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The validity search is a specific type of patent novelty search. The former is conducted to make sure that the patent was validly granted to the patent holder. This process can be extremely complicated and is not as simple as placing keywords in a patent search engine box and then getting an answer to pop out. Since it is a process, there are vital steps to consider along the way. Here are some of the steps you must look into with this patent related search that usually comes sometime after a novelty search has been performed. First, you have to prove that your product is patentable. This is where the role of novelty search comes in. In this process, there are three prerequisites to consider.

You have to prove that the product is novel or original and also that it has not been sold or published in the market for over a year. In line with this, you have to assert that your product is useful enough to carry its functions and to serve its purpose for the end users. Finally you have to show that your invention is not an obvious improvement over an existing product or invention To prove all these points, a patent novelty search will also be necessary. A validity search should support the decision made in a novelty search. To be able to do that, this search should be conducted regardless of how certain you are with the patentability of your soon-to-be launched product or service. By doing so, you will be able to strengthen your invention at the same time get a less complicated patent application process.

This will also help you get rid of possible litigation attacks and validity questions as to your product or service. If someone else questions the validity of your patent claim, the validity search will also serve its purpose. If another party claims invalidity of the patent granted to you, they will do everything to prove that your patent is really invalid. This may then result in issues that will lead to a court trial and patent investigation needing to be performed. On your part as the patent holder, you should disprove these claims as your opponents assert their invalidity issues on your patented technology. Be ready to defend yourself by hiring assistance from IP attorneys or paralegals. In cases when your patent is copied by another party, you may use the validity search to support your patent infringement claims.

This will be crucial for you to prove that the plaintiff indeed copied your patented technology. Remember that the patent search may also be used by someone who is seeking a patent license from your existing product. This is for these future patentees to lower down the minimal royalty payments you require from them. Therefore, you have to make your necessary steps to contest these future problems. A validity search therefore is not just done in order to support a novelty search. It can be used in a number of ways by you as patent holders. This patent-related search is crucial for you to disprove invalidity claims made by other persons who want to claim the patent license already granted to you. At some points, you may also make use of it in support for patent infringement searches. If you want to receive royalty payments due to you from those whom you are granting your patent’s license, this type of search also be of great help.

 

The field of intellectual property is full of organizations and people who are now living in the color of gray. Attorneys for the plaintiff assert Ip rights regarding their potential customers. Attorneys for defendants debate that no rational property rights exist or that their customers aren’t infringing on individuals rights. In the field of copyright law, the stress between those asserting privileges and those protecting is ever present. Attorneys for copyright owners register copyrights using the U.S. Copyright laws Office with respect to clients. They help their customers understand how to effectively acquire original works registered so they can provide enforcement and leverage. In reality, you can’t sue in federal court in most instances unless your copyrights are authorized with the U.S. Copyright Office.

A good copyright lawyer will then monitor the net for possible violation. When an infringer is determined, lawyers will send out copyright violation threat letters to alleged violators asserting ownership privileges. Because of these you must know about copyright infringement litigation. Exactly how copyright infringement litigation will help: About the defense side, a primary report on the copyright users will decide if the registration leverage exists. Obviously, typical law copyrights may also be asserted. The lawyer will compare the alleged copyright because of their clients allegedly infringing work and provide an evaluation of regardless of whether there is a high-risk of liability.

If the copyright is registered, there’s a potential additional legal responsibility of $150,000.00 plus attorneys’ costs in governmental damages for bad faith infringement. The chance of governmental damages under copyright law is usually one of the most important issues the attorney will concentrate on. One commonly overlooked choice for both plaintiffs and defendants is to have your lawyer file a declaratory judgment action in government court. A declaratory judgment action asks the court to declare privileges between the parties; as an example, if copyright ownership is available or whether there’s infringement.

The remuneration shall include all of the monetary plus in-kind elements offered by the employer for the worker in substitution for the effort and time furnished by the worker. The U.A.E Labor Law has provided guarantees to shield the worker’s wage and also to obtain it 100 % as stipulated for legal reasons as follows:

First: Protecting The Remuneration from The Deduction:

In accordance with Article No. (60) with the Labor Law, any degrees of money most likely are not deducted in the employee’s remuneration to get better rights, except inside the following cases:

A. Repayment of advances or levels of money paid to your employee greater than his entitlement, given that deduction in cases like this may not exceed 10% with the employee’s periodic pay.

B. Installments that are payable lawfully by the employees off their remuneration, for instance social security and insurance schemes.

