IP attaché at EU Delegation to China: Look forward to Chinese Examples for IPR protection in Europe

In the first half of 2019, China has improved the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) through revising laws and regulations, taking multiple measures and putting in place relevant guidance and principles, said Günther Marten, Minister Counsellor and IP attaché at EU Delegation to China of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), on China-EU IP Business Dialogue.

Günther Marten spoke highly of China’s efforts in establishing the IPR Division in the Supreme People’s Court of China and Beijing Internet Court, as well as improving the Foreign Investment Law and Anti-Unfair Competition Law. He also looked forward to the implementation of these revised laws in day-to-day legal practices, so as to provide practical examples for IPR protection in Europe.

This year, two important issues of China’s legal and economic communities are IPR protection and an enabling business environment. There is an old saying in China, which goes “one shall have his peace of mind when he possesses a piece of land”. Only when China promotes IPR protection will it make its market and entities more energetic and boost innovation and investment.

According to Zhou Xiaobin, an economist of the World Bank, IPR protection can facilitate the innovation of enterprises and various countries and the establishment of a national-level, market-oriented business environment featuring rule of law, which is a foundation for mutual benefits and win-win outcomes.

Currently, China’s emerging industries are developing with a strong momentum, and the application of intellectual property serves as an important driver for innovative development.

Chinese enterprises need to align with international standards in terms of their awareness of, strategies for and investment in IPR protection, as well as team support and funding, said Liu Guangchao, founding partner of Beijing Docvit Law Firm and president of Green Legal Global Alliance. In a recent cross-border merger and acquisition project, the valuation of the Chinese enterprise was far lower than that of the foreign enterprise. The main reason for the huge gap was the valuation of the intellectual property neglected by the Chinese enterprise, which was valued by the foreign enterprise.

In the view of Li Mingde, executive vice-chairman of CASS Centre for Intellectual Property Rights Studies, intellectual property is an important property of market entities, and effective IPR protection plays an important role in business environment. China has made a lot of efforts to improve its intellectual property legal system, administrative management system and judicial system, but going forward, there is still a long way to go.

August 21, 2019

Source: China News Service

Photo from: 6199pic.com