China to further enhance IPR protection

Shen Changyu, head of the State Intellectual Property Office, takes an interview after the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 12, 2019.（Photo: People’s Daily）

China is exploring the establishment of overseas assistance centers for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, in a bid to ensure that its IP can be effectively protected abroad, head of the State Intellectual Property Office Shen Changyu said on March 12. Shen introduced a package of measures the office will take to enhance IPR protection during a passage interview after the third plenary meeting of the second session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC).

The authorities will map out a scheme of building an IPR protection system and work on an overall mechanism to achieve strict, widespread, fast and equal IPR protection, Shen said. Great efforts will be made to improve the quality and efficiency of IPR review so as to strengthen protection from the very beginning, Shen noted. Last year, China shortened the trademark review period to six months, and this year the time will be further reduced to five months. Meanwhile, the review period for high-value patents will be further cut by 15 percent based on the 10 percent reduction achieved last year, he noted. The country will improve laws and regulations to strengthen IPR protection, Shen continued. The State Intellectual Property Office will actively cooperate with the NPC in revising the Patent Law and establish a punishment system for infringement, substantially raising the cost of infringement, he noted.

According to the latest draft amendment to the Patent Law, patent holders could be compensated with fines up to five times the calculated damage in willful infringement cases. It is a severe punishment even in the world. Meanwhile, China has also started a new round of preparation for the revision of the Trademark Law, Shen added. The country will further innovate working mechanisms and models, with the aid of the Internet, Shen disclosed. By implementing the “Internet plus IPR,” the protection can be tightened through source tracing, online identification, and real-time monitoring. More IPR protection centers will be built, Shen noted, so as to form a coordinated and integrated mechanism of efficient IPR authorization, verification and protection services, providing the public with more convenient and efficient, and less costly channels to safeguard rights.

(People’s Daily)