Friday, November 27, 2009

Back to the blog

I am back to the blog! Isn’t it funny or ironic?

My blog is 3 years old, it is always here. I remember the time when I created it on 26 December 2006. Yes, the Boxing Day, a warm morning when I woke up after a great meal with a few bottles of wine on Christmas day with my family and friends. As usual, I switched on my computer after two cups of coffee, I decided to create my own blog! Well, being a blogger is a good choice of gift for myself. It may be a bit late as a Christmas gift but just perfect timing as a New Year gift.

Time flies … I am not an active blogger!

It is obvious that I do not spend time on this “gift” as I have been busy in my business. My last article was written in early June 2009, so you may imagine how many phone calls, emails, paperwork I have dealt with and how many meetings, negotiations and trips I have taken during these six months!

From now to the coming Boxing Day, I am sure I would spend more time here as I really want to share with you all my experience and thoughts on patents, trademarks, true or fake products, the news around us in China and the World, and so on.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Starbucks in Beijing Palace Museum

People Congress is in session in Beijing. Two bills related to IPR would be discussed, one of them being the new Patent Law, the other, will be Private Property Law.


On top of that, recent Chinese media also gives quite some air time/coverage on the issue related to a small coffee shop in Palace Museum (also known as Forbidden City). Starbucks has been operating a small outlet in Palace Museum for more than 6 years, in a house that was used to be a common room for king's consultants, which was equivalent to meeting room for the senior ministries.


In recent months, a lot of people, and now including members of People Congress, want to kick Starbucks out of Palace Museum immediately, regardless of any commercial contract between the tenant and landlord. These opinions said that it pose danger to China's national culture. One of the report of the news can be seen here.


I have visited Palace Museum more than 6 years ago. Without Starbucks, I think that will be modern version of shops selling icy cold soft drinks, vendors selling ice cream (yes I bought ice cream in Palace Museum in my last visit, and I believe it is a European brand), vendors selling cheap replicate of old artificate. I dont know whether they will ban foreign brands such as American soft drinks or European ice cream in order to protect China's national culture after they successfully kick Star?

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Saturday, February 17, 2007

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year starts on Feb 18 Sunday. Hong Kong office starts its holiday from 17 and we are supposed to have early break yesterday. However I have a very late meeting yesterday and lasted for more than 3 hours. Crazy ideas were discussed and we have to start some serious work after holiday. China uses week long holiday to promote domestic spending, so I cannot get hold of my agent friend in China before Feb 26.

I can use some time to do some writing.

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Monday, January 1, 2007

Nokia Year End Party

Five Cities, One Party. Wow! What a party. We were there, and got recorded on a news clipping! A nice view of Victoria Harbour, got music for more than 3 and half hour. Good party by Nokia.

The party was hosted in the roof top car park of Ocean Center. Actually it was on the fourth floor, so we were surrounded by buildings nearby.

There were about 8000 people there, a lot of people from nearby hotel were watching too, from the roof top, and of course, there were people without ticket, they may be in the Star Ferry, they may be floating on a boat around Ocean Park, etc. Of course, we have TV Pearl live broadcasting starting at 2230, and when the web is running, web casting as well.

There were quite some popular Hong Kong singers performing, and AK from UK. Great fun.

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