Beijing retail markets join fight against counterfeit brands
10 Jun '06
3 min read
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and Vice minister of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce Ma Xiuhong have participated in Beijing in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Beijing retail markets and foreign brand owners in the sportswear and fashion industries to join the fight against the sale of counterfeit goods in Beijing retail markets.
Also present at the signing were representatives from the Beijing Municipal government and the Beijing Intellectual Property Office. The agreement is an attempt to head off further litigation against Beijing retail market landlords through a voluntary agreement to crack down on intellectual property theft and piracy.
Speaking at the ceremony, Commissioner Mandelson said: "The protection of intellectual property goes to the heart of our economic relations. That is why this initiative is highly significant and should be an important step to maintain confidence in these markets: I hope we can build further on this foundation".
Commenting on the agreement on behalf of the participating brand owners, Trademark Counsel for Louis Vuitton, Nathalie Moulle Berteaux said: "Counterfeiting in China of famous foreign brands has growing in the last few years in parallel with China's tremendous economic development."
"Today's agreement is a private sector solution to the harm caused by counterfeiting and will hopefully result in significant changes in Beijing markets, in time for the 2008 Olympics".
marketing@alchempro.com
