GUANGZHOU, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke stressed the importance of improving intellectual property (IP) protection in China Tuesday during his visit to the booming southern Guangdong Province.

A sound IP regulatory system should be established to reward and protect innovators, Locke said at the Pearl River Delta International Forum on Innovation and Intellectual Property in the provincial capital of Guangzhou.

Guangdong, with the largest number of authorized patents in China for 14 years in a row, has the potential to become the country’s innovation center, he said.

"The stronger intellectual property laws and enforcement are, the greater the incentive for domestic and foreign innovators to create their products right here," he said.

In the past years, China has taken steps to protect IP rights of foreign companies in China, Locke said.

In 2008, China heard nearly 2,500 trademark infringement cases concerning overseas brand owners, up 35 percent year-on-year, he said.

Although China has made substantial strides to protect its IP system, there is still a long way to go, he said, calling for further Sino-U.S. cooperation in IP protection.

China and the United States have begun working together to push forward IP protection in China, he said.

In the past 12 months, the United States and China have signed three memorandums on strengthening IP protection, he said.

"Building an effective patent and trademark system is not easy, because over 200 years after its founding, the U.S. is still working to perfect its own," Locke said. 
                                                                                                             Source: Xinhua