1. Beijing

New agriculture initiative

The Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Intellectual Property Office announced a series of new plans last week to guide the nation's agriculture-related intellectual property work. The initiative calls for IP creation incentives and better systems for utilization and protection while improving IP services, bolstering the fight against infringement and a system that combines research and production.

Cnstock.com

2. Heilongjiang

Record patent licensing

A total of 1,779 patent licensing contracts were signed in the province last year, the most nationwide, according to the latest report from the provincial intellectual property office. The number of patent applications filed in Heilongjiang surpassed 30,000 for the first time in 2012, an increase of more than 30 percent over the previous year.

Hlj.gov.cn

3. Shandong

Pirated books seized

Police in Liaocheng city, along with the local industry and commerce administration, recently seized more than 1,200 pirated books and fined shop owners during an anti-counterfeit drive in the run-up to Spring Festival. Officials announced they found the illegal publications in 10 stores near tourism sites, schools and supermarkets.

Qi Lu Evening News

4. Shanghai

Rail maintenance locomotive

The first high-speed railway maintenance locomotive developed in China recently made its debut in Shanghai. Developed by the local railway bureau, the high-tech locomotive is equipped with laser scanning, computer image processing and smart analysis technologies. The bureau said it can find defects on railways and guide technicians to fix them, scanning about 100 kilometers of rail every night, 20 times faster than manual checks.

Xinhuanet.com

5. Sichuan

Fuel cell train engine

After four years of R&D, a research team at Southwest Jiaotong University announced that it has developed China's first locomotive powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Named Blue Sky, the engine has 150-kW hydrogen fuel cells and two 120-kW motors. It can pull a load of 200 tons at 65 kilometers an hour powered by battery cells that can work for 24 consecutive hours after one full charge of hydrogen. The developers said the locomotive can be used for engineering and repair operations at train stations.

News.china.com.cn

6. Taiwan

Hot food vending machine

Local frozen food producer EasyTasty recently put Taiwan's first hot food vending machines on the market. Developed with proprietary technologies after six years of research, each machine costs NT$400,000 ($13,500). They currently provide three kinds of cutlet-and-rice dishes, all priced at around NT$50, which the company said are cheaper than in supermarkets and convenient stores. Consumers can expect more sorts of dishes such as noodles and pizza, said a statement from EasyTasty.

Chinanews.com

(China Daily 02/06/2013 page17)