On February 18, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (abb. Outline), and asked all departments of different localities to conscientiously implement the Outline in accordance with local conditions.

According to the Outline, the great significance of building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area lies in upgrading the area and developing a world-class urban agglomeration. Such kind of practice will help enrich the practical essence of “One Country and Two Systems”, implement the new development concept, further deepen reform, expand opening up, and establish a new system for open economy that is in line with international standards, along with promoting the “Belt and Road Initiative”.

In the Outline, the introduction to intellectual property can be found in the third section (Building an International Science and Technology Innovation Center) of the fourth chapter (Optimizing the Regional Innovation Environment): Deepening the reform of regional innovation system and mechanism, promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements as well as strengthening the protection and application of intellectual property.

In terms of deepening the reform of regional innovation system and mechanism, the Outline stipulates: We should explore policy measures that will further ease access to the Greater Bay Area, facilitate living and logistics in the area, encourage scientific and technological exchanges, allow qualified universities and research institutions in Hong Kong and Macao to apply for mainland science and technology projects as well as lawfully use funds in the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.

In promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, the Outline stipulates: In order to build the Greater Bay Area into an internationally competitive scientific and technological achievements transformation base, we should explore new mechanisms and improve environment. In addition, support should be provided to in-depth cooperation in business incubation, financing for technology, transformation of achievements, international transfer of technology as well as the development of the service industry related to science. In this way, we can build a national-level incubation base for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao youth entrepreneurship and employment base, as well as other transformation platforms.

To strengthen the protection and application of intellectual property, the Outline stipulates: By relying on the Guangdong-Hong Kong, Guangdong-Macao and Pan-Pearl River Delta cooperation mechanisms for the protection of intellectual property, we should enhance cooperation in intellectual property protection and professional talent training in the Greater Bay Area, strengthen the administrative enforcement of intellectual property and judicial protection, give better play to the role of institutions such as the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court. We should also tighten the enforcement of intellectual property in key areas and links such as e-commerce, import and export. Global cooperation in the creation, use, protection and trade of intellectual property should be promoted and a cross-border cooperation mechanism for improving the ruling of intellectual property cases should be updated.

Febeuary 19, 2019

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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