IPR, patent legislation

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are crucial for protecting the innovative potential of the European ceramic industry. Ceramic products and production methods are protected by trademarks, patents, utility models and other IPR. However, EU ceramic manufacturers are increasingly faced with counterfeiting of their products. This causes serious damage to the EU industry.

Often it is extremely important to register IPR not only in the EU, but also in other jurisdictions, particularly in China, in order to be able to fight counterfeiting at the source. However, in many cases EU producers are not sufficiently aware of the IPR systems in third countries. This is why Cerame-Unie has established a long-term cooperation with the China IPR SME Helpdesk of the European Commission. In 2009, a series of “China IPR Workshops” were held across Europe, in Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. These workshops provided useful information on the Chinese IPR system and on possibilities to register and enforce IPR in China, with a special focus on the ceramic industry. In the wake of the workshops, a ceramic-specific guide on IPR has been prepared by the China IPR SME Helpdesk.

The China IPR SME Helpdesk supports European Union (EU) small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to both protect and enforce their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in or relating to China, through the provision of free information and services. These take the form of jargon-free, first-line, confidential advice on intellectual property and related issues, plus training events, materials and online resources. The China IPR SME Helpdesk is funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry (DG ENTR) under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).