2009年4月9日星期四

CGDC protecting its own IP together with CGPA and all their members


Howell International Trade Fair Ltd., as the one of the organizing parties of CGDC, released the following message: The China Game Publishers Association (hereafter referred to as CGPA) authorizes its Department of Legal Affairs to announce the following, in response to the wrongful accusations by Think Services http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/gdc-china-2009-spat-flares-up-with-rival-event , which have been widely disseminated through its media companies. What the latter has done not only amounts to interference with the CGPA's work but is also outrageous defamation.














It shows obviously "CHINA GDC 2007" on the backboard of register counter





















Same obviously "CHINA GDC 2007" on the backboard in all sessions










CGDC' s logo




1. Think Services, in its worldwide promotion of GDC China which is to be held in October in Shanghai, used, without approval or authorization from the organizer of China Game Developers Conference (CGDC), materials of intellectual property of the first CGDC, including photos at the venue, statistics about the number of participants and program. This is severe infringement upon the intellectual property rights of CGDC. Earlier, CGPA, as organizer of the second CGDC which is to be held this July from 24th-26th, circulated notices to its 130 Chinese member game companies, asking them to boycott GDC China. This is to inform them of the infringements done by Think Services, as well as protecting the rights and interests of the association and other CGDC involving parties, and in turn the interests of the member companies. CGPA, therefore, will continue this right protection, asking all its members to further and strengthen the boycott, as a gesture by the members of China's game industry in response to the infringements of Think Services. In fact, as the most influential trade association of the game industry in China, CGPA has one key responsibility -- protecting the industry against any infringement; this, of course, includes not only the business interests of its member companies but also important industrial events held by the government.
2. The international game industry joins CGPA in seeing if there is a monopoly, it is Think Services which is practicing its strategy of monopoly across the globe, attacking all its potential competitors like LOGIN and interfering with game developers conference in other countries. As is widely known by foreign game companies and professionals, GDC was belonged to IGDA but was later bought by Think Services: this is when the commercialization began. The then CMP (now Think Services) adopted a commercialized way of operation and management of the GDC, But CMP (NOW THINK SERVICES) would not stop there: to further expand across the world, it has held game developers conference in many places. After GDC San Francisco and GDC Austin, CMP (NOW THINK SERVICES) went on with its global strategy: GDC Canada, GDC Europe and GDC China. The ultimate goal, of course, is to put all the game developers conferences in the world (or more accurately all the game developers in the world) under its control, and China, inevitably, becomes an important step of Think Services' global expansion. However, here they meet the greatest obstacle -- China's own CGDC. Being the most influential game association of China, CGPA would not see that domestic game developers will have to continue to be controlled. As Premier Wen Jiabao remarked on March 29 when he was visiting Hubei Province, we should encourage our comic and cartoon professionals to create our own brands, whose intellectual property rights are in our own hands. This is exactly what CGPA has done: as organizer of CGDC, it has, in consultation with the Advisory Board which is made up of top technology experts of Chinese and foreign game companies, tailor-made, for the game developers, this year's program and topics to ensure that their needs and questions will be addressed during the conference. It has also done its best to assist in invitation of top-notch game producers from home and abroad to speak at the conference. All these efforts, unfortunately, are against the global expansion of Think Services, who then, with the help of its monopoly in media and other resources of the foreign game industry, started violent and lengthy attacks on CGDC. Moreover, to deprive CGPA of assistance that it may get from overseas partners in invitation of international speakers and organization of overseas participants, they forced LOGIN and IGDA to cancel their agreements signed with CGDC and remove the CGDC LOGO from the LOGIN and IGDA home page. Though Think Services has done a lot to sabotage the preparation of CGDC, CGPA is determined to continue to protect the interests of its member companies and the intellectual property rights of CGDC. It objects to and will resist any effort by Think Services to achieve global monopoly.
3. In response to the accusation that CGDC is an infringement upon the intellectual property right of Think Services, who has already held Game Developers Conference in some parts of the world, the Department of Legal Affairs would like to stress that China, like America and many other countries in the world, has a sound legal system: great importance is attached to the protection of intellectual property rights not only by individuals but also organizations. CGDC is an international event held in the territory of China, thus bound and protected by laws and regulations of this country. Concerning this accusation, the Committee checked relevant provisions in China and communicated with the Trademark Office of State Administration for Industry and Commerce of P.R. China: (1) as China Game Developers Conference are general Chinese characters, they will not, according to Chinese law, become a trademark, so CGPA or any other organization may use these Chinese characters for events. And such use will not amount to infringement on the English registered trademark held by Think Services -- Game Developers Conference(R). In other words, the Chinese characters of China Game Developers Conference cannot be a registered trademark, let alone one held by Think Services. (2) Though Think Services (CMP), since 2005, have tried to register "Game Developers Conference"in China, every time the application was rejected by the Trademark Office of State Administration for Industry and Commerce of P.R. China. In fact, according to Chinese laws and as confirmed by the authorities, such titles cannot be registered as a trademark in China. http://en.chinajoy.net/Fesend_ImageView.aspx?ImageUrl=http://www.chinajoy.net/tan/top.jpg
If Think Services holds that CGDC is infringing upon its intellectual property rights concerning "Game Developers Conference" and "GDC", please furnish, as soon as possible to the Department of Legal Affairs of CGPA, documents evidencing approval of its application and the applicability in China. If the Chinese court decides that the name and LOGO of CGDC is an infringement upon the intellectual property rights of Think Services, CGPA and other organizing parties would be happy to make revisions. However, if Think Services fails to come up with such evidence, or court or trademark authorities in China do not think it is an IP infringement, Think Services will have to stop its groundless accusation and defamation. It should also stop its attack, in the name of "intellection property right protection", on the overseas partners of CGDC. (http://lobby.loginconference.com/profiles/blogs/ubm-demands-removal-of-cgdc ) To protect their rights and interests, CGPA and other organizing parties reserve their rights to take action on Think Services through a legal process.
4. CGPA would like to remind game professionals coming to the Second CGDC (which is to be held on July 24-26 during ChinaJoy) that the LOGO and official name of the conference is China Game Developers Conference (in Chinese), which is translated into English as "China Game Developers Conference" or shortened into CGDC.
5. The First China Game Developers Conference, held in Shanghai in August 2007, was an event duly approved by the General Administration of Press and Publication of People's Republic of China (GAPP). The organizers were Howell International Trade Fair Ltd. and IDG. CMP (NOW THINK SERVICES) was not an organizer, rather an overseas strategic partner who would help the organizers with the invitation of foreign speakers. The partnership between the three ended in 2008. And it is important to stress here that what ended in 2008 is merely the cooperation between the three parties; the two organizers, Howell and IDG, are naturally entitled to continue with the conference. It was also after that that CGDC adopted a new LOGO, thus rejecting the one proposed by CMP (NOW THINK SERVICES) during the first conference, which embodies the LOGO of America's GDC. However, Think Services, without authorization from either of the organizers of the first CGDC, is using photos taken at the venue and statistics of the number of participants and other CGDC's IP for the promotion of its own GDC China 2009. This, which results in confusion in the industry, is a severe infringement upon the interests of the two organizers. So Think Services must immediately stop this infringement and the organizers reserve the right to take further reaction. As can be clearly seen from the above photos, the official name of the first CGDC is China Game Developers Conference or CGDC, not GDC China as Think Services claimed. Therefore, Think Services should stop naming its GDC China 2009 as the second conference.




