Rescue the old
Lan Xinzhen

WANG Jiahuai, General Manager of Beijing Wangzhihe Food Group, a seasonings producer, is bound to have a tight schedule in 2008. Having just rid himself of a lawsuit, Wang dares not drag his feet trying to evade more troubles. He is about to set out on a tour in order to register his trademark “Wangzhihe” in over 30 countries and regions. The time and energy wasted on the lawsuit is actually worthwhile for Wang-it awakened him to the importance of protecting his brand by getting it officially registered.
Wang’s troubles started in 2006 when his group was attempting to break into the German market. To his great surprise, the 330-year-old Chinese brand “Wangzhihe” had been hijacked by the Germany-based Okai Import Export GmbH.
As one of China’s time-honored brands, Wangzhihe is endowed with intangible assets worth of over 100 million yuan ($13.5 million). Unfortunately, Wangzhihe products could not be sold in Germany because of the preemptive trademark registration by its German counterpart. In August 2006, the cornered Wangzhihe Food Group filed a lawsuit at the Munich court of Germany to defend its rights. Finally and fortunately, on November 14, the court ruled to revoke the registered trademark of Okai.
“We are not alone in such cases,” Wang said. “A handful of renowned Chinese brands are also suffering infringements.”
Similar infringement cases go back as far as the 1990s. According to incomplete data, over 250 Chinese trademarks have been hijacked in Australia, more than 200 in Japan and over 50 in India. Enterprises in the EU, Latin America and Southeast Asia are also catching up. In the last 10 years, trademarks of over 2,000 export commodities have become victims of such illegal acts, rippling through many industries such as cosmetics, drinks, household appliances, garments and culture. Most of the affected are time-honored Chinese brands.
“With Chinese brands gaining a foothold in the global market, overseas competitors are vying for these brands to sharpen their competitive edge,” said Huang Guoxiong, professor at the Renmin University of China and Deputy Director of the Chinese Society of Commercial Economy.
On the other hand, many Chinese enterprises are poorly armed with the awareness to safeguard their trademarks due to fledgling intellectual property right protection mechanisms. Once preempted, they have to buy back their trademarks or rename their products, both of which can lead to substantial costs.
A painful loss
Feng Yibin, Director of the Association of Chinese Trademarks, pointed to preemptive trademark registrations as roadblocks for Chinese enterprises on their paths to go global. Worse still, the brand robbers even blackmail their Chinese counterparts for high trademark transfer fees. Feng has in recent years dealt with many trademark disputes on behalf of domestic enterprises.
Statistics of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce show that old and famous brands are losing intangible assets worth of approximately 1 billion yuan ($135.1 million) annually.
In 1950, China boasted over 10,000 time-honored brands. By 1990, the number had sharply shrunk to 1,600. In October 2006, there were a measly 430 still surviving, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Many domestic enterprises only legalize their brands in countries where they export, heedless of long-term development. When they set their sights on new markets, they find their brand names have already fallen into the pocket of others, noted Wang Hongqing, attorney of Wangzhihe case. “To recover the trademark, the Wangzhihe Food Group paid 500,000 yuan ($67,568).”
A thorny path
To everyone’s surprise, most enterprises that have been infringed chose to settle in private, instead of following Wangzhihe’s example and filing a lawsuit.
Financial cost is a major disincentive to taking legal action. Present time-honored brands are mostly rooted in the catering industry, with little profit margin. Originally growing from snack bars, these enterprises have begun seeking expansion since 1978 when the reform and opening-up policy was adopted. “What actually constrains them from bringing a lawsuit is the concern over huge costs,” Wang Hongqing said. “It’s unaffordable for ordinary enterprises.”
According to Liu Manlai, Deputy Director of Beijing Traditional Brands Association, only 70 percent of China’s time-honored brands can make ends meet. Hovering at the brink of bankruptcy are another 20 percent. Only 10 percent have been able to scale up their enterprises. As a result, they have no other choice but to bend to the financial pressure arising from overseas lawsuits.
With an annual turnover approaching 600 million yuan ($81.1 million), the Wangzhihe Food Group can be considered one of the most well-performing among the remaining old brands. Notwithstanding, the group only yields an annual profit of less than 15 million yuan ($2 million).
Hence, to lower the costs of legal fights overseas has become a pressing task. “It costs little to maintain a trademark,” Liu said. “However, it can swell once the registration is taken over. Worse still, the brand rights are unavailable during the lawsuit, which may span two to three years.”
A helping hand
“Enterprises themselves are supposed to be held responsible for the protection of their trademarks, some of which have merged with the traditional culture. But given their financial difficulties, it’s unrealistic that they shoulder the burden alone,” said Wang Hongqing. “We should come up with an independent protection mechanism to organize the trademark registration process so as to protect these intangible assets,” Wang said.
Support from the society and the government can be utilized and can assist enterprises that are incapable of launching global registration campaigns. “If this happens, more financial and personnel resources can be saved for production,” said Wang Jiahuai.
Relevant government departments and industrial associations are also obliged to serve the interests of domestic enterprises. For example, blessed with convenient access to broad information, they can sound the alarm when they discover preemptive registrations. They can also publicize successful experiences some companies have had in defending their intellectual property rights overseas, and they should try to provide interpreters and lawyers for those companies involved in overseas lawsuits.
As embodiments of the Chinese traditional culture, these time-honored brands deserve adequate preservation and promotion, added Wang Jiahuai. At present, the Ministry of Commerce is brewing a pre-warning system for intellectual property rights in an effort to rescue the brands under threat. Meanwhile, a campaign to revitalize the old brands is also on the way. Namely, 1,000 Chinese time-honored brands, with their own intellectual property rights, will be confirmed in three years.

