31 July 2008, Beijing

 A study report on Collective Management Societies (CMS): Collective Management of Authors’ Rights and Related Rights in the EU and the PRC: Benefits & Challenges in the Digital Era is now available and intends to identify the particular needs related to collective management of rights in China, present European good practices, and make recommendations concerning the implementation of collective rights management of rights in China. It is published by the EU-China Trade Project, as part of bridging the IPR1 and IPR2 Projects. More.

10-11 July 2008, Shanghai 

The first seminar of the Asia-Invest European Business Organisations (EBOs) Asian Regional IPR Protection Project on Asian IPR Regulatory Framework organised by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China was successfully held from 10-11 in Shanghai July. More.

9-11 July 2008, Shanghai

IPR2 supported the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) together with the Quality Brands Protection Committee of China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (QBPC) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to organise an International Conference convening senior Chinese and international IP judges, including judges from Europe. This high-level platform highlighted the strong prospects for a long-term exchange between the Chinese and European judiciary. 

16 July 2008

The European Commission has adopted two initiatives in the area of copyright. Firstly, it proposes to align the copyright term for performers with that applicable to authors, in this way bridging the income gap that performers face toward the end of their lives. Secondly, to fully harmonise the copyright term that applies to co-written musical compositions. In parallel, the Commission also adopted a Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy. The consultation document focuses on topics that appear relevant for the development of a modern economy, driven by the rapid dissemination of knowledge and information. More.

11 July 2008, Shanghai

Senior judges from China, the European Union, the United States, Japan and India concluded a two-day international conference hosted by the Supreme People’s Court of China (SPC) in Shanghai today on how the judiciary can better protect and enforce intellectual property rights (IPR). The 2008 International Conference on Judicial Protection of IPR proved beneficial to all participants and strong interest was expressed to hold another exchange in the future. IPR2 co-sponsored the conference together with the Quality Brands Protection Committee of China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (“QBPC”), which worked with the SPC to organise the first International Conference on Judicial Protection of IPR in 2006, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. View press release.