Organizing Structure show on the CGDC07 contract




Organizing Structure show on the Show Directory

6. As the most influential association of the game industry in China, CGPA sees it as one of its responsibilities to promote the development of foreign companies in China, helping them operate and grow in China. In this spirit and to accelerate the growth of China‘s game industry, CGPA has jointly held a number of events that have achieved great influence in China, such as ChinaJoy, Census of China‘s Game Industry and Annual Conference of China‘s Game Industry. These events and others not only help domestic enterprises start exchange and cooperation with foreign companies but also assist the latter in gaining a comprehensive and objective picture of the Chinese game industry and market. But, as representative of China‘s game industry, CGPA is not to tolerate any effort by foreign organizations to achieve monopoly in China or the world.

Last but not least, we‘d like to thank Think Services for reminding us and everyone the country‘s Anti-monopoly Law, which is duly signed and promulgated by President Hu Jintao. However, we‘d also like to remind Think Services that it was exactly in one US beverage company‘s acquisition of one China‘s beverage manufacturer that for the first time a proposed acquisition was rejected on that ground recently.

Call for Paper of CGDC has now started
Papers should apply with the conference topics;
1) for topics, please download the conference program at http://www.chinagdc.com.cn/2009down/CGDC-program-en.pdf;
2) to meet with our advisory board member, please visit http://www.chinagdc.com.cn/en/hy_gwt.asp?PID=1
For Procedures in detail, please visit http://www.chinagdc.com.cn/en/hy_sq.asp

Audience Registration please check the link : http://www.chinagdc.com.cn/en/zc_tz.asp

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Cecillia Cao
Tel: +86-10-5165-9355 x12
Email: cecillia_cao@howellexpo.com