Patent Boosts Opening-up——the 9th China Patent Annual Conference Successfully Held in Beijing
By Meteor Tang, China IP
On August 30-31, 2018, the 9th China Patent Annual Conference (CPAC) which is the former China Patent Information Annual Conference organized by Intellectual Property Publishing House Co., Ltd. was successfully held in Beijing.
Complying with the zeitgeist of patent-driven innovative development, the theme of this annual conference is “patent boosts opening-up”. Focusing on the theme, participants exchanged their opinions and debated thoroughly over a number of hot topics such as the relationship between intellectual property rights and opening-up under the new situation, how to build an integrated strategy of intellectual property as well as opportunities and challenges brought by Internet of Things(IOT) in patent trade. A feast of wisdom and innovation began.
2018 marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening up and the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the intellectual property strategy. Premier Li Keqiang once stressed that intellectual property protection was the cornerstone of the market economy, which was the inevitable requirement for the innovative development as well. In the context of a new round of scientific and technological revolution, innovation has increasingly become the first impetus of development in the process o f economic transformation and upgrading in developing countries. Along with the deepening of China’s reform and opening up, China’s economy and world’s economy are integrated. An integrated intellectual property strategy takes the maximum effect in enterprise management and product research so as to boost the influence and competitiveness of China’s enterprises in the international market. It is a reliable support to drive innovative development and expand opening-up and a vital requirement of strategy of strengthening China through intellectual property. At the conference this year, many leaders and elites in this industry from home and abroad discuss the influence of patents in the new situation further on the theme that patent boosts opening up.
Promote patent industry, support national opening-up
On the morning of August 30, Beijing Etrong International Exhibition&Convention Center attracted a lot of attendants. Amid a warm and cheerful atmosphere, elites in the intellectual property industry from all over the world gathered here for the opening ceremony and plenary meeting of CPAC. Shen Changyu, the director of China’s National Intellectual Property Administration(CNIPA); Francis Gurry, the general director of World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO); Liu Junchen, the secretary of Party Committee and deputy commissioner of CNIPA; Wu Handong, former headmaster of Zhongnan University of Economics and Laws; Li Meng, vice minister of Ministry of Science and Technology, a member of the Party group, the Party Committee member of a directly owned organization; Cham Prasidh, Cambodian Minister of State and Minister of Industry and Handicrafts; Raimund Lutz, deputy director of European Patent Office(EPO); Gan Shaoning, the deputy director and a Party member of CNIPA; Liang Zhixiang, vice president & general law counsel of Baidu; Toshimoto Mitomo, senior vice President of Sony and manager of its Stratup Acceleration Division; Kasim Alfalahi, Avanci’s founder and CEO; Udo Meyer, senior vice president of Basf and general director of Global Intellectual Property Department; Manuel Guzman, CEO of Chemical Abstracts Service; Mu Hung, chairman and CEO of Chofn IP, and other well-known experts and scholars of intellectual property at home and abroad, principals from well-known enterprises around the world attended the opening ceremony and delivered their keynote speeches, shared their extraordinary experiences in the intellectual property development, application and management.
Along with the great practice of reform and opening up, China’s patent industry has been developing vigorously and made remarkable achievements that attracted the world’s attention. In term of patent creation, China has realized the significant breakthrough - “two one million pieces” in the number of annual invention patent application and China’s valid invention patent. China has become the second place in the world in terms of its number of PCT international patent application and become a real patent power. In terms of patent protection, China has amended the Patent Law for three times, issued several opinions on strict patent protection, established an intellectual property protection center for quick empowerment, quick confirmation and quick rights protection, strengthened administrative law enforcement, and effectively protected obligees’ legal rights and interests. In terms of patent application, the reform of the allocation of interests in intellectual property rights has been deepened, the operating system of intellectual property has been enhanced, and a new pattern of intellectual property transformation transaction is featured by exhibitions and platforms, online mode and offline mode, fixed time and all weather has been formed.
Statistics show that the number of technical contracts merely involving patents in China reached 15,000 in 2017, and the turnover exceeded RMB 140 billion. In terms of intellectual property management, the state’s coordination at the governmental macro level is strengthened, standardization of intellectual property management in enterprises, universities and research institutes is pushed ahead, the development of intellectual property service industry is accelerated, and the management efficiency of intellectual property is effectively improved. All these created a favorable business environment for domestic and foreign enterprises and strongly supported national opening up.
