The S&F law blog

Baidu plans on launching a free music download service by the end of the month. The service will be called “Baidu Ting” and is currently being tested by a limited number of users.

China’s recent crackdown on intellectual property infringement has resulted in the shut-down of many similar websites—sites that offer free music streaming and downloading—and whether or not Baidu will eventually come under fire for this new feature is still an object of speculation.

The new music download program is, however, predicated on an agreement reached between Baidu and China’s music copyright society in which the artists will be compensated directly, making the downloads legal.

Foreign governments like the US have voiced their general support for Baidu.

Source: Financial Times

According to the Ministry of Commerce, US investment in China dropped to 28%. Foreign direct investment (FDI), on the other hand, has maintained a double-digit growth rate from January to April. During this same time period, US investment decreased to 1.03 billion U.S. dollars; the number of US firms building headquarters or overseas branches in China fell by 3.85% to 475 firms.

Although the decline in US investments is sharp, economists have voiced optimist towards the situation, believing that the decline is temporary and that the Chinese economy will provide ample investment opportunities for the US in the long term.

Other nations, however, are not following suit. Investments from the EU rose by 23.42% to 2.64 billion U.S. dollars. Investments from Asia Pacific nations–including Japan, South Korea, and Singapore–grew by an even greater percentage at 31.23%.

The lessening US investments have been attributed to the US’s recent economic difficulties and declined manufacturing rate, but also to rising labor costs in China.

Source: xinhuanet

China police raid nearly 7,530 Dens for IPR Violations

The Ministry of Public security announced in a statement on Sunday that the campaign to halt production and sale of counterfeit goods, in process since last November, has been a massive success. The Ministry reported more than 10,300 intellectual property rights violations solved involving more than 2,600 groups and wholesalers.

An a related but separate effort, the Ministry solved more than 5,600 cases involving bank card crimes during the first four months of 2011, recovering a stunning 130 million yuan (approximately 20 million U.S. dollars) in funds. This figure indicates a two year increase of 16.2% and 33.3% respectively.

Source: SIPO English

China’s two dominant telecom enterprises ZTE and Huawei continue to battle in both German and Chinese courts over a series of patents. Now, ZTE and Huawei are set to come into conflict over an important new sector: cloud computing.

In the last week, ZTE released statements professing their focus on integrated circuit and cloud computing markets. Operating system CoCloud is the spearhead of the entire campaign. CoCloud has thus far been described in very general terms as “an OS that provides users with a clear view of system processes as well as being able to transfer resources to where they are crucially needed.”

ZTE’s president, Shi Lirong, said in a statement that the company’s cloud computing programs are slated to account for a third of total revenues. The firm is slated to open a cloud computing R&D center in Nanjing, which will employ 10,000 in an effort to maintain ZTE’s dominance in this promising but relatively un-tapped new sector.

Source: TechEye

The Chinese government has created a new organization called the State Internet Information Office to increase internet oversight. It seems likely that the new agency will absorb an array of smaller organizations that claim some jurisdiction online; China’s State Council Information Office said it was transferring its staff of regulators over to the Internet Information Office.

The new organization’s duties include directing “online content management,” online gaming, a welter of media mediums, and major news websites. The agency has been granted the authority to investigate and issue penalties to violators.

Source: New York Times

In his book published in late April, As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers Are Transforming Everything, Oxford professor Karl Gerth explains two conflicting trends in Chinese consumerism: increasingly robust consumer markets—cars, kitchen appliances, ect—and widespread, difficult to eradicate counterfeiting problems.

Professor Gerth cites China’s growing ad market—40 percent increase over the last two decades—as one of the larger indicators of how consumerism is changing China. Chinese are not only more aware of new and “better” goods but are also more brand-conscious. Because of this rapidly expanding market and growing concerns about brand identity, Mr. Gerth argues, it is not long before Chinese tastes begin to shape global product offerings.

Source: New York Times

Within the first two days of economy-centered talks between the world’s two largest economies, China pledged that U.S. companies would have easier access to some of the strongest sectors in China’s economy. The most crucial concessions were made for U.S firms seeking to make headway in China’s financial services market; China agreed to let the U.S.—along with other foreign banks—sell mutual funds and offer custodial services.

China’s bourgeoning middle class has the attention of American companies dealing in services like auto insurance. (China is, after all, the world’s largest car market and growing) Still, China remained firm on its “indigenous innovation” policies, stating that local governments would continue to make large purchases in order to bolster domestic market power and creativity.

Although some friction remains between the U.S. and China over currency value, the ”U.S.-China Comprehensive Framework for Promoting Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth and Economic Cooperation” has been hailed as a massive step forward by both countries.

Source: Reuters