "Our country is injured irrevocably because of it."
He listed several U.S. companies that he said had fired their American workers and set up business in China: "Why? Because you can pay them 30 cents (euro.26) an hour and work them seven days a week."
The senators said in Thursday's letter that government manipulation of the Chinese yuan, which some say is undervalued by as much as 40 percent, acts as an illegal subsidy for Chinese imports and taxes U.S. exports to China.
They also cited a report by the U.S.-based International Anti Counterfeiting Coalition that said China's US$16 billion (euro13.6 billion) counterfeiting industry costs hundreds of thousands of American jobs.
Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said the president welcomes China's July decision to revalue its currency, "but he will urge China to take further steps to implement China's stated objective of moving toward a market-based currency."
He added that Bush's meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao "will be discussions with two friends. And whatever decisions the Chinese decide to make in the wake of those discussions will be decisions that they will make as a sovereign country."
What China did in August was loosen its link to the dollar by adopting a more flexible market-based currency system. Its initial move was to allow the yuan to appreciate by 2 percent against the dollar.
Chu Maoming, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said Wednesday that China hopes trade issues between the countries won't be "politicized." He said a new U.S.-China agreement on a three-year pact to limit Chinese clothing and textile exports to the United States was an example of China's willingness to cooperate.
The U.S. lawmakers in their letter also accused Japan of manipulating its currency.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow said Tokyo's intervention took the form of "subtle messages that the Bank of Japan is willing to come back and intervene again" in currency issues to weaken the yen artificially and make it harder for U.S. companies to compete.
A spokesman for the Japanese Embassy in Washington said Tokyo hasn't intervened in the exchange market since March 2004. "It's off the mark that the Japanese government is manipulating its currency toward a depreciation of the yen," he said.
Dorgan said the group of senators was hoping to "ring alarm bells" in the White House and in Congress. He said U.S. trade officials currently working to end international trade barriers before a World Trade Organization meeting Dec. 13-18 in Hong Kong are "prepared to negotiate away the protections that we have in this country for domestic producers against unfair foreign trade."
Neena Moorjani, a spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, said trade officials have aggressively enforced international trade rules. She pointed out that the United States filed last year the first case against China submitted to the WTO, claiming China's tax breaks for semiconductor makers hurt foreign manufacturers. China agreed to phase out the tax rebates as part of a settlement.
All aboard, get ready for the ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think we will see a renewed interest in this stock next week. The demand for this stock will skyrocket IMO. If SSTY announces in their conference call with investors that they have signed a contract with jv partner Brand 315 and the Chinese Government to supply S-DNA to all manufactured products we could see a 1000% increase in the pps while still on the grays. The only reason IMO that there has not been much interest lately is strictly due to the fact that we are still trading on the gray market. The risk vs reward is unbeleiveable.
Sure Trace Security Corporation Announces Agreement With Innov-X Systems, Inc.
November 4, 2005
BEIJING and PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sure Trace Security Corporation (OTC: SSTY) announced that it has signed an agreement with Innov-X Systems, Inc., wherein Sure Trace has agreed to utilize Innov-X's Scanners for use in connection with its SDNA solutions on a worldwide exclusive basis and Innov-X has agreed to make the XRF Scanners for Sure Trace on an exclusive worldwide basis.
Initially, Innov-X will manufacture/assemble the Innov-X XRF elemental Scanners, software and related intellectual property (including all enhancements and revisions/redesigns thereto) in its present facilities in the US, however due to the anticipated increase in the volume of Scanners required, Innov-X will set up a manufacturing operation in China for the sole purpose of producing Scanners for delivery to Sure Trace and its China-based clients.
The units will be private labeled under the True Product ID brand name and can be designed/redesigned by Innov-X in conjunction with Sure Trace to fit its specific clients' needs. The manufacturing of Scanners in China goes into effect after Sure Trace meets certain order minimums, which the Company's management feels it will presently achieve.
About Sure Trace Security Corporation
Sure Trace produces integrators for anti-counterfeiting and security surveillance applications and is a provider of integrated tracking devices. The Company intends to deliver turnkey solutions for governments, armed forces, and industry, through its own proprietary technology and through aggregating the technology, products, and services of third parties via licensing agreements and or joint ventures. For more information go to: http://www.suretrace.com.
The common stock of Sure Trace was recently suspended from trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but the suspension has ended by its own terms. Management of Sure Trace is currently working with the broker-dealer community and regulators to permit quotations to be entered on the Pink Sheets as soon as possible. More information will be provided to the public when circumstances warrant.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT: This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that our products may not achieve customer acceptance or perform as intended, that we may be unable to obtain necessary financing to continue operations and development, and other risks. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Sure Trace undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
SOURCE Sure Trace Security Corporation
Sure Trace Security Corporation, Together With Its Joint Venture Partner, True Product ID (Beijing) Limited, Met With the Central Government Departments of China at the People's Hall In Beijing, China to Present Its Technologies and Services to Government Ministries Responsible for Internal and International Security Issues
October 31, 2005
BEIJING and PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sure Trace Security Corporation (OTC: SSTY) participated today together with its Joint Venture partner, True Product ID (Beijing) Limited, in a meeting with The People's Republic of China's Central Government. The meeting was held at the People's Hall, which is connected to the People's Congress in Tiananmen Square, a very rare honor presented to selective Chinese and even rarer still foreign corporations. Tiananmen Square is symbolic of the very pinnacle of political power in China, much like the White House is in the United States.
During the presentation, which was attended by more than seventy (70) of China's relative political and security leaders including:
-- General Office of the State Council of PRC
-- Division of Security of the Chinese People's Political Consultative
Conference (CPPCC)
-- Division of Security of the National People's Congress (NPC)
-- Division of Security of the Central Guard Bureau
-- State Secrets Bureau of PRC
-- China Banking Regulatory Commission
-- China Unicom
-- State Patent Bureau of PRC
-- The Second Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security
-- The Customs General Administration of PRC
-- Bank of China
-- Zhongcheng Satellite Technology Center Co., Ltd.
-- And numbers of bureau-level cadres ...
True Product ID demonstrated its security solutions including S-DNA, its track and trace system - KMACK, and the world's first Personal Biometric Fingerprint ID system. The meeting is the culmination of months worth of effort and organization to deliver a complete security package to the people of China, setting a new world standard for document, consumer product, and personal security solutions.
Mr. William Chan, CEO of both Sure Trace and Sure Trace Asia, stated, 'Today was far more than a mere milestone in our goal of providing a superior security solution. Today we had and took the opportunity to show some of the most powerful and important decision makers in all of China how our combined technologies can benefit the people, the economy in terms of jobs and taxes, and in fact the whole of the world.'
