Discussion On The Protection Of Intellectual Property Rights In Textile And Clothing Industry

The problem of piracy and illegal copying is long-standing.

In the field of textile machinery, the earliest patent dispute occurred in 1775, and in seventeenth Century, there was a ban on the export of hosiery machines.

Competitors and competitors often regard the counterfeit brand and product piracy as a "common fault" in order to fight for economic benefits.

Today, "knowledge pfer" (we may use a commendatory word) with modern communication means and facilities can be completed in an instant.

The key is whether this knowledge pfer is legal.

If such pfer is not authorized, it is a crime.

It is universally recognized as a powerful means of protecting intellectual property rights.

The copyright of textiles, designs and clothing patterns is often regarded as "small copyright" by people.

Because through simple procedures, design drafts and photographic relief plates can be registered online at least in Europe.

However, unregistered designs can also be protected for three years in Europe.

It is difficult to judge who is original than to ascend the sky.

The handling of copyright disputes adopts the principle of "no notice", which means that we should always pay attention to copyright infringement.

Large corporations have their own legal departments to prosecute piracy. Small companies can hire specialized patent lawyers or non-governmental organizations such as the ACID.

In addition, some exhibitions also provide legal help. For example, the French first visual fabric exhibition has introduced the office of legal affairs on the spot since 1994, and found piracy at any time, so as to start legal proceedings in time.

Frankfurt home textiles exhibition (Heimtextil) and Paris Texworld textile fabrics exhibition have similar institutions.

Usually, prosecution of machinery and equipment infringement is more than textiles.

It is much easier to prosecute piracy, because the design of textile and clothing often comes from the same design inspiration, and the products will have many similarities.

Moreover, with the continuous extension of the industrial chain, it becomes more difficult to track piracy.

In particular, the design, production and sale cycle of fashion is getting shorter and shorter. The registration and protection of product design and the process of prosecuting plagiarism are relatively long, and the cost is very high.

People who are often subjected to piracy are accustomed to this situation. Now, in the face of the grim situation of the global economy, the situation has changed.

At present, most people will prosecute for piracy.

Especially sporting goods such as Adidas, Puma, Nike and Cowboy brand LEVI'S, and other world famous brands are doing this.

Piracy is becoming more and more serious.

The European Union of textile and garment industries in Brussels (

Stephanie Le Berre, a legal consultant, points out that only 4% of the counterfeit products imported by the European Union through land products are controlled, and the control rate of shipping is even lower.

According to the European Commission's data, 10%-16% in the EU's imports is counterfeit.

60% of them came from Asia, including Thailand 50%, China 12%, Turkey 8%, Hongkong 3%, Vietnam 2%.

In the first three quarters of 2004, EU Customs seized 10055 clothing counterfeiting cases, accounting for 61.5% of such cases.

However, in terms of quantity, the most intercepted products are cigarettes, CD, toys and game machines. The 4824363 sports wear and fashion products seized only account for 6.5% of the total.

Jacques Brunel, general manager of PV, also expressed concern about the rising piracy cases.

He pointed out that since the establishment of the office of legal affairs in the first visual fabric exhibition, 3-4 piracy cases have been handled every day for 11 years.

Most pirates are European fabric suppliers or fabric producers.

But at the Texworld textile fabrics exhibition, it was also found that pirates had exhibitors from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.

Actively respond to piracy

The WTO agreement on trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (Trips) came into effect in 1995, with a detailed definition of copyright.

In October 2005, the European Commission decided to take effective measures against the spread of counterfeit products in the EU.

The resolution was widely welcomed by organizations including the German machinery manufacturers association (VDMA).

Jens Gaster, senior management officer of the European Commission's Industrial Property Office, discussed the issue of patent protection at a meeting in May 2005.

He said that despite years of efforts, compared with the registered protection of brand and decorative design, the protection of patent law in Europe is still very weak.

At present, the inventors of Europe can apply for domestic patents selectively or apply for patent according to the European Patent Convention (EPC) and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), so that they can apply for the patent protection of many countries at the same time for WIPO application.

It is stated that the registration of any member state of the Patent Cooperation Treaty will enable the patent to be protected at the same time in more than 100 countries.

At present, there is no uniform jurisdiction of the European Court in tort disputes.

Under the current legal system, inventors trapped in international disputes must face courts in different countries and bear different verdicts.

In 50s, the EU tried to establish a unified patent court, but for various reasons, it has been stranded so far.

These include the dispute over the plation of Patent Texts and the high cost.

In addition to customs authorities and lawyers, there are other institutional organizations responsible for infringement of design and design.

The ACID mentioned above is a well-known institution specializing in piracy of textiles and costume design.

The EU internal market coordination board (OHIM) has been a member of ACID since 2005.

Dids Macdonald, general manager of ACID, said, "the World Intellectual Property Organization has decided to regard April 26th as the World Intellectual Property Day. In this regard, people will pay more attention to the quality of design, and on the other hand, they are concerned about the problems faced by designers when they sell products."

In Britain alone, the loss caused by piracy is more than 10 billion.

ACID receives reports on design infringement every day.

In the United States, the office of the United States Trade Representative (

The illegal import of pirated products has been closely monitored, including textiles.

According to the 2005 Special 301 report, Brazil has been classified as piracy top country, while India's situation has changed greatly.

In London, IPR is internationally known as an intellectual property magazine.

It publishes authoritative reports and case studies. It also publishes pamphlets and provides online help.

From the traditional Chinese point of view, the works of duplicating masters are regarded as admiration for the masters.

However, with China's accession to the WTO, this is no longer the reason for counterfeiting products and pushing counterfeit products to the market.

China has made great progress in protecting intellectual property rights.

At present, large scale counterfeit products in China have been reduced a lot.

China's * * encourages companies to register their brand names in order to protect intellectual property rights from infringement, which will ensure the success of enterprises.

In China, people have already known that textile and garment enterprises are very important if they want to be bigger and protect their products.

Strengthening self protection

Self protection includes registration of product brands, trademarks and names.

The European Commission for internal market coordination (OHIM), based in Ali Kanter, Spain, is responsible for online registration of brand, design and graphics. The member states can also apply for it, for example, the British patent office is responsible for submitting applications to OHIM. Alicante

Registration is a single registration that covers the entire European Union.

If it is to be declared invalid, it will also be invalid in the whole EU, and so is the pfer.

The Madrid Agreement on the international registration of trademarks is signed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (iwipo), based in Geneva in Madrid, Spain in April 14, 1891. The purpose of the Madrid Agreement is to solve the international registration of trademarks.

The 182 countries and regions of the world have joined the agreement.

China has also become a member of the Madrid trademark international registration system. With its entry into the WTO, China has also implemented the trademark law and patent law.

Product identification

The unique product identity can provide protection for the product itself and protect the product from piracy.

This includes labels from adhesive labels to metal wires that can be identified under infrared or ultraviolet light.

For hanging tags, we can identify the counterfeit currency equipment widely used.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) chip is considered as an identification medium suitable for application.

If your product or trademark is counterfeited, you can lodge a complaint through the OHIM complaints department.

If you are unfamiliar with the trial process, you should hire a skilled lawyer, preferably a lawyer specializing in the international copyright union of intellectual property cases.

The world intellectual property protection center in New Delhi provides such services.