(The Daily Mail-Beijing Review Articles Exchange Item)


Afghanistan: Defeat or victory?
Debbie Menon

THE Pashtuns are perhaps the only logical and perhaps a possible path to “peace” in Afghanistan... if, you perceive “peace” to mean an end to hostilities, particularly hostilities involving foreigners, the US, UN, NATO and the forces of the “willing coalition”, a motley collection of US lackeys, in Afghanistan. Why should the Pashtuns even be considered? Logically, the only option because of their disproportionately high number in comparison to the others, say, the Tajik, Uzbek, etc. Eventually, of course, the US and the “willing coalition” will have to make some accommodation with the Pashtun, as well as the other tribes and peoples, and the fighting will end,..for them, for now, and they will call it “peace,” and a victory for themselves.
The politics and practices of the Taleban movement which emerged in Afghanistan was almost purely theological, but its foreign policy was not in accord with Western wishes, and therefore became distasteful to Western political minds, who interpreted and identified the most severe of the fundamentalist’s practices as examples of an undesirable and despicable government. All coins in the American realm have, of course, only one side! The Taleban movement in Afghanistan, as well as theological government in almost any other place it is found, is hardly different in principle from the Puritan movement in England, the persecution of which inspired the Puritan Pilgrimage to America. It is in principle, that same type of government which we see George Bush and others attempting to establish in the US, although I would suspect that Afghan Taleban are more sincere and faithful in their theological motivation and lack the depths of hypocrisy of the American Puritan Pilgrims and the George Bush neo-Christian Right.
I am sure that Muslim women, and Taleban women in particular, do not have all the “freedoms” of some of the women in Western culture, but do we have to look too far to find the pot calling the kettle black? My objection in this aspect, is that the black pot is painting and casting the kettle even blacker than it actually is. Having lived in an Islamic country for 20 years where many women wear the headscarf, many wear a more severe and formal dress, and some wear the full garb. And greater many also wear nothing at all of that nature! I have yet to hear any woman or husband, complain or protest. No one and nothing makes them dress the way they do, except convention, the same determinant behind how me and my sister, those women in Afghanistan, and anywhere else dress.
Having lived in an Arab country, surely I am aware that most of the Secular Ruling and Leading Religious class crimes against the people are committed out of secular motivation, invoked and enforced by ideological interpretations in contravention of the theological laws. Yes, the Taleban did punish deviation from the ideological/ theological norms. Women were whipped for the way they dressed, and men were beaten for shaving. What would happen in New York if you or I were to perform some severe aberrant violation of American custom? We would be punished according to local law! Perhaps by Taleban standards, an inadequate punishment... but then, different strokes for different folks? Would they want Taleban coming into their countries and advising them on how to punish their thieves, rapists, spousal and child abusers, and murderers? Why should they invite ‘us’ into theirs to advise them by our standards? How would they like Taleban to come to their home and tell them how to vote, dress, behave, whether they could go to school or not, and punish them if they missed Church, Synagogue or Mosque at the prescribed times?
If they did not come trying to impose their “odious” ways on us! What right do we have to go there? As I recall, one of their greatest crimes was blowing up some ancient statues which they considered offensive to their religious interpretations. Well, it happened in their own country, and they were the sovereign government. Oh, the other big crime was their refusal to come to terms with an offer from Unocal and Exxon to build some kind of pipeline from Uzbekistan to Pakistan. Perhaps they refused to accept the bribes and blowback, and offended some important people.
