re: China buying Iranian oil as retaliation for trade deal failures--

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your knowledge is quite lacking

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Several general principles are important for effective management of intellectual property rights (IPR) in Vietnam. First, it is important to have an overall strategy to protect your IPR. Second, IPR protection in Vietnam may be different from in the United States. Third, rights must be registered and enforced in Vietnam, under Vietnamese laws. Protection against unauthorized use in a particular country depends, basically, on the national laws of that country. Consequently, a U.S. trademark or patent registration will not be effective in Vietnam.

Being a member of the World Trade Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization, Vietnam’s IP legislation covers most aspects of protection of IP in accordance with the international standards required by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). However, Vietnam’s IP enforcement mechanisms still need improvement, and awareness of the importance of IPR protection among Vietnamese consumers needs to be raised. Vietnam has been listed on the Watch List in the United States Trade Representative’s Special 301 Report for over a decade, and it remains on the Watch List in 2018. Nin Heip Market in Hanoi and Tan Binh Market in Ho Chi Minh City are also listed in the USTR's 2017 Notorious Markets report (released in January 2018).

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Clearly IP protection is on a country by country basis. US business has IP protection in every country based on that country's laws or lack of laws. "trinidadtiger chewing gum" has trademark protection based on the procedures and protections sought by the Trinidatiger Gum company in each country. Some countries may not have any protection for Trinidatiger gum.

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HEARING before the SUBCOMMITTEE ON SECURITY AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND FINANCE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION

ON

THE CONSEQUENCES OF COUNTERFEITING AND PIRACY AND STRATEGIES FOR SAFEGUARDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS INCLUDING CURRENT EFFORTS, AND NEWLY PROPOSED STRATEGIES

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Although we could point to many examples of counterfeiters overseas, one foreign company that has taken intellectual property violation to a new level is Hunan Magic Company in Hunan, China. We did not know we had this problem until 2001, when I received an E-mail from our ABRO distributor, requesting that he would like to buy the ABRO products from our Chinese subsidiary. I knew we did not have a Chinese subsidiary, and went to the Canton Trade Fair later that year and was absolutely shocked to see Hunan's Magic booth, which had a full display of all of our ABRO products, and the company was actively selling ABRO products to many overseas customers, including my own.

The company had literally stolen our corporate identity, stating they owned the ABRO name, which, of course, is not true. I immediately contacted the show officials and advised them that this company was illegally selling ABRO products. The officials agreed to raid the booth, and I was stunned when the general manager of the Chinese company produced documentation that showed they had the rights to the trademark in China. It actually was in a trademark registration. It was an application, but to them they took it as the official trademark.

There was obviously uncertainty at this point, until I picked up a sample of our ABRO Epoxy that Hunan Magic was displaying in their booth and selling to my customers. Our ABRO Epoxy is a product that I personally developed 20 years ago. At that time, we were not doing a hundred million dollars. We were somewhat of a low-budget operation. I had taken a picture of my wife applying epoxy to our bicycle in our house and put this photo on a blister card similar to this. This product has become one of our most popular selling ABRO products with millions of units being sold annually.

I immediately asked the general manager of Hunan Magic who is this lady on the ABRO Epoxy card? He told the show officials it was some western model.

I reached into my wallet, pulled out on a picture of my wife which finally convinced the show authorities we actually own the trademark, and they closed down the booth, and Hunan Magic was cited for using the ABRO trademark illegally.

We thought the matter was settled and we were very happy, until the next trade show, when Hunan Magic changed the packaging slightly by deleting the face of my wife and replacing it with the face of an Asian woman but keeping everything else the same, including the ABRO name. As you could see, they are identical.

This story was a subject of a cover feature in the Wall Street Journal, and we thought the notoriety would convince the Chinese Government to do something by controlling this renegade Chinese manufacture. Unfortunately, their illegal activity has become more blatant, as Hunan Magic is now selling ABRO products in all our major markets, and the general manager has publicly stated that his ABRO brand is one of the most successful brands they have ever introduced. That is why we are thrilled that a new act is being introduced in the Senate by Senator Voinovich and, of course, yourself. We all know about the War on Terror that is being fought globally, but in the business community we look at intellectual property violations as a War on Economic Terrorism.

As these companies who are counterfeiting are stealing patents, trademarks, ideas, and designs from American companies. It was encouraging to note that recently the U.S. Government announced that would it ask the World Trade Organization to organize meetings to address deficiencies in China's protection of the intellectual property rights on books, music, videos, and movies. However, there was no mention of many other U.S. products that are being counterfeited, including automotive parts and accessories. We only hope that the U.S. Government will address these deficiencies in all areas of intellectual property violations.

The past 5 years have been most frustrating as ABRO's biggest competitor is not STP, General Electric, or some other well-known automotive chemical manufacturer. Our biggest competitor has become ABRO products from China

LINK

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