Mr. Li, President, True Product ID, stated, 'Over the past few months we have held many presentations with various corporations within China. Now that we have been accepted as a security standard by the Central Government these corporations will act quickly to participate in our project. I am proud of our results and of the great effort and dedication shown by our staff. I am also very happy for the People of China as what we offer will improve their very lives.'
Mr. James MacKay, Chairman of SSTY, STA, and True Product ID, in his opening remarks at the presentation stated in part, 'The fact we are all here today shows that the Government of China is not just talking but in fact taking action and leading the way to establish a world standard to fight crime in the form of counterfeiting, identity fraud, and contra-band.'
About Sure Trace Security Corporation
Sure Trace produces integrators for anti-counterfeiting and security surveillance applications and is a provider of integrated tracking devices. The Company intends to deliver turnkey solutions for governments, armed forces, and industry, through its own proprietary technology and through aggregating the technology, products, and services of third parties via licensing agreements and or joint ventures. For more information go to: http://www.suretrace.com.
The common stock of Sure Trace was recently suspended from trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but the suspension has ended by its own terms. Management of Sure Trace is currently working with the broker-dealer community and regulators to permit quotations to be entered on the Pink Sheets as soon as possible. More information will be provided to the public when circumstances warrant.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT: This news release contains 'forward-looking statements' that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 'Forward-looking statements' describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as 'future,' 'plan' or 'planned,' 'will' or 'should,' 'expected,' 'anticipates,' 'draft,' 'eventually' or 'projected.' You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that our products may not achieve customer acceptance or perform as intended, that we may be unable to obtain necessary financing to continue operations and development, and other risks. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Sure Trace undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
SOURCE Sure Trace Security Corporation
Source: PR Newswire (October 31, 2005 - 8:24 AM EST)
News by QuoteMedia
American SSTY Corporation board of directors President Mr. ----James Mackay, Hong Kong status science and technology limited company Mr. CEO Chen Wei Qiang and the science and technology (Beijing) limited company Chairman Mr. Li Ning separately made the speech and the speech which warmly brimmed with; Company General Manager Mr. Zeng Yi and vice- general manager 左列 husband successfully introduced to the guest S_DNA element mark information technology and the biology recognition fingerprint technology the status science and technology, and carried on the technique technique and the product application vivid demonstration. These two worlds leading technology high new performance and the mysterious effect makes the profound impression for fellow guests. In the entire demonstration process, fellow guests and the leader to first time understand this new technology displays enormous interest and enthusiasm, and indicates in abundance, this world level newest technology if can promptly utilize the national highest security security institution or " two meetings " in the safety system, plays the more effective guard role to these departments' peaceful plenary sessions, its significance will be able to be bigger. The demonstration meeting success conducts will certainly powerfully to advance this technology in China's application and the popularization, causes it to become the strengthened safe security, effectively to guard against fears anti- fears, the attack pretends the spurious authoritative sharp weapon.
This kind of marking naked eye is unable to see, but the use portable type recognition meter then may with ease distinguish, it is reported, each kind of element combination secret cipher number by 100000 ideas, therefore is not possible to duplicate or the repetition. In the scene demonstration meeting, one is burnt after the element marking slip of paper, so long as the paper ash also in, distinguished the meter still can read out its marking.
Success signature large amount sale contract
For even better protects our country brand enterprise the rights and interests and the consumer benefit, together promotes the brand protection work development, the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company and the Chinese technology surveillance information association ties in the bilateral success for in the strategic partner relations foundation, after further in a friendly way consults, leading world S-DNA element mark information technology which (Beijing) the limited company one's own has the science and technology, In cooperated the office by the Chinese technology surveillance information to initiate and the leading national brand cartel dimension power cooperation network promotes " 315 syntheses face this net 600 extra brands enterprises guards against false marking " above the application concrete cooperation matters concerned achieves the mutual recognition, and signed the scalar to November 8th, 2005 reaches 2000000000 large amount sales contracts.
" 315 syntheses will guard against false marking " the plan promote to the near future, first will use in the national brand cartel dimension power cooperation network member scope. Every will use this marking the cooperation network member enterprise's brand product obtains the leading world the S-DNA element mark information technology and the law enforcement organization protection. Conservative estimate which according to this cooperation network leads, within this marking amount of use only one year will surpass 1000000000.
On November first, 2005 the afternoon, American SSTY Corporation board of directors President Mr. James Mackay, the science and technology (Beijing) limited company Chairman Mr. Li Ning and company vice- president Mr. Zhang Jian Yong goes to the Chinese peaceful property insurance limited liability company Beijing subsidiary company, With this company General Manager Ms. Zhang Ai Min, the business danger insured responsibility danger chief nuclear guarantor Ms. Yu Li, the business danger insures commercial fire insurance chief nuclear guarantor Ms. Song Li Fang, the business danger insures the risk engineer, responsibility danger nuclear guarantor Mr. Wang Hong and this company service five Manager Ms. Wang Wen (Beijing) the limited company product property takes out insurance on the science and technology with the discussion uses the S-DNA element mark information technology which the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company one's own had in the property, the product insurance domain opens the product 保真 danger new danger plants and so on the cooperation matters concerned carries on the friendly exchange and the consultation.
In overseas already extremely popularized to the brand product implementation product 保真 insurance, although the Chinese insurance industry all was being eager to try this together extremely attractive cake, but because many kinds of reason appraised 保真 technical horizontal restriction in particular, this insurance at present in domestic not yet widely implements.
In view of the fact that the present brand enterprise's brand product is pretended the spurious product right infringement phenomenon is day by day serious, the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company one's own has the S-DNA element mark information technology is the world most advanced person and the goods status safe authentication technology, has the ability really guarantees the product for, both sides all think in the conversation, if can truly impel the actual application which this danger plants, also indicates the Chinese insurance industry reform will step out the solid one step, its significance will be extremely profound.
