Eu lawmakers back draft rules on patents for connected cars, telecommunications equipment

　　In the face of criticism from Nokia, Ericsson and other patent holders, EU lawmakers recently approved draft rules governing patents on key technologies for telecommunications equipment and connected cars。The draft rules, proposed by the European Commission in April last year, aim to end costly and lengthy litigation over patents for telecommunications equipment, mobile phones, computers, connected cars and smart device technology。

　　The European Parliament must now work out the details of the proposed rules with EU states before they can become law。

　　In a letter sent to EU lawmakers in January 2024, companies including Nokia, Ericsson and Siemens highlighted concerns about the draft rules from the European Patent Office (EPO), standard-setting body the European Telecommunications Standardization Institute (ETSI) and others。

　　IP Europe, a lobby group that counts Nokia, Ericsson and Qualcomm as members, reiterated its opposition to the draft rules。

　　The group's managing director, Patrick.Senator Patrick McCutcheon said, "The beneficiaries will not be small and medium-sized businesses, as claimed, but big tech companies.。”

　　"In addition, it would reduce incentives to contribute to open standards, leading to the re-emergence of closed standards, slowing innovation and reducing the EU's competitiveness, technological leadership and strategic autonomy," he said。”

　　The Fair Standards Alliance, whose members include BMW, Volkswagen, automakers Strangis, Tesla, Toyota, Apple, Google and Amazon, supported the lawmakers' vote。

　　The alliance's secretary general, Evelina."Said Evelina Kurgonaite, a senior government official，The vote "brings European companies one step closer to licensing standard basic technologies on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms - however.，unfortunately，The current reality is far from that."。

　　(Source: China Intellectual Property Protection Network)

　　Korea Intellectual Property Office releases status of layout design protection of integrated circuits

　　Korea Intellectual Property Office recently released the status quo of integrated circuit layout design protection。As of 2023, a total of 2,833 IC layout-designs have been registered in Korea。The main points are as follows:

　　(1) From the perspective of application trend, the average annual number of registrations from 2014 to 2023 is 39, and the number of registrations in 2023 is about 4% lower than that in the previous year。

　　(2) From the point of origin of the right holders, the number of Korean registration applications was 1,952, and the number of foreigners was 881, of which 839 applications were filed by Japan, accounting for 95.The total number of applications from the United States, the Netherlands, South Africa, France and China was 42, accounting for 4.8%。

　　(3) From the perspective of the changing trend of rights holders, the number of foreign applications has decreased since 1999, and the number of applications after 2009 has not exceeded 5, and the number of Chinese applications in 2021 and 4 in 2023。In addition, after 2014, the number of Korean applications for integrated circuit layout design registration accounted for a large proportion, from 2014 to 2023, the number of Korean layout-design registration applications was 383, the number of foreign applications was 9, a total of 392。In 2023, South Koreans accounted for 83% of the total number of applications that year。

　　(4) Major rights holders include: Samsung (189 cases), Sogang University (248 cases), Korea Electronics and Communications Research Institute (418 cases), and CORERIVER (49 cases).。

　　(Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences Intellectual Property Information)

　　Import duties on almost 500 items will be removed from the Australian market

　　The Australian government recently announced that from July 1 this year, it will eliminate import duties on nearly 500 goods, affecting everything from washing machines, refrigerators, dishwashers to clothing, sanitary pads, bamboo chopsticks and other everyday items。

　　Australian Finance Minister Chalmers said this part of the tariff will account for 14% of the total tariff, which is the largest unilateral tariff reform in 20 years。

　　The list of products will be announced in Australia's budget on May 14。

　　First, Australian market development TIPS

　　Australia will have a population of about 25.98 million in 2022, with a per capita GDP of about 6.Fifty thousand dollars。According to World Bank standards, it is classified as a high-income country。Australia has a sound infrastructure, a highly qualified workforce, sound laws and a more standardized financial system。In the medium and long term, Australia is one of the major developed countries with fast economic development。

　　The vast majority (80%) of Australia's population is distributed in the major cities on the eastern and southeastern coasts, with a population density of 2 per square kilometer.5 people, thus forming the characteristics of the market dispersion, the marketing of imported products, distribution, transportation, after-sales service, etc., require considerable investment and hard and unremitting efforts。

　　New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia are the most economically developed regions in Australia, accounting for 36%, 26%, 16% and 11% of the total Australian economy, respectively, accounting for 32%, 26%, 16% and 17% of the total Australian trade。

　　Sydney and Melbourne are the financial center and manufacturing center of Australia respectively, the two largest consumer markets, and the two main distribution centers for Chinese goods to enter the Australian market。

　　China is Australia's largest trading partner, export market and source of imports。

　　China's top 10 exports to Australia are:

　　Automatic data processing equipment and components thereof

　　Telephone set;Other devices for sending or receiving sound, images, or other data

　　Manned motor vehicle

　　Furniture and its parts

　　Refined oil product

　　Seat and its parts

　　Semiconductor device

　　Steel structure

　　玩具

　　Lamps and lighting fixtures

　　China exports downstream products to Australia, while Australia exports upstream materials to China。