C. Subscriptions with the employees within the saving fund or advances due for payment to your fund.

D. Installments according of any social scheme or another privileges or services given by the employer and approved through the Labor Department.

E. Fines imposed upon the worker due to offenses committed by him/her

F. Any debts payable in execution of court judgment given that not in excess of a quarter in the employee’s pay will probably be deducted. In the wedding of numerous debts or creditors, half in the remuneration at the most could possibly be deducted as well as the sums of capital attached will probably be divided pro rata among beneficiaries after payment of the legal alimony amounting to a single quarter in the remuneration.

The last clause (F) reflects the safety granted for the worker from his creditors, who may request the seizure of remuneration in order to meet their rights, because that this remuneration will be the source of living from the worker and his awesome family. The law has determined the seizure percentage for that single creditor which the seizure percentage shall not exceed the quarter and inside event on the diversity on the creditors the seizure percentage shall not exceed the half in the remuneration. And if alimony is truly one of these debts, then quarter is assigned along with the remaining quarter of seized half allotted to pay other creditors pro rata, i.e. employee fees are 8000 AED and one half of this amount seized with the benefit from the creditors, then quarter (2000 AED) to spend alimony and remaining 2000 AED purchased creditors pro rata.

In order to estimate the percentage with the remuneration on the employee which could possibly be deducted, first; the proportion should be calculated with the aforementioned deductions as states inside the clause (A – C) of Article No. (60) on the said Labor Law, and also the remainder will probably be deducted on the percentage mentioned in clause (H) with the same Article- If the remuneration on the worker is 10000 Dirhams, along with the total amount deducted from loans, subscriptions, installments and fines is AED 1,000, the exact amount deducted from it for your application of item (H) which stated earlier is nine thousand Dirhams.

Second: Estimating The Deduction In Case The Employee Causes Damages, Loss or Destructions;

In Accordance with Article No. (61) from the Labor Law which states that “If the worker has caused the loss, damage or destruction to your tools, machines, equipment or products of or residing in custody with the employer, to your extent that involvement in the employee was caused by his fault or violation from the employer’s instructions, then your employer has got the option to cut on the employee’s pay the quantity required for rectifying error or restoring an item to its original condition, so long as the amount to become deducted shall not exceed five day pay monthly. The employer can apply for the competent court throughout the concerned Labor Department for authorizing him to deduct in excess of this amount if the staff member is financially sound or has another source of capital”.

Third: The Privilege Right to Obtain The Remuneration:

As states in Article No. (4) with the labor Law states that “All amounts payable towards the employee or his beneficiaries under this Law shall have lien on every one of the employer’s movable and immovable properties. And payment thereof should be made just after payment of a typical legal expenses, sums due for the public treasury and Sharia alimony awarded to wife and children”.

In the aforementioned article the legislator went beyond your general rules established with the general privilege rights which stated from the text of Article 1515 with the Civil Transactions Law into two matters to defend the worker’s right and make sure access to it:

The Labor Law grants the worker the right of privilege over each of the employer’s money, regardless with the amount or period in which the exact amount is due, meanwhile the overall rules restrict the privilege for the extent around it is entitled on the general privilege rights within the last few months.

The labor law has preferred the privilege with the employee within the privilege states from the law for that due amounts supplied for the debtor also to those who dependents for food, clothing and medicine. Essentially the privilege rights are fulfilled from the percentage of each, whilst the labor law grants the worker the best to precede the privilege with the suppliers of food, clothing and medicine.

Fourth: Estimating the Deductions in Case of Imposing a Fine Penalty

As states in Article 104 in the Labor Law “A fine might be a certain amount of greenbacks or what can equal for the remuneration in the employee for the certain stretch of time. A fine according of a single offence might not exceed remuneration payable for five days. It is just not permissible to deduct within 4 weeks an amount equal to over five days pay from your employee’s remuneration in settlement of fines imposed upon him”

Fifth: Proving The Eligibility of The Remuneration

As states in Article No. 58 in the said law; “Settlement on the remuneration payable to employees regardless of its amount or nature will likely be evidenced only in making, by declaration or oath. Any agreement for the contrary will likely be null and void regardless of whether made prior to a effective date on this Law”.

It is known as a protection for that worker as being the worker may be the weak party inside the labor relationship, the legislator in this Article has went beyond your general rules in the proof, where it will require the worker to prove his eligibility to his remuneration by writing or its alternative, declaration or oath or no matter what value in the remuneration, even when the value from the remuneration is a lot less than five thousand Dirhams. However, the final rules to the proof necessitates testimony of witnesses or evidence if the exact amount of debt is below five thousand Dirhams. Accordingly, before employer is discharged on the remuneration debt, he has to provide written proof or declaration or oath of his fulfilment to your worker.

