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Starting this year, Shanghai government will hold regular meetings with the representatives of foreign companies via local consulates to listen to their opinions, suggestions and even complaints regarding intellectual property rights protection, said the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration yesterday.
"We are planning to hold face-to-face talks with foreign companies in Shanghai to help them better understand the city's policies concerning IPR and solve problems," bureau director Qian Yongming said at yesterday's news briefing.
Qian said his bureau will choose four to five countries' consulates as the first group to be contacted this year and then extend to more countries and regions in the future.
"Shanghai has made big progress in intellectual property rights protection, but that's far from enough after the country entered World Trade Organization," said Qian, referring to the fact that it's still quite easy for locals to buy pirated audio or video products among other goods in the city.
In describing the progress Shanghai made, Qian said that the city processed a total of 19,963 patent applications last year, the second highest number in the country after Guangdong Province.
(Shanghai Daily, February 12, 2003)
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