　　China's potential export products to Australia are electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles。

　　According to the latest data released by the Australian Anti-dumping Committee, as of 2022, among the 76 anti-dumping and countervailing duties that Australia is implementing on 27 types of products from 20 countries, 29 are against China, 18 are anti-dumping and 11 are countervailing。

　　More than 60% of Australia's anti-dumping measures against China are aimed at steel products, including the basic steel rebar, wire rod, grinding ball, hollow structure pipe, round steel, etc., but also belongs to the downstream products of stainless steel sink, aluminum plated zinc plate, galvanized plate, wind tower, color steel strip, precision steel pipe, steel shelves, etc。

　　Australian importers are divided into two categories, one is the import trading company, the other is the large retail chain, the latter is the main channel of consumer products sold in Australia。There are two major retail groups in Australia, Coles Myer and Woolworths, which together account for 75% of the Australian retail market。

　　When Australian importers buy from abroad, the five most important factors are price, quality, reputation, minimum order quantity, and after-sales service。

　　(1) Price

　　There are many developing countries with low labor costs around Australia, and the price competition of commodities from various countries is fierce。Chinese products in the Australian market mainly rely on price competitiveness。Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, the northern and southern seasons are opposite, so the goods that are out of season in the northern hemisphere and are in season in Australia can be sold to the Australian market at a low price。

　　On average, import product quotes (C&F+ tax) below the Australian local product price of more than 15%, importers will consider ordering。If the importer is to be persuaded to switch suppliers, the offer should be more than 5% lower than the competitor。

　　(2) Quality

　　Australian society has a consumption habit, if consumers are not satisfied with the product, even without a reason to ask for a replacement or refund。This makes Australian merchants attach great importance to product quality, including its outer packaging。

　　(3) Reputation

　　Basically, Australian businessmen still follow the business tradition of the United Kingdom, which is law-abiding, trustworthy and stable。Australian businessmen will not tolerate dishonesty or even cheating because of "face" or "friendship"。In addition, because the Australian market is concentrated in large cities, once a supplier defaults, it is quickly discovered。If the contract provides for exclusive supply, the importer will also be very concerned about whether the supplier fails to supply to other importers。The quality of the products, the timely delivery of the goods and the exporters keeping their promises are crucial to maintaining business ties。

　　(4) Minimum order quantity

　　With the exception of large retail chains, general importers order smaller quantities。When dealing with a new supplier, the importer will place two or three small orders to see if the supplier can meet the required quality。Therefore, exporters should be prepared to accept the minimum order quantity。Minimum order requirements should be stated in advance if possible。

　　(5) after-sales service

　　Australian companies attach great importance to the after-sales service of suppliers, especially the after-sales service of mechanical and electrical products is very high。In the maintenance service, the sales company of mechanical and electrical products generally sends the parts that need to be replaced to the customer within three days, the fastest can arrive within 24 hours, and the slow must be solved within a week。

　　Multinational companies have established after-sales service networks in Australia, mainly using two after-sales service forces: one is the company opened in Australia branch directly establish maintenance service team, the other is by the sales network wholesalers or retailers to provide after-sales service to end users, by the multinational company settlement service fees。The more common practice is to use the Call Center service, by the end user to dial the toll-free number, put forward the maintenance request, call center personnel to provide maintenance services。

　　(Source: Shanghai Council for the Promotion of International Trade)

　　The Ministry of Commerce issued the national version and the pilot Free Trade zone version of the negative list for cross-border service trade

　　Approved by the Party Central Committee and The State Council，3月22日，The Ministry of Commerce issued Order No. 1 of 2024，Special Administrative Measures for Cross-Border Trade in Services (Negative List) (2024 edition) and Special Administrative Measures for Cross-border Trade in Services (Negative List) (2024 edition) in Pilot Free Trade Zones (2024 edition)，Effective from 21 April 2024。

　　The negative list of cross-border trade in services is classified by national economic sectors and lists special management measures for overseas service providers to provide services in cross-border ways (cross-border delivery, overseas consumption, natural person movement mode)。The national version of the negative list for cross-border trade in services has a total of 71 items, and the negative list management system for cross-border trade in services has been established nationwide for the first time, clarifying the "baseline" for cross-border trade in services access.。The Pilot Free Trade Zone version of the negative list for cross-border trade in services contains 68 articles, making arrangements for opening up in the fields of professional qualifications of natural persons, professional services, finance, culture and other fields, and promoting the opening-up of cross-border services in an orderly manner。

　　The establishment of a negative list management system for cross-border trade in services is an important measure for China to take the initiative to set standards for international economic and trade rules with high standards and promote institutional opening-up. It is of great significance for promoting high-level opening-up and better services to build a new development pattern, and will provide new opportunities for global opening-up and cooperation in service trade。The Ministry of Commerce will work with various departments and regions to implement the national and pilot free trade zone version of the negative list for cross-border service trade, improve the level of liberalization and facilitation of cross-border service trade, and promote the high-quality development of service trade。

　　(Source: Information Office of Ministry of Commerce)