“it can be not permissible to say employee payment prior the state receipt or acknowledgement, or utilizing the oath or refusing for the same, i.e., the receipt issued by company owner regarding employee payment will not be enough to prove the whole fees payment.

Sixth: It just isn’t Permissible to Force A Worker To Buy From A Certain Store or The Products of The Employer:

For the Protection on the worker from your possibility of forcing him to take delivery of his wages in kind as opposed to cash, also it can happen over the payment of income and then require/force the worker to purchase products on the employer or his stores at prices controlled from the employer, Article 59 on the Labor law states this “No worker will likely be obliged to get food and other commodities from specific shops or products manufactured because of the employer”

If the employer is permitted to obligate the worker to get from a certain place, he can impose the remuneration he wants and it could possibly be lower compared to the minimum remuneration. That will be achieved by providing the worker his remuneration in cash and then this worker is required/forced to buy from your employer`s shop or his products at higher prices as opposed to other stores. By this method the employer will recover part with the remuneration paid on the worker.

In light on the aforementioned it reveals to us how the legislator has granted the security for the worker with regards to obtaining his remuneration, the spot that the legislator has codified all of the provisions to safeguard the worker`s rights for getting his remuneration and preventing his remuneration for being deducted under any circumstances in ways that affects his living or his family, that shows a person’s sense along with the social commitment which is considered from the U.A.E law, which never considered the project relationship being a purely economic relationship.

Setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is crucial in today’s society. But understandably, some people do not have anything set up should the worst happen and in addition they need people to step in and manage their finances and well-being for them.

A Power of Attorney is really a document allowing someone you nominate to help and manage your money should you not be mentally able to perform so.

Losing our capacity isn’t something any person like to look at a possibility, however it’s something that may happen to anyone so we should all prepare yourself. A few cost-effective actions now can save quite a lot of time, expense and emotional upset at a later time. As if you lose your capacity devoid of a LPA available then your next of kin must go down the path of receiving a guardianship which is really a long and incredibly expensive process.

Again, in spite of this being basic fact a lot of people still make excuses not to ever put a Power of Attorney in position.

Some on the excuses that I often hear include:

I’m to young to require a Lasting Power of Attorney, those are for old people.

No, they aren’t, you’re to never young to want a LPA. When people think about losing capacity most of us consider elderly people with dementia, however losing capacity is just not something that just goes wrong with the elderly, and then there are other ways besides dementia to forfeit our capacity. There are many ways to reduce your mental capacity, a disease, a road traffic accident, a medical accident/negligence, or perhaps assault are just some in the unfortunate events that could lead to a decrease of capacity that can happen at every age group.

Lasting Powers of attorney have for much capacity to other people

No, attorneys canrrrt do whatever they like. You nominate your attorneys and hopefully this means you would nominate someone you’ll trust, in case you fallout or have a very mishap at the same time you can amend your Power of Attorney anytime prior to it being registered. You can also set limits on which your attorneys can and canrrrt do in the document. If you don’t would like them to be in a position to sell your property for instance then you may stipulate that. As well when you having management of what the attorneys can and canrrrt do via the document you sign, the attorneys are bound by laws to always act inside your best interest where there are repercussions when they fail to accomplish this.

If I create a Lasting Power of Attorney I have to register it at the moment, I’ll hold off until it is necessary.

No, it’s entirely possible to publish and sign a LPA but keep your hands on it unless you want to use it. This is because in order for a LPA to use it must be registered, until it’s registered it’s just a small note. So, you are able to make one when you find yourself in your 30’s but not register it unless you need it as part of your 70’s. Waiting prior to the LPA is essential is very dangerous, when you cannot come up with a power of attorney if you have lost capacity

In order to come up with a power of attorney anybody making it have to have capacity. They must be in a position to understand and consent to and what they are signing.

A Lasting Power of Attorney doesn’t last forever so it is possible to point

There vary types of power of attorney, LPA are permanent, but an Ordinary power of attorney just isn’t. An ordinary Power of Attorney is often a document that it is possible to set up to allow anyone to look after your affairs when you are not capable to, if as an example you are out from the country, or not able to leave the house, or will be in hospital for some time. This document gives another individual authority some thing on your behalf. It is only valid as you still have mental ability to make your own decisions about your financial plans. You can limit the electricity you get for your attorney to be able to only manage certain assets, as an example, your money but not your own home.

