Samsung president voices concern over 'patent trolls'

China's government will curb abuses in intellectual property rights, said Tian Lipu, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) during a tour of Samsung's cell phone factory in Tianjin on Monday.

During the visit Tian heard concerns from Keun-Hee Park, Samsung's president of operations in China, who highlighted the rise of so-called "patent trolls" in China.

A patent troll has no intention of manufacturing an invention, but instead files a patent whose "only purpose is purely to earn royalties", the president said.

He noted the practice originated in the United States, but has now emerged in other countries.

Commissioner Tian said that "abuse of intellectual property rights is a worldwide issue - it goes beyond the reasonable and damages the legal interests of others".

"Since the Chinese government adopted a national intellectual property strategy in 2008, fighting such inappropriate use of patents has been listed as one of five top priorities on our agenda," he noted.
                                                                                                 Source: China Daily