The science and technology (Beijing) at the same time limited company Li Dong also introduced to opposite party the S-DNA technology sued for damages the responsibility in the property insurance to 具保 the goods insurance confirmation and the wealth danger traces in the confirmation the vital role. Li Dong points out, sues for damages the case take the traditional vehicle danger as the card, the traditional vehicle danger sues for damages the nucleus guarantees the process, only is carries on to the direct-viewing vehicle danger phenomenon after audits guarantees the appraisal, but is unable with the renewal science and technology method to the vehicle danger which creates to sue for damages carries on the appraisal nucleus guarantees. Actually very cause troubles the vehicle vehicle danger matter former capital is because used pretends the spurious product creates the braking malfunctions, the blowout, 刹车油管爆裂 and so on causes the traffic accident. Reasonably said, because the vehicle owner used pretends the spurious product creates the traffic accident, related compensated according to the insurance company pays the provision, the complete responsibility should pretends the spurious product by the policy holder or the use undertakes. How but can the question key only then fairly effectively the prompt confirmation create the accident the direct reason spare part is " " or " the vacation "? This is confirms the responsibility the key. But the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company exactly has been able to solve this for many years not can solve " the responsibility traces " and " the brand authentication " the technical problem. The insurance company used the S-DNA element mark information technology which the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company one's own had, was allowed effectively to reduce or basic avoids compensating pays should not the insurance cost which compensated by oneself pays, not only could create the huge profit space for the insurance company, but also could give is being in in the intense competition the insurance industry poured into " 再保险 " the vigor, enhanced its prestige. Listened to the Li Dong's introduction, the Chinese peaceful property insurance limited liability company Beijing subsidiary company leadership and the concerned personnel expresses earnestly will consider the Li Dong's proposition, discussed in the domestic property, the product insurance domain opens the product 保真 danger new danger plants the related policy and the service product design question. The science and technology (Beijing) the limited company leader indicates, if the insurance field public figure favors opens the product 保真 danger new danger plants the huge social influence and the considerable economic efficiency which the institute can produce and takes the lead in domestic opening this danger to plant, the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company will provide the best product status safe appraisal and the authentication technology, will plant for this danger the opening and the smooth implementation will provide the formidable technical support.
Newspaper Beijing on October 31st news (reporter side auspicious lives) is regarded as " the new generation of security guards against the false technology " S-DNA Element mark information technology Today officially declares a position with the biology recognition fingerprint technology in Beijing, because industry inside expert and media attention.
According to has this technical the Chinese and foreign joint capital enterprise, " the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company " the introduction, the S-DNA element mark information technology, is one item of international high end, the use different element combination carries on marking the technology, passable spreads to the product surface brushes or increases these elements in the production process, entrusts with the product specific status, causes the product to exempt suffers the invasion which copies. This kind of marking naked eye is unable to see, but the use portable type recognition meter then may with ease distinguish, it is reported, each kind of element combination secret cipher number by 100000 ideas, therefore is not possible to duplicate or the repetition. In the scene demonstration meeting, one is burnt after the element marking slip of paper, so long as the paper ash also in, distinguished the meter still can read out its marking.
Today simultaneously declares a position also has the new generation of living thing recognition fingerprint technology, compares with before this the fingerprint recognition technology, mainly has two big differences: First is does the medium with the flexible polymer, substituted before this uses the silicon to do the medium, and overcame does the medium with the silicon all sorts of questions, like brittle, was expensive, is easily penetrated by the static electricity and so on. Two is revolutionary with each individual 生物电 unifies the fingerprint, causes the fingerprint and 生物电 simultaneously becomes the identification sign. This dual recognition method may promptly discover is distinguished the person whether already did die, whether received forces. Once discovers is distinguished the person 生物电 exceptionally, may immediately cancel its reason authorization, then greatly enhanced the recognition security and the reliability.
October Beijing, bright and crisp fall days. Towers the side Great Hall of the People grand is dignified west Tiananmen Square, holds up the head the cloud day. In in this golden fall October harvest season, the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company to October 31st, 2005 the afternoon, grandly conducted one in the Great Hall of the People " status safe authentication and management technology demonstration meets ", to the national related integral part, the business unit and the news media introduced the related technology and on the scene carried on the technical demonstration, to powerfully advanced the person and the goods status safely authenticates and manages this world leading technology the application and the popularization has the important strategic sense.
Pooled comes from the national highest important organization security public security organization's 20 extra leaders and the customs, the Ministry of Public Security matter witnesses 鉴定中心, the Bank of China supervises the management committee, the People's Bank of China general headquarters, the Agriculture Bank of China, the national energy conservation develops the office, the Chinese migration company, center the League of Nations passes the company, the Tianjin international trade company, the brilliant investment management limited company, the Chinese metallurgy minerals main corporation, Beijing builds German international commerce consultant the company, China is abundant flows the company, center becomes system or the business unit's and so on satellite technology limited company leadership; New China News Agency, People's Daily, Guangming Daily, the legal system daily paper, the economical reference newspaper, the technical daily paper and so on each big media Reporter total 70 Yu Ren attended the demonstration meeting. Has such comes from the national key, the strategic point and the head institution security public security organization's leadership as well as the partial profession, business unit's mister in in spite of being very busy extracts the time attends the conference, fully manifests the government department and the correlation field to strengthens the safe security, the attack pretends spurious, effectively guards against fears instead fears the earnest hope and the align status science and technology enterprise deep level attention which develops with the advancement enterprise. American SSTY Corporation board of directors President Mr. ----James Mackay, Hong Kong status science and technology limited company Mr. CEO Chen Wei Qiang and the science and technology (Beijing) limited company Chairman Mr. Li Ning separately made the speech and the speech which warmly brimmed with; Company General Manager Mr. Zeng Yi and vice- general manager 左列 husband successfully introduced to the guest S_DNA element mark information technology and the biology recognition fingerprint technology the status science and technology, and carried on the technique technique and the product application vivid demonstration. These two worlds leading technology high new performance and the mysterious effect makes the profound impression for fellow guests. In the entire demonstration process, fellow guests and the leader to first time understand this new technology displays enormous interest and enthusiasm, and indicates in abundance, this world level newest technology if can promptly utilize the national highest security security institution or " two meetings " in the safety system, plays the more effective guard role to these departments' peaceful plenary sessions, its significance will be able to be bigger. The demonstration meeting success conducts will certainly powerfully to advance this technology in China's application and the popularization, causes it to become the strengthened safe security, effectively to guard against fears anti- fears, the attack pretends the spurious authoritative sharp weapon.
On October 27th, 2005, EDU INC. (Modernization flows management company) Chairman wilson the Chen one line arrives the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company, he (Beijing) limited company's leadership on fully displays the bilateral technology, the resources superiority with the science and technology, together promotes by EDU INC. The creativity proposes, is for the purpose of 提供物 flowing the synthesis service platform for the customer and providing the high quality service " the Chinese area flows management plan " the realization, formed cooperation matters concerned and so on close strategic partner relations carries on the friendly consultation and the exchange, and signed the strategic cooperation agreement.