I could only have one attorney and I wouldn’t like to choose, it’ll cause fights from the family

No, you are able to have several attorney. The role of attorney is actually difficult at times and there is really a lot of responsibility. So you are able to spread that about by having many attorney. This is called a joint attorney. You can appoint many attorneys within the same lasting power and it is possible to specify whenever they can act automatically separately or as long as they must act jointly and are available together. You can you can keep them act jointly on some issues including sale of property but make them act singly on other issues there is often a lot of flexibility and it truly is entirely under your control.

It’s expensive to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney

It could have been expensive at one point inside past however these days it truly isn’t. you’ll be able to hire a solicitor to accomplish this for you in a fixed fee, normally a couple of hundred pounds. Or you can possess a go at it yourself utilizing the government website which walks you through the process by requesting basic questions and completing the form in your stead. It then gives you instructions regarding how to sign the document to restore compliant using the regulations.

As you’ll have noticed the excuses individuals have for avoiding a LPA are just untrue. The majority of people do not possess a LPA waiting inside wings simply because it’s one of those jobs that’s often set aside for later, dismissed as unnecessary or considered not affordable.

 

Why People Always Choose Arbitration Over Litigation In Saudi Arabia? Most people prefer arbitration to litigation in Saudi Arabia. There are several reasons for this. Understanding these reasons will help you appreciate the many benefits of arbitration Saudi Arabia and the drawbacks of litigation Saudi Arabia so that you can make an informed decision. Note that arbitration involves dispute resolution outside the traditional/formal structure of court procedure and law. Under Saudi Arabia law, this is done before Dispute Resolutions Committees. On the other hand, litigation involves taking a case before a judge. In Saudi Arabia, this is done before such Saudi Courts as the General Courts (Shari’ah), the Board of Grievances and the Supreme Court. One of the greatest benefits of arbitration Saudi Arabia over litigation is efficacy.

Cases that end up in front of an arbitration tribunal/committee in Saudi Arabia are usually resolved faster than those that are tried in court. Another element of efficacy is that the conflict is less likely to affect the relationship between the opposing parties if it is arbitrated, noting that litigation is more adversarial in nature. The members of the arbitration Saudi Arabia tribunal will be chosen by both parties, meaning there is less likelihood of one party complaining of unfairness. This is particularly important where the two warring factions are non-Saudis and Saudis. Arbitration Saudi Arabia provides unparalleled flexibility since they are less formalized. Arbitrators in Saudi Arabia take an interventionist approach and even go out of their way to find the truth. In litigations, lawyers try to prevent the truth from coming out if it is to their client’s disservice. The fact that both sides can select venue, language and seat of the arbitration is a great advantage since it means parties can pick venues and languages that they feel are most neutral and convenient to them.

Arbitration offers uniformity of law. Saudi Arabia arbitrators, like arbitrators in most parts of the world, follow the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration and the 1976 UCITRAL Arbitration Rules. This adds to the feeling of fairness, especially where foreigners are involved. Saudi Arabia arbitrators follow the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. Under this convention, the awards are easier to enforce than in court judgements. Litigation Saudi Arabia translates to heavy legal costs which are sometimes unsustainable. Arbitrators have expertise and qualification to hear cases in specific fields, sometimes even more than judges. Arbitration is also advantageous in that it offers unparalleled privacy and confidentiality.

 

Often the court relies on “trap” orders. What is a trap order? A trap order is imposed in order to gather evidence in litigation matters that revolve around claims based on misleading or deceptive conduct or passing off. However, in instances where one fails to give the respondent a notice about the trap dealing, the evidence might not be accepted by the court as was observed in the case of Nick Scali Limited v Super A-Mart Pty Limited [2010] FCA 1130. QUCIK FACTS A claim for passing off was initiated by Nick Scali against Super A-Mart. Nick Scali alleged that Super A-Mart breached sections 52 and 53 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).

The court was faced with claims that related to comparative advertisements, pricing, punch lines and placards as well as oral accounts suggesting overlap and passing off of both parties’ goods. Scali wanted to present a ‘trap dealing’ as evidence before the court. However, before the commencement of the court proceedings, Scali had not notified Super A-Mart until two weeks after the initiation of these proceedings. COURT’S FINDINGS Pursuant to section 135(a) of the Evidence Act, Super A-Mart pleaded that the Court could not permit evidence of a trap dealing for which they had not received a notice thereof.

