Intellectual Property Protection Highlighted on the Two Sessions

Intellectual property protection played animportant role on the Two Sessions.

On March 12th, Shen Changyu, Commissionerof the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO), responded theconcerns of intellectual property protection while walking through theministers' passage before the meeting. Shen stressed the highlights of IPR inthe Report on the Work of the Government and expressed gratitude to thegovernment's attention to IPR. In the future, China will build an intellectualproperty protection framework covering registration, examination andauthorization, administrative enforcement, judicial adjudication, arbitrationand mediation, industry self-regulation, etc. A number of IPR protection centerwill be set up to expedite the process of patent examination, patentauthorization and patent protection. SIPO will further beef up theadministrative law enforcement of intellectual property rights, especially inthe areas of people's livehood, the internet, and the security areas, toprovide even more convenient, efficient, low-cost channels for the public todefend their rights. China handled nearly 50,000 cases of patent administrativelaw enforcement in 2016, an increase of nearly 40% year on year, and moreefforts in this area would be paid in 2017. Besides, SIPO will actively assistNPC in amending the Patent Law, to solve the problem in proof, process, cost,compensation and deterrence of penalty, etc.

Zhou Qiang, President of the SupremePeople's Court (SPC), delivered annual work report on the SPC on March 12. In2016, China stepped up the trials of intellectual property rights cases tostimulate innovation and entrepreneurship of diverse entities. In 2016, Chinaimproved IPR protection rules by making judiciary interpretations on the trialsof certain kinds of cases, including patent right cases. Last year, China trieda series of trademark cases lodged by US basketball icon Michael Jordan,demonstrating the country's stance and determination to reinforce judicialprotection for intellectual property rights. Three IPR courts in the cities ofBeijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou explored the application of punitive damages tosolve problems including low infringement costs and high costs for safeguardingrights. Four IPR tribunals, in charge of cross-regional IPR cases, opened inthe cities of Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu in 2016. Chinese courts atdifferent levels concluded some 147,000 IPR cases in 2016, boosting massentrepreneurship and innovation. China will maximize the role of trials tomaintain the stability of the society and promote the development, especiallyas the role of IPR trials to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship.

Source:  IPR Daily，China IP News

Editor:Royal