Taiwan

Mainland to accept priority rights application from TW

By Zhao Yinan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-11-10 22:11

BEIJING - The mainland will start to approve the priority rights of patent applicants from Taiwan on Nov 22 in an attempt to address intellectual property rights (IPR) disputes unleashed by booming cross-Straits exchange.

"Related authorities in the mainland agree to accept the applications of priority rights in Taiwan, based on the first filing application date of patents, trademarks and plant species rights," Fan Liqing, spokeswoman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular press conference on Wednesday.

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Fan said the recognition of the priority rights in Taiwan is a further move to boost cross-Straits economic, scientific and cultural exchanges after the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) took effect in September.

Fan said Taiwan's copyright authorities will accept the application of certificate for Taiwan audio and video products targeting the mainland market after its mainland counterpart finishes required procedures.

"Taiwan audio and video companies can enjoy the copyright protection in the mainland by joining the mainland copyright watchdog," an insider from the mainland copyright authority, who refused to be identified, told China Daily in an earlier interview.

Although the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are both members of the WTO, the two sides did not recognize the priority rights between each other until negotiators from across the Straits signed an agreement on intellectual property rights protection to boost protection of patents, trademarks, copyrights and plant variety rights.

From 2005 to 2009, Taiwan residents have submitted about 110,000 patent cases to the Chinese mainland, according to statistics released by the island's intellectual property office.

Fan also said the Chinese mainland has approved mutual direct exchange of the yuan, or Renminbi, and New Taiwan Dollar (TWD) in Guangdong province, where the Asian Games will open on Friday.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has permitted two mainland banks -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China -- to provide exchange services in Guangdong, said Fan.

The yuan and the TWD are not directly exchangeable.

The measure was intended as a convenience for Taiwan compatriots attending the games, she said.

However, she did not say how long the measure would be effective. A similar measure was put in place during the Shanghai World Expo. The Chinese Taipei delegation of 560 people arrived at Guangzhou, host city of the games, on Monday and will compete in 32 sports during the two-week event.

Xinhua contributed to this story