Guangdong Province released its 12th Five-year Plan on the Development of Intellectual Property Undertaking (the "Plan"). The Plan initially raises intellectual property from a "protection" level to an "undertaking" level and incorporates patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, new plant varieties and geographical indications into IP system.

The Plan sets specific development goals for patents, copyrights, trademarks and technical standards. Technical standard is an important indicator of IP undertaking. Guangdong plans to obtain 230 international and national TC/SC/WG technical standards and over 200 provincial TC/SC technical standards.

It should be noted that the Plan includes trade secrets and biological genetic resources in its protection scope. It requires "more than 85% high-tech enterprises and private technology-oriented enterprises and 65% or more large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises to establish a sound internal management system of trade secrets"; and orders that "traditional knowledge and biological genetic resources should get registered and protected, and the running off of genetic resources, especially agricultural plants, should be effectively curbed."

(Source:IPR in China)