EDU INC. (Modernization flows management company) is the establishment (England is the dimension Beijing archipelago) in " BVI " the modernization flows the management company. Its service includes the cross profession the half-finished product and the material, the product, from beginning to end point and correlation information, effective mobile entire process. The service link includes the transportation, stores in a storehouse, loading and unloading, the processing, the reduction, matches delivers, aspect organic synthesis and so on the information, forms the integrity the supply chain, provides the multi- functions, the integrated comprehensive service for the customer. Its plan must realize the goal is in the Chinese market, the establishment integrity fluid department, entire flows in the process each link like raw material purchase, the supply, the stock, the transportation, the processing, the packing and so on, by the modern technology and the scientific management, the system, coordinated unified forms one complete system. At present includes has covers the entire Chinese railway transportation skeleton line big network the center iron good package express limited liability company, holds the Chinese 80% aviation freight transportation market the Beijing vertical hozizontal inscription passes the thing flows the limited company, holds 60% Yangtze River freight transportation market the Yangtze River shipping group and is situated the Shanghai great wild goose which the Chinese first ten big syntheses flows the company reaches the thing flows the limited company and so on more than 10 ultra large-scale modern ages flows the enterprise has successively melted into the Chinese area which founds by EDU flows the thing which the management plan provides flows the synthesis service platform, and signed the strategic cooperation agreement.
The science and technology (Beijing) the limited company has world first-class Synthetic DNA in mainland China and the Asian area (element mark), GEOTRACK (global localization track), IDOLOGY (status authentication), BIOMETRICS (biology recognizes) and so on the technology. May widely apply to social economy each domain, for the product class, the cargo respective power authentication and each kind of cargo connects with the bill guards against false, guards against the thing flows the property drains with the brand appraisal and the responsibility traces the display unique vital function. It has the collection GPS.GPRS.GMS three kind of technologies are one body new generation of global localization track technology flow the entire journey transportation management and the service to the thing may play the unique vital role.
The International Monetary Fund flows the market gauge volume to the Chinese third party the estimate about 20000000000 American dollars, today this numeral greatly has increased, future at least will have 1335000000000 Yuan Renminbi the market scales. In order to be true effectively large scale reduces the thing flows the cost, enhances the thing flows the cargo the security and the accuracy, promotes the Chinese enterprise brand product in world competitive ability, after the friendly consultation, both sides decides fully displays respective technology and the resources superiority, flows the thing in the Chinese area which the management plan provides flows the synthesis service platform the construction constructs with provides domain and so on high quality service forms the close strategic partner relations. Namely EDU INC. (Modernization flows management company) (Beijing) limited company's security technology melts into the science and technology to this service platform in, through both sides in aspect the and so on financing, operation and execution strategic cooperation, the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company in the technology will help EDU INC. (Modernization flows management company) effectively solves its thing flows the safe highly effective operation related question, EDU INC. (Modernization flows management company) then positively impels the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company person and the goods status safe authentication technology flows in the service platform in its thing widely utilizes, provides an more comprehensive significance for the user the supply chain flows the service, makes the significant contribution for our country national economy health and the benign development.
For even better protects our country brand enterprise the rights and interests and the consumer benefit, together promotes the brand protection work development, after many times contacts the inspection and the friendly consultation, the science and technology (Beijing) the limited company and the Chinese technology surveillance information association decides forms the strategic partner relations, through the full display respectively in the technology, the product and guards against falsely hits the unique resources superiority which the false demand aspect has, together advances the S-DNA element mark information technology cooperates the office in the Chinese technology surveillance information to initiate and in the leading national brand cartel dimension power cooperation network member scope application, Causes this 项领 first the world product status safe authentication to guard against false, the property security and the brand appraisal technology becomes the attack in China pretends spurious and the safeguard security authoritative sharp weapon, the realization domestic status safe authentication guards against the false technical application the significant breakthrough, makes the significant contribution for our country national economy health and the benign development.
The signing a treaty ceremony afternoon is held to September 28th, 2005 in the Chinese standardization research institute. The signing a treaty ceremony manages by national brand cartel dimension power cooperation network brand protection department Director Mr. Zhao Ze Yuan, Chinese technology surveillance information Association Secretary General Mr. Qi Xuan, the science and technology (Beijing) limited company Chairman Mr. Li Ning, American SSTY Corporation board of directors President Mr. James Mackay attended the signing a treaty ceremony and makes the speech which warmly brimmed with. Secretary General Qi Xuan (Beijing) limited company Chairman Mr. Li Ning issued " the national brand cartel dimension power cooperation network market examination system key protection brand to the science and technology assigns to guard against the false technical application promotion unit " the honor certificate, and issued " national brand cartel dimension power cooperation network vice-president " to American SSTY Corporation board of directors President Mr. James Mackay the appointment letter.
Both sides first in has monopolize and only " 315 syntheses guard against the S-DNA element mark information technology false marking " above use. " 315 syntheses guard against false marking " the plan promote in October, first uses in the national brand cartel dimension power cooperation network member scope. Will use this marking the cooperation network member enterprise's brand product obtains formidable guards against false technical and the law enforcement organization protection. Conservative estimate which according to this cooperation network leads, within this marking amount of use only one year will surpass 1000000000.
The science and technology (Beijing) the limited company is situated in Chinese silicon valley Beijing 中关村. Chairman Mr. Li Ning publishes at the joint venture signing ceremony speaks
American SSTY Corporation President James, STY president Chen Wei Qiang, technical Chairman Li rather with foreign expert Pitter, JT together participated in the Beijing Hong Kong and Macao center hold S-DNA element mark information technology scene demonstration meeting.
The status technology demonstration can in the Beijing Hong Kong and Macao center hold. Trustee general manager once resolute to the honored guest which arrived the meeting demonstrates the S-DNA element marking information technology
Sure Trace Security Corporation Announces Cooperation Agreement With Brand315.com in China
E-mail or Print this story
20 October 2005, 06:30am ET
Deal Was Signed Via Its Chinese Operating Subsidiary, True Product ID
Technology (Beijing) Limited
BEIJING, China and PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sure Trace Security Corporation (OTC: SSTY - News) announced that True Product ID Technology (Beijing) Limited, formerly Sure Trace Technology (Beijing) Limited, a 50-50 JV of its 85% Subsidiary, True Product ID Technology Limited, formerly known as Sure Trace Asia Limited (STA), and Beijing Suneray Zexin Technology Limited has completed a cooperation agreement with The National Brand Cartel Anti-Counterfeit Cooperation Network - Brand315.com.