The court found reason in Scali’s argument and decided that it would be not be unfair and biased to Super A-Mart if the evidence as admitted by Scali were not allowed. However, the court warned that trap orders should always be carried out with “absolute fairness” and such trap orders must occur in such conditions that could provide the other party optimum opportunity to examine their present scenario. Lastly, the court held that if there is a failure to give a timely notice to the opposing party, then only the weight of the evidence produced is affected, not its admissibility. SUMMARY An evidence of trap dealing can be admissible in court only when they are direly required and the opposing party is notified of the same. If one does not heed to these basic principles, there is a probability that the evidence produced before the court may be dismissed. If at all such evidence is allowed, then its probative value may diminish.

 

This controversial Agreement has aroused strong reactions around the world, but what is it all about? Where does it come from? And what does the ACTA Agreement really mean for us citizens in practice? Background ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) is a trade agreement between a number of nations, both inside and outside the EU, aimed at preventing counterfeiting and illegal copying and sharing. With this legislation it is hoped to establish a more effective co-operation across national boundaries to stop e.g. illegal copying and sharing and counterfeiting. Since ACTA is a trade agreement between different nations, many of the negotiations have been conducted behind closed doors which has been vigorously criticised and has led to heated protests worldwide.

Critics believe that the advocates of ACTA will force the signatory nations to introduce stricter laws against illegal copying, for example. This, in the view of the critics, will violate personal integrity and help to shape how the state intervenes in people’s private lives. There is also the view that the democratic deficit is substantially ignored since the ACTA negotiations have mostly been carried out away from the public gaze. Where does Sweden stand on ACTA? The Agreement was signed on behalf of Sweden at a ceremony in Japan by the country’s ambassador, Lars Vargo in January 2012. Many in Sweden perceive the entire process and the signing of ACTA as the Swedish government failing to put its cards on the table and concealing its hand.

However, even though Sweden has now signed the ACTA Agreement this means at present only that that we do not ‘reject’ the Agreement, i.e. it should not be interpreted that we have fully approved it; rather there must be a subsequent debate on the Agreement in the Riksdag and within the EU. As things stand, the Agreement does not appear to have a long life. It may be very difficult to implement the Agreement in practice given that it has aroused such strong reactions and protests already, both inside and outside the EU. Already now the governments of certain countries have got ‘cold feet’ and have withdrawn from the Agreement. These countries… Follow this link to read the full article:

Almost any active Reddit user has asked himself this question at least once. And the answer seems simple enough – get a ton of upvotes, get traction, go viral. But, at least in the early stages of a Reddit post, traction is both key and extremely hard to get. If only there was a way to get a push, a head start. Guess what, there is. One can easily buy Reddit upvotes to get their post on the way towards viral fame. However, easy is not always safe.

The idea of buying your head-start towards the top is a good one only as long as it’s implemented properly and correctly. As with any Internet Marketing venture that involves providers selling marketing services, the provider of Reddit upvotes needs to be chosen with extreme care. In the field of IM, the difference between the right and the wrong provider is night and day – it’s the difference between viral and banned. Look for experience! Look for credibility!

Look for professionalism! For example, making a choice solely based on price will only get you a good price. But at what cost? Is it worth ending up with a banned account thanks to an unexperienced service provider that will bombard your post with tons of artificial looking upvotes from brand new accounts? Certainly not!A reputable Internet Marketing services provider, like, for example, reddit-marketing.pro , will always use a blend of aged accounts, new accounts, high Karma accounts and so on when blasting your post with the upvotes that you bought, making the whole growth process look natural to any bot-detection algorithm, protecting your account from harm and actually getting the results you want.

In the end, going viral on Reddit is not that hard, as long as you are able to choose wisely where you buy Reddit upvotes.

Even in today’s modern world, approximately 168 million children still remain held in child labor, a number of them for full time. Most of them aren’t getting a chance to receive formal education and a few of them don’t even get proper food and nutrition. Moreover, at least half of which have been active in the worst on the working conditions, slavery and also other illicit activities for example prostitution and human trafficking. However, the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, plus the national governments happen to be trying the most beautiful to get this inhuman practice eradicated and convey back the childhood of the innocent children. However, contact us a bit more around the child labor laws worldwide.

Categories of Child Labor as Defined by The International Laws:

Human Trafficking, slavery, debt bondage along with other forced labors, prostitution, pornography and forced recruitments into armed conflicts are termed s the unconditional worst types of child labor.
Any sort of labor performed by the kid, which is not permissible at his specific age (as defined from the national legislation) that may hinder your child’s education and development.
Labor that may hinder the mental, physical or perhaps the moral well-being with the child. It usually includes doing work in hazardous conditions or nature with the work being performed.

