By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-17 09:36

Shanghai High People's Court statistics show the courts are seeing an increase in intellectual property rights (IPR) cases involving overseas brands.

Last year, 17.6 percent of the 972 IPR infringement cases were related to overseas companies or individuals.

Brands most copied were from the United States, Britain, Japan and Germany. They involved Levi Strauss jeans, and the sports products of Nike and Adidas.

Early this year, Nike found several shops selling sports shoes bearing the slam-dunk logo but not manufactured by the company. The shoes were being sold for about 100 yuan ($12.8) per pair.

"We found infringements not only in the Auchan store in Shanghai but also in its store in Ningbo," Nike's lawyer told China Daily.

Nike sent solicitors' letters to Auchan Shanghai on February 2, requiring it to stop the infringement and provide records of purchase and sales the shoes.

"The requests were all ignored," the lawyer told the court.

Nike has filed suits against both the Shanghai and Ningbo offices of the retailer and the manufacturers of the shoes, Jinjiang Kangwei Shoes Co Ltd and Jinjiang Longzhibu Shoes Co Ltd.

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