Gan Shaoning—CNIPA Strengthens IPR Protection from 5 Aspects to Improve Business Environment
In the afternoon on May 15, the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China (SCIO) held a press conference. Issues on the Report on the Latest Development in IPR Protection and Business Environment in China 2018 was introduced by Gan Lin, vice minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation, Gan Shaoning, deputy director of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Jin Hai, director of the Department of General Operation of the General Administration of Customs, and Lin Guanghai, director of the IPR Division of the Supreme People's Court.
A People’s Daliy journalist introduced statistics on China in business environment report released by the World Bank last year, and asked questions for deputy director Gan Shaoning on measures that CNIPA has taken to strengthen IPR rights and promote the development of business environment.
According to Gan, the sustaining improvement of China’s business environment, a huge progress in global ranking and great achievements should be attributed to the great attention the Chinese government has paid to IPR protection. Last year, on important occasions including Boao Forum for Asia and China’s first International Import Expo and when sending a letter of congratulation to BRI high-level conference, President Xi Jinping has sent a clear message to the international community about China’s determination and attitude towards strict IPR protection in accordance with law. This year, on the 19th World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 and on the opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, President Xi reiterated the need to further strengthen international cooperation on IPR protection and foster a business environment that respects intellectual value, which has won extensive acclaim from the international community.
In order to implement important guiding principles of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the CNIPA has carried out work mainly from five aspects to strictly protect IPR and foster a international first class business environment, and has made substantial achievements.
First, laws and regulations have been improved. A punitive compensation system for infringement has been established and infringement costs have been greatly increased. As vice minister Gan mentioned, the draft amendment to the Patent Law passed the first review of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and established a punitive compensation system for infringement. According to the amendment to Trademark Law passed on April 23, the compensation ceiling for malicious trademark infringement is from triple to a quintupled level, which is fairly high globally.
Second, source protection has been strengthened. The quality and efficiency of IPR review was raised, and the time required for patent and trademark review was cut to realize timely authorization and stable rights. This year, the time needed for trademark review will be further cut to 5 months after it was cut to 6 months last year. Meanwhile, we will significantly reduce the time need for high-value patent review to better cater to social needs.
Third, law enforcement has been enhanced. We have established an intellectual property rights system featuring strict, extensive, immediate and fair protection, and social satisfaction of IPR protection has been improved. We have made full use of comprehensive law enforcement team of market regulation to improve standards for trademark and patent infringement and strengthen law enforcement. In 2018, 77,000 patent administrative law enforcement cases were handled, with an increase of 15.9% year-over-year; altogether 31,000 trademark violation cases were investigated and handled, with a total case value of 550 million Yuan; social satisfaction of nationwide IPR protection scored 76.88.
Fourth, social participation has been encouraged. We considered the establishment of a credit system as part of our large IPR protection landscape. 38 ministries and commissions have carried out joint punishments of serious dishonest conducts in IP (patent). Meanwhile, we have raised the IPR awareness through IPR publicity week and IPR education demonstration of primary and secondary schools, so as to foster an IPR atmosphere featuring “respect for knowledge, inspiration for innovation and honesty and law-abiding” across the society.
Fifth, interconnectivity mechanism has been improved. We have improved the interconnectivity mechanism of authorizing, establishing and safeguarding rights, to provide market entities with a convenient, efficient and cost-effective rights-safeguarding channel. On top of that, we have also implemented the “Internet +” IPR protection, and explored, through source tracking, online identification and real-time monitoring, ways to promote protection. We have also established 24 IPR protection centers and 20 immediate rights-safeguarding centers nationwide with sound reputation.
Going forward, we will start formulating the Outline of the National Intellectual Property Strategy for 2035, and under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, strengthen overall IPR protection planning, so as to create a better business environment and better meet the needs of high-quality development. At present, relevant work is underway in a smooth manner.
May 15, 2019
Source: the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China
Photo by: Zhang Xin