Brand315.com is established under the authorization of the Ministry of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China. It is a network introducing anti-counterfeit technologies, services and law enforcement for branded products. In attendance at the signing of the agreement were Mr. James MacKay, Chairman of SSTY; Mr. Li Ning, President of True Product ID Technology (Beijing) Limited; Mr. Zhao Zeyuan, director of the Brand Protection, China National Joint Rights Maintenance Cooperation Network of Brand Enterprises; Mr. Qi Xuan, secretary-general of China Association for Technical Supervision Information.
The signing ceremony was held on September 28, 2005 at the China National Institute of Standardization. Due to a national holiday, the finalization of all required documentation was not completed until recently. In the ceremony, speeches were made by Mr. Qi Xuan, Mr. Li Ning and Mr. James Mackay. Mr. Qi Xuan awarded the JV, True Product ID Technology (Beijing) Limited with an honor certificate of "Promotion Unit of Anti-counterfeiting Technologies Application Designated by Protected Key Brands of China National Joint Rights Maintenance Cooperation Network of Brand Enterprises Market Inspection System".
Mr. Qi Xuan also awarded Mr. James Mackay with a letter of appointment as the "Vice Chairman of China National Joint Rights Maintenance Cooperation Network of Brand Enterprises". Mr. James Mackay was named Vice Chairman of Nation Brand 315 Cartel. Brand315 provides security labels to the top 600 of China's national brands. Their clients cover all areas of consumer goods and collectively their clients distribute substantially into the billions of units of goods.
In step with the Peoples Republic of China Government' initiatives to stop counterfeiting and contraband, Brand315 has been searching for technology to augment its current products. Management of SSTY believes that SSTY's S-DNA brand protection technology works well with Brand315 label systems as S-DNA can be easily applied to the labels.
Mentioned Last Change
SSTY 0.0018 Up0.0003dollars or (20.00%)
Mr. Li, President of True Product ID Limited stated, "We are very proud of this agreement. We view Brand315.com as a perfect partner for True Product ID as they already have a strong business relationship with many of China's major Brands and give True Product ID a tremendous opportunity to close business quickly."
Mr. James Mackay added, "Brand315.com has the full support of the Government of China. Both the Government and the Brands are committed to stopping counterfeiting and together we offer a powerful solution at an affordable price."
In other news, SSTY has commenced the search for a Chief Operating Officer for its Chinese operation. As part of its search, SSTY has updated its web pages to include a Jobs and Careers section as SSTY anticipates the need for additional staff to meet its obligations to support the efforts of STA and its Joint venture Partner, True Product ID.
About Sure Trace Security Corporation
Sure Trace produces integrators for anti-counterfeiting and security surveillance applications and is a provider of integrated tracking devices. The Company intends to deliver turnkey solutions for governments, armed forces, and industry, through its own proprietary technology and through aggregating the technology, products, and services of third parties via licensing agreements and or joint ventures. For more information go to: http://www.suretrace.com .
The common stock of Sure Trace was recently suspended from trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but the suspension has ended by its own terms. Management of Sure Trace is currently working with the broker-dealer community and regulators to permit quotations to be entered on the Pink Sheets as soon as possible. More information will be provided to the public when circumstances warrant.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT: This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that our products may not achieve customer acceptance or perform as intended, that we may be unable to obtain necessary financing to continue operations and development, and other risks. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Sure Trace undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
SOURCE Sure Trace Security Corporation
-0- 10/20/2005
/CONTACT: Ron de Jong of De Jong & Associates for Sure Trace Security
Corporation, 760-943-9065,
ron@dejong.org
/
/Web site:
http://www.suretrace.com
/
(SSTY)
CO: Sure Trace Security Corporation
ST: China, Pennsylvania
IN: CPR HTS ITE STW OTC
SU: JVN CON ASI
There is a lot happening with SSTY, it is just that this board does not have the players that the other boards have. The company is making huge progress in China and when it becomes public knoledge this stock will take off like SPEA, maybe even larger. Chinese government contracts will be huge and when it happens the Chinese government will make sure all manufacturers will comply. If you get my drift, a billion or so shares will not keep this penny stock at a penny once it is a mandate for all industry to comply. We will go to dollars and quickly.
And then back to the pinks. IMO there will be one market maker that will sponsor us once we start getting contracts.
Look at True Product ID website, it has a whole new look. It looks like things are progressing quickly. I'm looking forward to next week. IMO we will get the first series of contracts from chinese manufacturers.
Can you give a report on the chat is going? I'm home for lunch, have to leave in 5 minutes.
My prediction about a pr today came true!! Go Bugs more contracts to come!!!!!!!!!
COMPANY NEWS AND PRESS RELEASES FROM OTHER SOURCES:
SSWM Reaches $1MM Key Milestone in Remediation Contract in Mexico; Manufacturing Company Site Clean-Up Progresses Smoothly
CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov 02, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sub-Surface Waste Management of Delaware, Inc. (OTCBB:SSWM) announced it has mobilized personnel to commence a new phase on its existing project in Torreon, Mexico, that has now exceeded $1 million in total contract revenue to date.
Bruce Beattie, President of SSWM, stated: "SSWM engineers will kick off the next phase of work for this confidential client with manufacturing operations in Mexico to install, operate and maintain an in situ (below ground surface) remediation treatment system to clean up sub-surface soils under an active production facility site. SSWM engineers will use both conventional and biological technologies to remediate heavy petroleum-based machine oils to acceptable regulatory standards. Our most recent work to date has been to excavate contaminated soils with minimal impact to production operations and treat the material using the patented Bio-Raptor(TM) process on site in an adjacent open area within the facility for final removal as clean soil once cleanup goals are achieved."
About Sub-Surface Waste Management
A subsidiary of U.S. Microbics (OTCBB:BUGS), Sub-Surface Waste Management of Delaware, Inc. provides comprehensive civil and environmental engineering project management services, including specialists to design, permit, build and operate environmental waste cleanup treatment systems using conventional, biological and filtration technologies. SSWM is capitalizing on its expertise and technology by forming strategic alliances and joint ventures with well-established engineering firms.
Investors and media contact Bruce Beattie at 760-918-1860, ext. 105, or bbeattie@bugsatwork.com; or learn about the company by visiting its Web site at www.bugsatwork.com/19.asp.
The information contained in this press release includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements usually contain the words "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "expect" or similar expressions that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the company's status as a startup company with uncertain profitability, need for significant capital, uncertainty concerning market acceptance of its products, competition, limited service and manufacturing facilities, dependence on technological developments, and protection of its intellectual property. The company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed herein. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences are discussed more fully in the "Risk Factors," "Management's Discussion and Analysis or Plan of Operation," and other sections of the company's Form 10-KSB and other publicly available information regarding the company on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will provide you with copies of this information upon request.
