Peimeng · 12.21-12.25 Newsletter

Increased 166.62% - Hebei granted 250,000 and more patents during the 13th FiveYear Plan Period 

It was learned from Hebei  Provincial Market Supervision and  Administration Bureau that during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period,  the intellectual property rights work has achieved remarkable results. According to statistics, during the  "13th Five-Year Plan" period, Hebei continued to carry out standards implementation, advantage cultivation, patent navigation, and intellectual property finance. There were 344 enterprises passed national standard certification; 90 enterprises entered the ranks of national intellectual property advantage demonstration enterprises; 70  enterprises implemented patent navigation pilot projects; 257  enterprises have insured patents,  with risk protection of more than  400 million yuan. At the same time,  70 companies have been guided to make capital contributions for patent rights. 

WIPO China Chief: IP Empowers Sangzhi in Building A Poverty Eradication Sample 

"The World Intellectual Property  Organization (WIPO) appreciates  China National Intellectual Property  Administration (CNIPA)'s efforts in making full use of information,  system and industrial advantages to give full play to the IP in poverty eradication, rural revitalization and common development. In terms of poverty eradication through the use of geographic indication (GI) products,  CNIPA has launched a national GIs application promotion project,  formulated relevant policies for poverty eradication, established a  sound and stable long-term mechanism for the event, and strengthened the basic capacitybuilding for that work, and achieved remarkable results," said WIPO  China Office Director Liu Hua in an interview on December 16 with over ten news outlets at Cangguanyu  Village, Sangzhi County,  Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province.  CNIPA's practice in exerting the full role of IP to enable local industries involved in poverty eradication to register higher quality and enhance efficiency was highly recognized by  Liu. 

Court for IP disputes to be built in Hainan port 

A court that specializes in handling disputes of intellectual property rights is expected to be built in  Hainan Free Trade Port, as a move for stronger IP protection in China's southern island province, a draft decision said. The draft decision on setting up the port's IP court was submitted to the bimonthly session of the Standing  Committee of National People's  Congress, China's top legislature,  for review on Tuesday. Named Hainan Free Trade Port IP  Court, Zhou Qiang, president of the  Supreme People's Court, the country's top court, said that it will be an intermediate court, adding that further appeals can be made to the  Hainan High People's Court. Establishing such a specialized court in the province will not only improve the quality of IP case hearings in the port and create a  better business environment but also increase the port's international popularity and help it play a bigger role in global economic cooperation and competition, Zhou said when explaining the draft to the legislature.

Shenzhen remains mainland's leader in PCT,  trademark filings 

Shenzhen, a young innovative city in  South China, has maintained its national leading position across major intellectual property indexes this year, with double-digit growth in most areas. 

The market regulatory department of the city, which oversees IP issues,  has improved the legal environment for IP protection and taken new measures to further stimulate motivation in companies toward new technologies, said senior officials at the department. 

According to the official statistics, a  total of 28,000 companies filed  219,000 patent applications in  Shenzhen in the first three quarters of this year, posting a year-on-year increase of nearly 17.2 per cent. At the same time, about 164,000 patents were granted domestically, up about  34.5 per cent from a year before.  Both ranked first among big cities in  China. 

The city's international applications filed via the Patent Cooperation  Treaty continued to grow during the period from January to September this year, up 22.7 per cent from a year before. The city currently ranks in first place among major mainland cities for PCT filings, the 16th  consecutive year it has done so. Meanwhile, the city's trademark applications have surged by roughly  20 per cent year-on-year, the official figures show. 

Shenzhen is stepping up efforts to improve its IP protection system to shield new technologies and support the city's quality development, said  Xia Kunshan, a senior official of  Shenzhen Administration for Market  Regulation. 

Dubbed China's Silicon Valley,  Shenzhen has seen remarkable growth in innovative companies in a  wide range of fields in recent years,  including artificial intelligence, new-generation information technology and biomedicine, driving demand for intellectual property protection. In 2019, scientific research and development input in Shenzhen hit nearly 133 billion yuan ($20.3  billion), accounting for 4.9 per cent of the city's GDP, a level matching some developed countries. 

The city implemented regulation on technological innovation on Nov  1, that has been widely seen as an important local rule that can encourage and protect scientific innovation. 

For example, it is stipulated in the regulation that no less than 30 per cent of the city government fund for research and development should go to fundamental research and applied basic research annually - the first mainland city to take such an action. 

The rule follows the revision of the city's regulation on IP protection in  July, which was in effect from  March 2019 and aims to establish the strictest IP protection system for the city's innovation-driven development. 

The revision includes the introduction of a punitive compensation system and an increase in the compensation cap. 

(Source: China Daily)