Chinese companies, especially brand-name producers, have resolutely embarked on the road to safeguarding their rights after experiencing various lawsuits involving intellectual property rights (IPR) at home and abroad.

　　Hisense, a manufacturer of consumer electronic goods, won a lawsuit against Bosch and Siemens, which illegally registered the Chinese company's brand in Germany.

　　In the past six years, Bosch and Siemens illegally registered trademarks belonging to seven Chinese companies in Europe, an act viewed by most Chinese as unfair competition. The move has made it difficult for the Chinese home appliance maker to sell its products in France, Bulgaria, Spain and some other European countries. In the negotiations on the trademark issue, Bosch and Siemens asked for 40 million euros (US$51.88 million) for the trademark, which Hisense did not accept.

　　By relying on legal means, Hisense finally reached an agreement with its rival last March to end the dispute and recovered the "Hisense" trademark. The two companies also agreed to seek future cooperation and joint investment opportunities.

　　Zhang Xiuhong, general manager of Hisense Import and Export Co Ltd, said, "This was a bitter lesson for Hisense."

　　After the lawsuit, Hisense has taken a series of remedial measures, including registering trademarks in more than 100 countries and regions.

　　Monks of China's famed Shaolin Temple, commonly considered the birthplace of kung fu, a unique combination of Buddhism and Chinese martial arts, have also succeeded in safeguarding the temple's rights to its name by legal means.

　　Generations of Shaolin monks have devoted themselves to enriching and improving temple tradition and have gradually developed it into a complex and sophisticated system of fighting, widely recognized as kung fu. It became famous with the release of the movie "Shaolin Temple" 20-odd years ago and its global influence has grown since the 1970s due to its use in many foreign films.

　　Unfortunately, 80 unauthorized kung fu schools in China have used the name Shaolin, and more than 100 businesses, including those selling cars, beer, tires, furniture, and even wire, bear the Shaolin name, all without the permission of the temple.

　　In 1994, the temple, in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, won a lawsuit against a company in a nearby town that was using the Shaolin name to market sausage, the first case of this type.

　　To further defend its reputation and interests, the temple has set up a firm, the Henan Shaolin Temple Industrial Development Co Ltd, to protect and administer the intangible assets of the Shaolin Temple. In recent years, the temple applied for registration of both "Shaolin" and "Shaolin Temple" as trademarks, and similar efforts have been made in other countries.

　　Shi Yongxin, abbot of the temple, said, "The Shaolin Temple is an important piece of cultural heritage for all human beings. To protect it, we must propose draft legislation to ensure appropriate action."

　　In contrast to these two successful cases, a number of Chinese businesses are still unaware of how to safeguard their interests through the rules of IPR protection.

　　Nationally, more than 100 brand-name products such as Changhong, Quanjude, Rongbaozhai, Hongtashan, Tongrentang, Wuliangye and others have had their names illegally registered by other Chinese and overseas manufacturers, resulting in a predicament in exports, multinational exchanges and potential economic losses.

　　(Xinhua)