SOURCE: Sub-Surface Waste Management of Delaware, Inc.
CONTACT: Sub-Surface Waste Management of Delaware, Inc.
Bruce Beattie, 760-918-1860, ext. 105
bbeattie@bugsatwork.com
I expect a press release today, in front of the investors chat. It would make sense they put out a progress report to give a topic of conversation.
China Cracking Down on Olympic Piracy
By CHARLES HUTZLER
The Associated Press
Sunday, October 30, 2005; 3:20 PM
BEIJING -- When the Xi'ao Center office complex went looking for tenants, it hung out a 10-story-high banner boasting bookings by corporate sponsors of the 2008 Olympics: "The Choice of Olympic Organizing Committee Partners."
Chinese Olympic officials were livid. The company found itself pilloried in the media, ordered by Olympic and government officials to remove the 10-story-tall banner and fined an undisclosed sum.
Normally a haven for pirated products and trademark rip-offs, China has mounted an unusually aggressive campaign to prevent unauthorized use of Olympic symbols. The communist government is devoting money, manpower and political capital to the effort, treating it as a national priority.
"If the government fails in this, the International Olympic Committee might feel it was a mistake to let China hold the Olympics," said Huang Yaling, a professor at Beijing Sports University and consultant to the city on the 2008 Games.
The result isn't perfect. At Beijing tourist landmarks, peddlers sell knockoff caps bearing the five-ring Olympic logo for a dollar. An adult Chinese Web site offers male potency pills brand-named "Olympic Male Treasure."
But China's vigorous effort to defend Olympic wares contrasts with its poor record in protecting foreign companies' brands. Chinese manufacturing pirates have gone beyond DVDs of Hollywood movies and are becoming sophisticated enough to turn out industrial pumps and even runs a global export industry of copycat auto parts centered in the eastern port city of Ningbo, Chinese officials say.
The scale is such that Chinese piracy costs American businesses an estimated $2.5 billion-$3.8 billion a year, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. It is further complicating trade relations at a time of tensions over Chinese currency controls and a swelling trade surplus with the United States.
Officially, the government maintains that after years of building a legal framework to safeguard intellectual property rights, it is now making progress in enforcement, a chronic weak spot. Privately, a Chinese trade official involved in intellectual-property policy says the trends are bad and China is feeling the pressure in trade negotiations.
Against that dismal backdrop, the Olympic protection campaign shows what China can achieve when it wants to, but also raises questions about why the success isn't replicated elsewhere.
"The perception is that there's a lack of political will," said Christopher Smith, a lawyer in the Beijing office of the American firm Baker & McKenzie.
From the outset of its bid for the 2008 games, the government knew that stewardship of the Olympic brand would test its mettle.
The International Olympic Committee and host cities of the Games rake in hundreds of millions of dollars selling sponsorships, broadcasting rights and authorized knickknacks, and in its bid proposal, Beijing promised they would all be "fully protected, and the marketing of Olympic products free from infringement violations." Within a year of being awarded the Games in mid-2001, the city and national governments issued special regulations on Olympic intellectual property.
Explicitly banned were the unauthorized use of phrases such as "Olympiad" and "Beijing 2008" and the motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger." Handbills were distributed with pictures of the logos of the Olympics and the Beijing Games, the Chinese character jing in the name Beijing drawn like a dancing stick figure.
In Beijing and elsewhere, local commerce regulators followed suit, circulating warnings to retailers. Authorized shops, 16 of them in Beijing so far, are being set up to sell approved Olympic
Action and inaction are evident at two Beijing markets known for their pirated name-brand clothing. Few Olympic-branded products are on display. Market employees inspect stalls every morning and confiscate any illegal Olympic products, but ignore the copycat Louis Vuitton handbags and North Face parkas, shopkeepers said.
Selling Olympic products is "just not permitted," said a stall-keeper, so she hides her $6 Olympic T-shirts behind display racks of fake Columbia sportswear.
The Xi'ao Center _ twin glass and steel towers located near many of the venues under construction for 2008 _ got its promotional idea because two tenants, the Bank of China and China National Petroleum Company, are official partners of the 2008 Games, said Ma Hui, a spokesman for the center's developer, Beijing Shengshi Zhaoye Real Estate Development Co.
Such partnerships cost tens of millions of dollars and permit the paying sponsor to put the Beijing Games logo on company products. "We tried to be very careful in choosing our words," said Ma. "It was really hard for us to do so." And it failed. By using the term "Olympic Organizing Committee," the company violated the regulations on protecting the Olympic brand, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games said in a statement.
Neither side would disclose the amount of the fine, reported by official Web sites as 50,000 yuan ($6,000).
About 370 cases of infringement are reported to the organizing committee, known as BOCOG, every year, said Liu Yan, deputy director of BOCOG's legal department. But the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, he said, because local authorities do not report many cases.
Crucial to keeping officials and merchants on their toes, said Liu, is a government propaganda campaign that places news stories about protecting Olympics in the media every month.
"It's like a game of cat and mouse," said Liu. "If there are a lot of cats about, the mice won't dare come out."
But broadening the net to other pirated goods isn't easy.
Huang, the sports university professor, said the government excels at keeping a sustained focus on one well-defined issue at a time _ right now the Olympic brand. But it designates only one week a year to fostering public awareness of other intellectual property rights.
Moreover, said the BOCOG's Liu, the Olympics logo is easy to protect because it's perhaps better known even than Coca-Cola or Kodak. "The Olympics have such impact the world over," said Liu. "No single business can match it in leaving an imprint on people's minds."
At least we know the Mexico deal is still alive. I have been emailing Brehm for the past 3 days asking for an update. I want to see actual award contracts and dollar amounts. That is when we start to move up. Maybe this one will take us back up to where we should be.
Businesses see green in Mexico clean-up
By LAWRENCE KOOTNIKOFF
from The Financial Post of Canada
MEXICO CITY (Nov. 9, 1993) - More regulation, tougher laws, fines, close government monitoring, surprise visits by government inspectors -- music to the ears of these businessmen.
Most capitalists try to keep governments as far as possible from their workplaces. But not the environmental industry.
Pollution over Mexico City...And if the North American Free Trade Agreement makes it past the Nov. 17 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, the industry hopes the environmental side deal agreed to in September will mean fatter profits.
Free-trade opponents have used Mexico's spotty environmental record to bash the proposed accord. But President Clinton has promised American Congressmen that the side deal will enforce tough environmental standards on industries who may relocate to Mexico under NAFTA. And while some free-marketeers rankle at the restrictions, environmental businesses couldn't be more pleased.
