China joins war on Scotch counterfeiters

Published on Thursday 2 September 2010 23:31

SCOTLAND'S whisky industry yesterday toasted the work being done by the Chinese government to crack down on counterfeit Scotch as London and Beijing signed a fresh intellectual property (IP) agreement.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) praised the work being done by Chinese authorities in protecting IP, such as the collective trademark awarded to Scotch whisky in 2008.

The trade body is now seeking protected geographical indication status for Scotland's national drink, following suggestions from Beijing.

As well as protecting trademarks, the SWA has had some success in combating fake Scotch.

China is one of the fastest-growing whisky markets, worth some 44 million a year to Scottish distillers.

But producers have been concerned about the number of imitation brands circulating in the communist state, with about 200 fake products identified in the past two years. Under yesterday's deal - which Baroness Wilcox, the IP minister, sealed with Chinese copyright minister Liu Binjie in London - the two countries will co-operate on copyright infringement to protect British firms' IP.

Wilcox said: "UK firms will be helped to understand, and therefore access, the Chinese market.

"The agreement will also help develop ways of protecting companies in both countries from missing out on the benefits of their creativity through piracy and counterfeiting."

The whisky industry isn't the only part of the economy expected to benefit from closer co-operation with China.

Scottish businesses spend millions of pounds each year combating patent and copyright infringements around the world.

In April, Glasgow-based engineering giant Weir Group announced that it had settled a long-running legal dispute with two Chinese companies, the Shijiazhuang Pump Industry Group and Shijiazhuang Kingda Pump Industry Group.

The agreement comes as part of a crackdown on companies that were infringing the Scots firm's IP, including the designs of its industrial pumps and use of its brands.

A Weir Group spokeswoman said: "We are very serious about protecting our various investments in IP in China and elsewhere around the globe."

But Keith Hodkinson, chairman of patent attorney firm Marks & Clerk, sounded a note of caution on the latest deal.

He said: "Whilst every small step is welcome, I don't expect any immediate improvement in the position of UK companies in China. British companies still need to be extra vigilant in their dealings there."