Inventive Guangdong

GUANGZHOU: The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection force in South China's Guangdong province led the nation last year in patent applications and grants for the 13th year in a row, the provincial IPR office says.

In 2007, patent applications and grants in Guangdong were 102,449 and 56,451, respectively up 12.7 percent and 29.7 percent over 2006.

It also led China in international applications for the sixth straight year. Last year, Guangdong's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international applications reached 2,646, increasing 52.9 percent over the year 2006, accounting for 49 percent of the national total.

Among the PCT international applications were those from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and currently ranked fourth in the business world, Tao Kaiyuan, the director of Guangdong provincial IPR office, says.

Administrative enforcement of patents was strengthened in 2007. During the year, the intellectual property offices across the province received 256 patent-related cases disputes and successfully resolved 214 of them.

In addition, they investigated 90 counterfeit patent cases. An enforcement force of 1,940 people was mobilized to conduct 228 inspections of commercial areas. The number of commercial articles inspected was 265,727, and the worth of goods involved was 56 million yuan, Tao says.

"Depending on international cooperation, we combat some serious cross-border crimes involving IPR," Tao says. "As directed by the Ministry of Public Security, Guangdong police actively explored direct cooperation with the United States' FBI in IPR law enforcement."

In July last year, Guangdong police and American FBI agents solved a case of cross-border sales of pirated optical disks for Microsoft Corporation system software. Eighteen suspects were arrested and six facilities for piracy production, packaging, storage and sales were destroyed. seizing Eleven source disks and 79,335 disks of pirated software were seized. The value of the goods was estimated to be as much as US$ 500 million.

"This action will significantly reduce the number of pirated Microsoft software disks worldwide," an executive of the Microsoft Corporation said when the case was publicized.

In December last year, the provincial IPR office released a strategic compendium for the development of Guangdong's IPR over the next 13 years.

"By 2010, 1,250 patents will be filed for every million people," the compendium says.

It predicts that by 2020 Guangdong's IPR development level will reach that of moderately developed countries, according to the compendium, which was drafted and frequently revised over more than two years and included input from various segments of society. It covers protection measures for patents, trademarks, copyrights and other IPR issues.

"The compendium will definitely improve Guangdong's IPR industry and the development of innovation," says the former Guangdong IPR office director, Li Zhongduo.

Tao just took Li's office in the beginning of April this year. Tao tells China Business Weekly that her work this year will focus on implementing the document's strategy.

"It's a long-term strategy, which will positively influence Guangdong's, even the whole country's, IPR protection development," she says.

According to the document, the annual growth rate for patented articles is estimated to remain at 13 percent until 2010.

The growth rate for applications for articles invented overseas but patented on the Chinese mainland should be greater than 20 percent, it says.

Registered trademarks are expected to maintain an annual growth rate of 15 percent to reach 200,000 in 2010.

Guangdong borders Hong Kong making it relatively easy for pirated products be smuggled back and forth.

Tao says the province will tighten cooperation with Hong Kong's IPR protection authority this year.

"A conference about Guangdong-Hong Kong jointly combating counterfeiting and IPR offense will be held in Hong Kong in July," Tao says.

She says a lot of cooperation details will be discussed with the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department during the conference.

Last year, Guangdong Customs and Hong Kong and Macao Customs conducted five joint enforcement actions in ports, and found 29 cases of IPR infringement and counterfeiting. In those actions, Hong Kong Customs arrested five criminal suspects.

Moreover, Tao promised the province will enhance IPR protection cooperation with the other eight provinces and autonomous region in the pan-Pearl River Delta region: Hunan, Yunnan, Hainan, Fujian, Guizhou, Sichuan and Jiangxi and Guangxi Zhuang.

At the China Import and Export Fair (also known as the Canton Trade Fair), hosted by Guangzhou, Tao says new regulations were launched last year to combat counterfeit products.

Exhibitors who violate IPR regulation and display counterfeit products may be temporarily or permanently expelled from the fair, which is the oldest and most influential n China, she says.

"The regulations have been taken very strictly," she adds.

Popularizing the importance of IPR protection also depends on educating young people, Tao says.

IPR education was taught in 65 elementary and secondary schools in the province last year to more than 60,000 students.

(China Daily 05/12/2008 page9)