Minimum Working Age:

Most on the countries retain strict laws and still have restricted the minimum age for trying to 14-15 years. However, there are a few exceptions, which are actually set because of the International Labor Organization. For developing countries, the spot that the economy with the country may be dependent on the important children, it could possibly be permissible for youngsters of above 12 years old to do light be employed in suitable conditions make sure it does not affect their formal education.

Age Restrictions and Types of Works:

Along with setting the minimum working chronilogical age of 14 years, the ILO has restricted the minimum working age to 18 years for are employed in hazardous conditions, for instance working on a construction site, handling machines that could cause any style of harm or other worst sort of works. “Worst Forms” of works as defined with the International Labor Organization, includes slavery, prostitution, human trafficking and a lot of other inhumane practices.

Penalty Imposition:

The penalties that happen to be imposed for that violation of any form of child labor laws depend upon the situation along with the location. For eg., in California, violating any child labor laws oftentimes leads up to few months of imprisonment inside the county prison and/or $500-$10000 of your monetary fine. In most with the countries, companies can face fines and legal suits against them if found guilty from the violation of child labor laws. However, huge cultural differences along with legal complications increase the risk for laws tricky to be implemented strictly in many countries. Moreover, per Right To Education Project, a child labor law implementation still lacks back in a number of countries as they don’t possess enough method for enforce the laws strictly.

 

China’s video web sites have made “fundamental” improvements in their use of audiovisual products with authorized copyrights, according to Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publication. Now, at least 76 percent of movies shown on the country’s 18 largest video web sites are shown in authorized-copyright format. While people living in China may still find it relatively easy to buy a pirated movie in DVD format on the street, or download a non-copyright edition of a book from the internet, China’s efforts to enhance its copyright environment is undeniable. Major progress in recent years includes the official shutdown of the download services provided by China’s main file sharing web sites such as BTChina and VeryCD, both of which were then major online platforms where pirated cultural products were uploaded and shared by netizens.

China is also going through the third-round of amendments to its “Copyright Law,” which was first approved in 1990 before being amended both in 2001 and 2010. During the previous amendments, new concepts were introduced in line with both technological developments and international practices. While cracking down on piracy in one hand, China is advancing its copyright exchange regime in the other. The National Copyright Administration (NCA) is making an attempt to gradually “normalize” China’s copyright trading activities, Yan said at a forum held on February 17. Copyright exchange is coming into fashion nowadays, as it benefits both copyright owners as well as users. A platform for such trading activities enables the owners to profit more efficiently, and lets buyers have greater access to obtain copyright use rights at lower costs. As an experiment in copyright trading, the NCA established a National Common Market for Copyright Exchange in 2009. Up until now, key members of the association have conducted copyright trading transactions amounting to RMB1.8 billion.

In addition, they are also making copyrights an emerging financing vehicle by providing loan services with copyrights as pledges. Opinion: China gains momentum in copyright protectionComplaints from international investors regarding China’s poor intellectual property rights environment may have pushed China to make changes, but the increasing benefits the country is seeing by promoting copyright products have likely provided the government with even greater motivation. For instance, with less access to pirated movies, Chinese citizens go to the cinemas more regularly and movie distributors have seen box-office revenues surge to US$2.1 billion in 2011. Recently, China reached a settlement with the United States to allow an additional 14 movies in 3D or iMax format to be imported from U.S. movie makers every year, in addition to the current cap of 20 standard movies.

Although U.S. studios can collect a greater portion of box-office proceeds based on the agreement (25 percent compared with the current 13.5 percent-17.5 percent), the increasing imports of those premium movies will still mean considerable growth in revenues for Chinese movie theaters. The above-mentioned settlement on movie imports is also an outcome of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute filed by the United States back in 2007, where China’s scope of movie import restrictions was found inconsistent with its WTO obligations. This case – which indicates a trend that China may be pushed to hold a more open attitude to cultural product imports – requires the government to increase its efforts to protect the interests of domestic importers who pay money for foreign copyright use. Another important motivation for China to fight piracy is the need to shield and encourage its own cultural development. As part of its plan to expand the country’s “soft power” to the whole world, the government has offered various incentives to boost its cultural industries, and has called for increasing mergers and acquisitions as well as international cooperation to improve the strength of its media platform. Such new tendencies in industrial upgradation have naturally increased the authority’s sense of copyright protection.