The administration for industry and commerce of Zhanjiang's Suixi county, Guangdong province recently received a letter of appreciation from the US-based E.&J. Gallo Winery, due to the government body's protection of the company's intellectual property rights (IPR) last January.

According to the letter, the administration's prompt inspections and impartial actions against the infringement on the winery's registered trademark impressed the world's largest family-owned winery very much.

It came to the American winery's attention that the Suixi-based Suicheng Tenghui Winery had engaged in the sale of wine products using Gallo's registered trademarks without authorization. Gallo deemed it a serious infringement and reported it to the administration for an enforcement action.

After reviewing the case, the administration ordered Tenghui to stop the infringing activities and issued a penalty to the target store, which was appreciated by the US winery for the government body's high efficiency in curbing any infringement of IPR.

Gallo also said that the administration's actions had effectively protected the benefits of both consumers and the brand owners, in line with the concept of building a harmonious society as stated by the Chinese central government.

China inaugurated its intellectual property summit in Beijing in April, and the country has made it a firm goal to intensify the crackdowns on IPR infringement, particularly in the Internet sector, according to a circular issued by the State Council on April 19.

The letter of appreciation sent to the administration for industry and commerce of Zhanjiang's Suixi county by US-based E.&J. Gallo Winery. [Photo/yinsha.com]