SIPO calls for integrated protection

2016/04/15

China must establish a more integrated mechanism of intellectual property rights protection thatties in various branches of enforcement and procedures, said a senior official.
The central government has recently called for more stringent IP protection through a series ofpolicies, said Shen Changyu, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office, at the ChinaIntellectual Property Forum held in Beijing from Saturday to Sunday.
"Stringent protection is a strategic move toward China's innovation-driven development and goalof creating a strong IP powerhouse," he said. "It meets the needs of the country's new stage ofdevelopment."
IP protection is a complex system ranging from patents, trademarks and copyrights to tradesecrets and even new varieties of a plant species, he said, adding that it is a multifaceted issuerelated to registration procedures, filings, administrative enforcement, judicial procedures,arbitration and mediation.
All these require an improved IP protection mechanism that enables stronger cooperationbetween the central government and local governments, and enhanced coordination betweenadministrations and the judicial branch, Shen said.
The fields that are closely related to people's lives such as medicine, food and the environmentshould be prioritized, while emerging businesses such as the internet, e-commerce and big datawill also be the focus of IP protection efforts, he said.
IP administrations investigated approximately 87,000 patent infringements nationwide during the12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), 10 times the number of investigations during the previous fiveyears, according to SIPO data.
Chen Jinchuan, vice-president of the Beijing IP Court, told the forum that the court is exploring aprecedent-setting judicial path and fully using the rules of evidence to better protect the rights andinterests of IP owners.
Li Bin, vice-president of Sinochem Group, compared IP to the defense force of a country addingthat "IP can help a company protect its captured market and also explore new businessopportunities".
One of the earliest Chinese companies to go abroad, Sinochem Group began conductingoverseas mergers and acquisitions in the 1980s. Since then, its business has expanded to morethan 100 countries and regions, where more than 1,200 of its trademarks have been filed.
The company has maintained a double-digit growth in annual patent filings over the past decade.
"It is the common aim shared in IP systems worldwide to respect others, protect ourselves andpursue innovation," Li said. "IP protection is an international rule. Having a consciousness ofrules and a global vision is the foundation of our IP work."
China continued its robust momentum in international patent applications filed through the PatentCooperation Treaty in 2015, contributing nearly 30,000 PCT filings, an increase of 16.8 percentfrom a year earlier, and ranking third globally, according to the latest annual report by the WorldIntellectual Property Organization.
Chinese companies took four positions among the top 20 business PCT filers in the world, withtelecommunication giant Huawei Technologies retaining its top ranking and ZTE taking third.
"PCT filings from China experienced a more than tenfold increase over the past decade, and itsdomestic patent applications have ranked first in the world for five consecutive years, whichreflects the country's increased IP creation and awareness, and its marked rise on the globalinnovation landscape," said Chen Hongbing, director of the WIPO Beijing Office.
China has been the most frequent destination in the world for international trademark filersthrough the Madrid system for 12 consecutive years.
"That shows that the international business community has a strong desire for the Chinesemarket and continued faith in China's future economy," Chen said.
"It also reflects that China's business environment remains in good condition," he said. "Evenwith the downward economic pressure, China has remained one of the most appealing markets."


Source: China Daily