"The environmental industry is driven by enforcement,'' says David Robinson, a U.S. environmental consultant based in Mexico City. ``The stricter the enforcement, the better for the industry.''
His comments are echoed by foreign businessmen coming to Mexico to look for profits in pollution prevention.
``There is opportunity after opportunity after opportunity,'' says Bruce E. Jank of the Burlington, Ontario-based Wastewater Technology Center. His company sells technology for treating industrial waste water. It's an area that Mexican companies sorely need help in: currently arid, water-starved Mexico only treats 4 percent of its waste water.
Environmentalists look at the 300,000 industrial establishments in Mexico and shudder. They see factories spewing millions of tons of garbage a year into theair and water and unsafe, unregulated toxic waste dumps. Every year, Mexican industry generates 5.1 million tons of solid waste. But businesses that help other businesses clean up look at the foul air, putrid water and tons of solid waste and see green -- the green of potential profits.
New public awareness has led to tougher laws and enforcement. And hundreds of firms in Mexico, the United States, Canada and elsewhere hope to take advantage of the multi-million dollar clean-up.
``There are two sides to the (clean-up) question,'' Robinson says. ``On the one hand it will cost industry and government a lot of money. But on the other side, a whole new industry is being created.''
That new industry will mean jobs and revenue, industry officials say. They point to the United States, where the environmental market represents 2 percent of the country's gross national product, or US$160 billion. By that yardstick, Mexico's environmental industry could grow by US$100 million annually, reaching up to US$7 billion per year.
``That would create a tremendous export market'' for foreign companies in equipment, services and consulting, Robinson said.
Once tariffs are dropped under NAFTA, opportunities for U.S. and Canadian businesses are expected to increase. But the industry is already growing by leaps and bounds. Insiders say that will continue, even if the troubled accord is rejected by Congress -- or killed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien's demands to renegotiate parts of the deal.
Cleaning up is also just good business sense, and saves money in the long run, argues Jank. ``Any pollutant is a product loss,'' he says. ``We help companies treat waste to reduce that loss.''
Business opportunities are expected to grow. According to a U.S. Commerce Department study, the Mexican market for water pollution equipment alone went from US$126 million in 1991 to US$400 million in 1992. Over the next three years studies project 25 percent annual growth for water and air pollution equipment, and 45-50 percent growth in hazardous waste management equipment.
``The Mexican Commerce Department estimates that over the next four years, an investment of US$10.4 billion will be needed in (Mexico's) entire environmental industry,'' half of that in the capital alone, said Carlos Sandoval Olvera, president of the National Council of Environmental Industries.
And foreign companies want a piece of that action. In September, Mexico signed an agreement with the World Bank to finance more than US$3 billion in pollution clean-up programs over the next three years.
The United States, the bank's largest contributor, had been pushing to increase environmental assistance to Mexico to meet objections from NAFTA opponents.
The World Bank will provide up to US$1.8 billion in loans from 1994 through 1996 for clean-up of water pollution, garbage disposal, industrial pollution and toxic waste. Matching funds from Mexico would bring the program to more than US$3 billion.
In the laboratory at Diaztech, Antonio Cortes shows off a new chemical process that turns a beaker full of soupy industrial waste into clear water, with the sludge settling at the bottom. While not fit for drinking, the water can now be re-used for industrial processes.
Diaztech is a joint venture between Grupo Cesco of Mexico and Canadian firm Diachem of Vancouver, which built its expertise in treating waste water in British Columbia's huge pulp and paper industry. Cortes says the NAFTA will be good for his company.
``I think that will open more business opportunities for us,'' said Cortes.
In fact, business needs -- and the industry's -- are growing so fast that Mexican companies can't keep up. Imports and foreign know-how make up the gap. Half the market is made up of imported technology and services, mainly from the United States.
U.S. environmental products dominate imports with 72 percent of market share. Germany is second at 9 percent.
Many NAFTA critics fear that U.S. and Canadian companies will pull up stakes and head to Mexico to take advantage of weaker environmental protection. But industry and government officials say that won't happen as enforcement improves.
A record number of polluting factories have been closed. A joint U.S.-Mexico environmental clean-up plan for the border calls for US$1 billion in spending during the plan's first stage, from 1992 to 1994.
Mexicans have become more aware, especially as air pollution levels soar in the capital, and in the wake of last year's Guadalajara tragedy. The explosions that ripped through downtown Guadalajara April 22, 1992 and killed more than 200 people were caused by a leaky gasoline pipeline owned by Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, the state-owned oil monopoly.
As a result of public pressure after the explosions that destroyed six blocks of downtown streets, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari told Pemex to run thorough safety checks on its outdated installations throughout the country.
Salinas also announced a sweeping plan to force industry in smog-choked Mexico City to clean up. Polluting industries must reduce harmful emissions by 70 percent by June 1994, or leave the capital. The plan includes $1 billion in revolving credits to help companies acquire cleaner technology.
But many industries remain environmental disasters, especially along the highly visible U.S.-Mexico border. According to estimates, 90 percent of industrial solvents are dumped straight into public drainage systems.
``They're trying to stop, but where else can they put it?'' asks Robinson.
Mexican legislation is tough, much of it copied straight from the books of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But the country is playing catch-up, and enforcement remains a problem. The government has hired more inspectors, but businessmen complain that many are poorly trained and often don't know what to look for in inspections.
``Mexico is trying to do in three to four years what it took the United States 20 years to do,'' Robinson says.
``But any company that thinks it can come down here and ignore the environment is kidding itself.''
Bugs is up 7.14% in Germany. Thats almost .036 U.S. Hoping for some news today. It's been a month to date since the meeting in Mexico.
Toxic Waste: Let the Microbes Clean It Up
The best way to clean up most contaminants --- even the most toxic pollutants such as PCBs or dynamite --- is to let microbes that are already there do the job for you, according to a Northwestern University researcher.
The microbes usually have to be fed, and the site has to be carefully monitored, but these microscopic one-celled creatures can do an effective job of breaking down the pollutants into harmless by-products, according to Bruce Rittmann, John Evans Professor of Environmental Engineering at Northwestern.
Rittmann detailed the chemical processes involved in breaking down a wide variety of pollutants on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at the Eco-Informa '96 conference on Global Networks for Environmental Information at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
"Microbes get a lot of bad press," Rittmann said, "but the fact is the vast majority of microbes are 'good microbes' that help sustain the earth's ecosystem."