But we worked that one out didn’t we, with the current Free and Democratic Government which the people were so happy, with an assist from us, to vote into office after the Taleban left? Apply those shoes to some Afghan Taleban they will fit no better on those other feet. I have read recently about the removal of some religious icons from the public schools, Federal Court Houses and other public places in America, and the banning of Religious ritual in Public Places. No one seems to be as excited about those things as they purported to be about the statues. Principle?
As an aside, I might note that in the Muslim country that I lived in, their Municipal Counsels, and Federal Governments, and all local businesses, spend millions of Dirhams each year decorating buildings, markets and shopping Centers with lights, banners, tinsel, false snow, crucifixes, crčches and crosses to celebrate the great Christian event ‘Christmas’ the birthday of the Christian prophet. They are not allowed to do that in the Great Christian Nation the United States of Ambiguity. I think the best solution is something like this....
“You leave us alone and we will leave you alone. We can trade and do business if you like (but don’t encourage us to go into the poppy agriculture industry because we have traditions which prohibit such trade) and don’t tell us how to live, and we will not tell you how to live. And, if you find our ways odious, or if we find your ways odious, then you can leave us alone, and we will get along without your trade, as I am sure you can get long without ours. Just stay home, and don’t come over here interfering with us, or we will bring grievous hurt upon you!”
Afghanistan, to me at least, evokes the image of a cowering battered, bruised, bloodied and disheveled woman, chained, and at the mercy of her captors. Perhaps I have too vivid an imagination. I suspect a lot of this is in Wikipedia. But, then, the writing in Wikipedia is not very exciting, is it! Afghanistan? Back in the days of Marco Polo, which was not his real name but Western historians have seldom got such irrelevant facts correct anyway, one of the main trade routes between East and West ran smack through Afghanistan, up the Khyber Pass and on into Asia. This narrow and arduous passage on such a great and valuable road made Afghanistan an important player in what was then considered the all-important game of World Trade. They were the gatekeepers, and toll collectors, on the Gate between East and West. Whoever controlled them, or their gate, controlled world trade. Considered by most of the “First World” countries, at the time, as ignorant hillbillies who made a living kicking sheep and goats up and down hill all day, they were considered a pushover for domination.
Many countries tried it over the centuries; some of which no longer exist; but Afghanistan is still there., and most of the “leading” and advanced countries in the world still see them as a backward nation of sheep and goat kickers. Few of them have ever studied why Afghanistan has never, for long, come under the domination of any foreign nation, and have sent so many of them home, tail between their legs with noses bleeding. Afghanistan is now the low-cost source for the majority of the illicit drugs traded in the most profitable industry, next to warfare, in the modern world and, as a nation of ignorant hillbillies, they are a sitting duck for any ambitious nation or group who wants to come by and knock them off.
The fact that they lie directly in the path of what some people see as a new trade route for oil and gas, is simply reminiscent of the old days of caravansary and camel glory. No one has yet figured exactly how a nation of such disorganisd and ignorant, backward hillbillies has been able to defeat and repel some of the mightiest nations in the world, but many are still sending armed envoys there to find out. It seems that no matter how much blood flows in this school, how many bodies fail the course, no one has discovered the secret. Afghanistan! On one hand, a total failure... on the other, a magnificent victory!

