Founding ceremony of intellectual property - advanced export enterprises committee of China Asian Economic Development Association was held in Beijing recently. More than 180 Chinese export business elites, outstanding in the international market competition, have been elected as its members by Customs. TISCO is the only domestic steel maker who is on the list and is honored to be the first Vice-Chairman.

Over four decades of reform and opening-up, Chinese enterprises’ awareness of intellectual property has experienced the process from none to ens, from weakness to improvement. Intellectual property - advanced export enterprises committee, founded under the support of the authorities such as the State Customs, aims to join all industry’s forces to offer professional services and build service platforms. It would help push China’s transition from great trading nation to powerful trading nation, from big manufacturing country to powerful creative country, from Chinese products to Chinese brands, by internally enhancing self-discipline and exchange, sharing resources and growing together, and externally strengthening the contact and communication with the authorities, passing on demands, pushing for preferential treatment, protecting legitimate rights and interests.

Over the years, TISCO has had a vital role in the enterprise’s innovation and development as it has been attaching importance to IP management, completing and improving constantly the IP management mechanism. TISCO, calling for the specific innovative concept and culture, has developed a number of technologies, processes and products with independent intellectual property rights. By the end of 2018, TISCO has obtained 2871 patents (including 824 inventions) approved and granted by the State Intellectual Property Office, making remarkable progress in IP management.

Moreover, TISCO, having established and implemented Trademark Management Regulations and carried out the training of the basic knowledge of the trademark laws and trademark protection on a regular basis, has formed the application and protection system of the registered trademarks preliminarily. Nowadays, the registered TISCO Brand has been identified as China’s Well-Known Trademark and Shanxi’s Famous Trademark, and TISCO Brand stainless steel products have been entitled China’s Famous Brand Products and China’s Most Influential Stainless Steel Brand. In recent years, TISCO, working together with the government sectors such as Public Security, Industry and Commerce, Customs and Quality Control, has been fighting against the behavior that sells counterfeit and shoddy stainless steel products, hunting down more than 10 infringement cases which sold counterfeit TISCO Brand stainless steel commodities in the cities like Tianjin, Shanghai and Guangdong. These efforts have suppressed the illicit dealers’ trademark infringement act efficiently, which helped protect the corporate brand image effectively while helping protect the customers’ legitimate rights and interests to the maximum extent and maintain the fair market competition order. In 2017, TISCO was identified as the site for investigation and contact for the IP trial work by Shanxi People’s Supreme Court.