In most cases the local microbes have to be fed and watered, much like growing plants, Rittmann said. In one example of a process called "in situ (or in place) bioremediation," air from a compressor is pumped into the groundwater under the spill and supplies the microbes with oxygen. At the same time, the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus can be fed into the contaminated soil to stimulate growth of the bateria. If the spill is above the water table, water is added also to keep the microbes moist. The well-supplied microbes than go about feeding on the contaminant, breaking it down into harmless byproducts.
From a chemical point of view, what is happening is that the microbes break chemical bonds in the contaminant and transfer electrons to an "electron acceptor," such as oxygen. This process gives off energy, which the microbes use, with carbon, to build new cells.
Rittmann described case studies of three different kinds of bioremediation.
1) Denver, Colo., 1989. A temporary holding tank under a garage used to service vehicles had leaked crankcase oil, diesel fuel and gasoline into the groundwater below. The ground water was treated by circulating oxygen, phosphorus, and nitrogen through the area. After three years of treatment, tests showed that the plume of contaminants had been virtually eliminated.
2) Bemidji, Minn., 1979. An oil pipeline burst open, spilling 100,000 gallons of crude oil into the surrounding soil and ground water. In the years following the spill, portions of the crude oil dissolved in the flowing ground water and moved 200 meters from the site. The undissolved crude oil moved 30 meters in the direction of ground water flow, and crude oil vapors moved 100 meters in the soil. But detailed monitoring since than has determined that the containment plume has not moved since 1987, and that the oil was slowly disappearing. This process is called "intrinsic bioremediation," since there was no intervention in the natural process.
3) Moffett Naval Air Station, Calif., 1989. Researchers from Stanford University conducted a field demonstration of in situ bioremediation of chlorinated solvents. These solvents cannot support microbial growth on their own, but if supplied with methane, a special class of organisms can destroy the contaminants through a process known as "cometablism," in which enzymes involved in normal microbe metabolism break down the solvents. In this case the researchers added oxygen and methane, and most of the solvents were destroyed.
Rittmann noted that in all three cases, tests were conducted to determine that the bioremediation had in fact taken place. There was a loss of contaminants; laboratory tests demonstrated that the microbes had the potential to degrade the contaminants; and evidence was gathered that determined that this process was in fact happening on the site, he said. These three criteria must be met to determine that in situ bioremediation is taking place, he stressed.
Rittmann said that, in most cases, bioremediation is safer and cheaper than alternative treatments, such as incineration or burial in special landfills.
Rittmann did much of the basic research that has led to the establishment of theDepartment of Energy's Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research program, according to Jay Grimes, co- manager of the program.
"The main obstacle to bioremediation right now is the question of public acceptance," Grimes said. He said he was optimistic that this approach would help solve some of the Department of Energy's most intractable problems, such as the Hanford site in Washington State and the toxic waste problems at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Tenn.
Right Blend Of Microbes And Plants Can Clean Up Toxic Spills
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Superfund sites are infamous for their hazardous, stubborn chemical wastes, but one cleanup solution may be to put the right mix of plants and microbes together in the soil, according to a new University of Florida study.
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Plants & Animals
Earth & Climate
The study examined the interaction between two of the likeliest candidates for cleanup duty – the loblolly pine and soil-dwelling, methane-eating bacteria.
The practice of planting chemically resilient trees and plants in contaminated sites to absorb harmful chemicals from the soil, known as phytoremediation, is highly appealing both to environmental cleanup agencies and to the communities near the hazardous sites. Phytoremediation is still in its infancy but has the potential to be relatively safe, sustainable and efficient – and the trees are aesthetically pleasing as well.
Microbes in the soil also play a key role: They help plants not only to absorb nutrients through their roots but also to soak up contaminants. However, the interaction between plants and microbes is not necessarily symbiotic, according to the study, which appeared in the January issue of the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.
“We’re trying to see what the role of the microbes is in the rhizosphere, the soil region around the plant roots,” said Adriana Pacheco, a graduate student in UF’s environmental engineering department and the lead author of the paper. “It seems to be one of the most important processes occurring.”
Pacheco’s research focused on methanotrophs, bacteria that consume methane in soils and in the process can also consume and break down a range of harmful organic compounds that may be present, such as the carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs, and trichloroethylenes, or TCEs.
However, not all trees work equally well with all kinds of microbes, and knowing how the different plant species affect the bacteria may be the key to effective and efficient cleanup, Pacheco said.
In her study, she focused on one tree species, the loblolly pine, a prime candidate for phytoremediation at a number of Superfund sites, particularly in the southeastern United States.
Loblolly pines are well known for supporting thriving populations of bacteria near their roots, possibly because of the piles of needles littering the soil and releasing a pungent group of chemicals called monoterpenes.
“These terpenes have been shown to inhibit bacteria,” Pacheco said. “But methanotrophs can also be in really high concentrations in the rhizosphere of the pines, and they are degrading TCEs. So one of the questions is, are monoterpenes helping them in some way?”
To answer this question, Pacheco isolated several different species of methanotrophic bacteria, fed them methane and added monoterpenes as well as TCEs, and then measured the bacteria’s response to the monoterpenes by observing how oxygen levels in the samples changed over time. She found that while some species of the bacteria thrived when the pine chemical was added, the chemical appeared to be toxic to others. That, she said, suggests environmental engineers will need to choose both plants and microbes carefully when planning phytoremediation-based cleanup.
Scientists also want to address what happens to the contaminants after they’ve passed through the microbe-plant system.
“It’s a very aesthetic treatment,” said Angela Lindner, a UF professor of environmental engineering and co-author of the paper. “Trees and plants are very resilient. They can accumulate the chemicals, and many times they will also transform the chemicals within the plant, and then the products as well as the chemical can volatilize through the leaves. But we need to know where the stuff is going.”
For methanotrophic bacteria, at least, the fate of the chemicals is known. The bacteria produce an enzyme that breaks down harmful chlorinated compounds into harmless carbon dioxide, oxygen and water.
The study provides environmental engineers with more of the information they’ll need to design effective cleanup programs, said Robin Brigmon, principal engineer in the Environmental Biotechnology section of the Savannah River National Laboratory.
“Information like this on the terpene activity will really help – perhaps give us another monitoring device to look at environmental restoration,” he said.
Furthermore, understanding the interactions between methanotrophic bacteria, the root systems of plants and chemicals in the soil has larger implications, Brigmon added.
“These kinds of practices are extremely important and significant from a global perspective,” he said. “Different methanotrophs each have their own ecological niche, and this work will help to further characterize the organisms responsible for the activity. That can have implications for (the fate of) other chemicals, such as greenhouse gases, that percolate through the rhizosphere.”
Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here.
This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University Of Florida.