Infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR) and counterfeiting has been effectively curbed in some regions and industries in China due to the special action deployed by the State Council to crack down upon IPR violations as well as the strengthened administrative and criminal enforcement activities by all regional departments, said Huang Qing, Director of Protection Coordination Department under the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) at a joint meeting regarding the implementation of national IPR strategy in Beijing on April 10.
According to Huang, the priority tasks of 2011 regarding IPR were as follows.
1. Making scientific plans on IPR development for the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period. Following the State Council's issuance of the Outline of 12th Five-Year Plan for the National Economic & Social Development, which makes explicit requirements for patenting activities for the first time, central governmental organs inclusive of SIPO, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), the National Copyright Administration (NCAC), together with relevant authorities across the country, also released their own departmental/regional plans accordingly, further enriching the policy system regarding the implementation of the national IPR strategy.
2. Substantially enhancing IPR protection. The special operation deployed by the State Council and regional efforts in cracking down upon IPR infringement and counterfeiting have curbed such violations in certain areas and industries, based on which, a long-term mechanism on IPR protection has been under development as provided in the Opinions of the State Council on Further Cracking down on IPR Infringements and the Production and Sales of Counterfeit and Forged Commodities. Furthermore, the formulation of other decisions, opinions and measures as well as the establishment of China' first fast prosecution center to safeguard patent rights have also helped to enhance administrative and criminal law enforcement and bring forces new ideas to the working mechanism on IPR protection.
3. Striving to support enterprises in IPR creation and utilization. To achieve this goal, several guiding opinions were drafted and issued by central governmental agencies, which also strengthened their support to small and medium-sized enterprises on IPR promotion. Progress has also been made in patent commercialization and IP collateralization in 2011,with IP pledges valued at more than 20 billion.
4. Expediting the development of IPR service system. In documents released by central governmental departments calling for an enhanced development of Hi-tech service industries, IPR services were all listed as priorities. Many efforts have been made by the ministries to build up service platforms, conduct patent analysis, issue pre-alerting information and further regulate intermediary agencies.
5. Strengthen talents training and international communication. In this regard, the Ministry of Education has called for a promulgation of common IPR knowledge in primary and high schools and a professional education in colleges, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has actively recruited IPR experts from abroad, while publicity authorities such as the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television have organized a series of publicity activities. In the realm of foreign affairs, a framework agreement on IPR cooperation was signed between China and the US.
In addition, the role of the joint meeting office on coordination was also given full play and was continually enhanced via assisting in researches, achievements evaluation, organizing trainings and establishing influential exchange platforms on IPR strategy.[Chinese version is available on chinanews.com]
(Source: IPR in China)