—Khaleej Times






Green commitment
Jing Xiaolei

THIS is an important year for China not only because of the historical Olympics event but also because the country will significantly reduce pollution with its commitment to cutting up to 2.3 million tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and 1.3 million tons of chemical oxygen demand (COD), according to a recent plan outlined by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). SEPA Director Zhou Shengxian said at a high-profile environment meeting in late January that this year’s mission is to reduce SO2 by 6 percent and COD by 5 percent based on their 2005 levels, which serves as the base for the environmental goals of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010).
“Industrial restructuring will play a fundamental role in curbing pollution,” Zhou said. By the end of 2010, the plan is to bring down both SO2 and COD levels by 10 percent, based on 2005 figures. Acknowledging the serious environmental challenge facing the country, Zhou noted that the fight against pollution is far from over. SEPA figures showed that last year, the quality of more than 26 percent of water runoff was worse than grade V-a level unfit for human contact. The air quality in cities on more than 100 days was below grade II, the level at which it is considered healthy for humans. To fulfill the commitment, more high energy consuming and high polluting power plants have to be shut down this year, including a number of small-scale thermal power plants with a combined output of 13 gw, steel plants with a total capacity of 6 million tons, cement plants with a combined output of 50 million tons, iron production facilities with a total capacity of 14 million tons, and papermaking factories producing a combined 1 million tons, said the top SEPA official.
“This phase-out plan, if achieved by the end of this year, will help China reduce its emissions of SO2 by 600,000 tons and cut COD by 400,000 tons,” Zhou said, also indicating that several key eco-friendly projects will soon be implemented. Last year the country made progress in its green battle against COD due to measures taken by the Central Government and environmental agencies. The density of COD in water resources was 6.5 mg per liter, down 7 percent on 2006.
In 2007, a reduction in SO2 emission also prevented 100,000 square km of land from suffering acid rain. The number of blue-sky days with good air quality was also up on the previous year. The plan aims to enhance sewage-handling capacity as well. The country’s urban wastewater treatment capacity is to be increased by 12 million tons a day, which will cut COD by 600,000 tons. Meanwhile, various industries will be required to improve their wastewater treatment capacities contributing to a COD reduction, of 200,000 tons a year. The use of sulfur scrubbers to clean emissions will be emphasized, the plan said. New thermal power generation units with a combined capacity of 30 gw will be installed with sulfur removal capabilities, leading to an SO2 emission cut of 1.5 million tons. Pushed by the critical environmental challenge caused by China’s rapid economic development, SEPA has taken greater initiatives to protect the environment, targeting its tough measures not only toward domestic enterprises but also foreign ones. Since last November, SEPA has conducted special environmental protection post-checkups on 130 multinational companies that had broken environmental laws in 2004-2007, across 19 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.
This year SEPA made more progress by starting to work with the financial sector to create an international benchmark for green credit.SEPA signed a deal with the International Finance Corp. (IFC) on January 25 in Beijing to introduce the Equator Principles to China. The principles are a voluntary set of guidelines based on IFC policies to incorporate social and environmental issues into project financing. China introduced the green loan concept last July as part of its enforcement of eco-friendly economic policies. Communication between environmental monitors and banks saw some plants blacklisted from receiving loans because of their pollution records. “It proved an effective instrument to curb pollution and lower financial risk,” said Yang Chaofei, head of SEPA’s policy department.

(The Daily Mail-Beijing Review Articles Exchange Item)