Shen Changyu, the director of CNIPA, points out in his speech that 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening-up and the 10th anniversary of the implementation of Outline of the National Intellectual Property Strategy. In the keynote speech at the opening ceremony of Boao Forum for Asia in 2018, President Xi Jinping specifically identified strengthening intellectual property protection as one of four major measures to expand opening-up in the new era. In the congratulatory letter to 2018 One Belt And One Road High-level Meeting on intellectual property rights, President Xi Jinping fully affirmed the importance of the intellectual property system in promoting the co-construction of One Belt and One Road. This patent annual conference is of special significance in such context.
Shen Changyu introduced the next measure of opening-up through intellectual property from three aspects. At first, unswervingly carry out strict intellectual property protection to create a better business environment, accelerate the modification of patent law, establish a punitive compensation system, substantially increase the cost of infringement to impose infringers a higher cost. Further strengthen administrative protection of intellectual property rights, accelerate the construction layout of the intellectual property protection center, and guide advancement of comprehensive enforcement of patents and trademarks. Second, vigorously promote the transformation of intellectual property transactions and normal technological exchanges and cooperation between China’s and foreign enterprises. Provide support to hold China international patent technology and product fairs and China patent annual conferences, etc., provide a sound platform for patent technology trade transformation of domestic and foreign enterprises. Further implement patent quality improvement projects and vigorously foster core patents with high value. Third, deepen international cooperation on intellectual property and promote the construction of open, inclusive, balanced and effective international rules on intellectual property. Actively participate in multilateral affairs under the framework of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Further push ahead patent cooperation of One Belt and One Road cooperation initiative. Further improve the network for patent fast revision and propel the direct registration of China’s licensed patents in more countries, make it convenient for China’s companies to gain overseas empowerment and participate in global competition and cooperation.
Set up international communication platform, strengthen enterprise overseas layout
This annual conference, based on the remarkable achievements in intellectual property in 4 decades since reform and opening-up, strives to build an international exchange and cooperation platform in the field of patent
In order to push ahead China’s resolution for opening-up, cooperation and economic globalization. The conference is composed of a main forum and 11 sub-forums where delegates had in-depth discussions on topics of “opening-up for 4 decades: entrepreneurship and intellectual property”, “building a comprehensive intellectual property strategy” and “opportunities and challenges in patent transactions brought by Internet of Things”. Meanwhile, it also provided many professional activities including international patent information service and product exhibition, intellectual property operation competition and Haidian high-value patent cultivation competition. Every sub-forum or seminar is crowded with people. Governmental officials, experts, scholars and enterprise representatives exchanged their ideas on different topics, which represented the most cutting-edge and insightful thoughts of global intellectual property community on relevant issues, which benefits the audience.
After all wonderful agenda, 2018 CPAC successfully came to an end on the afternoon of August 31. It continues to be proven that it is China’s first patent conference in term of conference size, number of audiences, number of merchants and social attention. More than 100 guests and 10,000 representatives from World Intellectual Property Organization, European Patent Office, Eurasian Patent Office and other international and regional organizations, intellectual property management institutions from Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Pakistan and other countries, China’s government departments, domestic and foreign enterprises, service organizations and institutes of colleges and universities participate in this annual conference.
Since the first conference in 2010, CPAC has been successfully held for nine sessions which exerted an incomparable extensive influence in the domestic and international patent industry and even the entire intellectual property industry. Over years, the conference organizers always adhere to the conception of “gathering, sharing, witnessing growth” on the basis of the cuttingedge ideas in the patent industry, grasp the direction and trend of development and provide a broad and free platform to exchange ideas and academic communication for domestic and international intellectual property offices, patent judges, patent operation agencies at all levels, patent lawyers, enterprise intellectual property managers, service intermediaries of intellectual property and patent information service providers.
It is the second year when China Patent Information Annual Conference is changed into China Patent Annual Conference, which marks the whole upgrading of its content. Apart from information, CPAC will pay more attention to hot spots on patents, enlarge its scope from patent information to the patent industry and focus on the new development and changes in the industry of intellectual property. In addition, the analysis, discussion and support from the conference will step into a brand new stage. As Shen Changyu said at 2017 annual conference that it was a choice that complied with the trend of the new era. CPAC will continue to build up connections for international cooperation and communication in the patent and intellectual property community on the basis of achievement so that people in China and the world will know each other better.
