Guangdong and Hong Kong customs officials said that "remarkable achievements" were made in the campaigns against cross-border infringements on intellectual property rights under the Guangdong-Hong Kong joint operation mechanism on IP cases.

The comments were made at a press conference late last month.

The collaboration was established in 2003, following the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, the first free trade agreement concluded by the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

Both parties have so far carried out more than 150 projects involving protection of patents, trademarks and copyright under the mechanism, 16 of which were done last year.

They also organized seminars, information exchanges, publicity campaigns and training programs.

From July 2013 to June this year, Guangdong customs investigated 422 IP infringement cases involving smuggled goods bound for Hong Kong with a potential retail value of more than 70 million yuan ($11.3 million).

In one of the joint operations, Hong Kong customs seized more than 1,300 illegal items worth about HK$138,000 ($17,802). The nine cases of items included purses, shoes, jewelry and cellphone batteries, which were discovered during the operation from Oct 22, 2013 to March 24, 2014.

Guangdong customs investigated five cases worth about 30,000 yuan during the same period.

Ada Leung, director of the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department, said at the press conference that the joint operation team would "continue serving as a platform to promote the bilateral IP cooperation and exchange".

"Cooperation had been smooth and efficient, and made great contribution to the innovation and socioeconomic development of both sides," said Ma Xianmin, director of the Guangdong provincial intellectual property office.

He said the team's future focus would include rights protection, exchange programs, IP education and integrating IP trade with the service industry.

This year's operation has 17 projects planned that cover five aspects including improvement of cross-border enforcement mechanisms, promoting bilateral IP trade, helping Hong Kong residents take the national patent agent exam and promoting Guangdong famous trademarks in Hong Kong.

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(China Daily 08/06/2014 page17)