Zone opens three service agencies

The Tianjin Intellectual Property Office, the government of Tianjin's Binhai New Area and the administration of the Tianjin Free Trade Zone announced on Friday the establishment of three intellectual property service agencies in the central business district of the free trade zone.

They are the North China IP Operation Center, the Binhai New Area IP Protection Center and the International IP Arbitration Center of the Tianjin Arbitration Committee.

The three aim to provide fast and convenient IP service in the free trade zone to improve the innovation environment, said local officials. It is also the zone's first attempt at adopting internationalized IP protection and service systems.

The services provided by the three agencies cover processes from IP application and registration to use and protection.

"If you are an IP rights owner, we can help you manage, finance and commercialize those rights, and if you have an idea, we can help you make it into an IP right," said Shi Jianjun, an official from the Tianjin Intellectual Property Office.

The North China IP Operation Center aims to promote IP use and commercialization. It will help resource deployment by market means. The center is supported by the Tianjin IP operation service alliance, which was founded in late April.

The Binhai New Area IP Protection Center will accept IP complaints from local companies and provide mediation and arbitration.

The International IP Arbitration Center of the Tianjin Arbitration Committee is a complement to the current IP protection mechanism in the area, and it will introduce international rules and be run by a board of directors.

The newly established agencies will interact with courts and other IP-related organizations to build a multilayered IP protection system, said Li Chuncheng, director of the Tianjin Institute for Science of Science, a government-funded research institution.

He added that administrative IP protection methods, including those taken by customs, IP offices, industry and commerce departments and copyright administrations, involve a faster process than filing lawsuits.

Li said the agencies will expand their services to nearby Beijing and Hebei province, and will seek international partners in the future.

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/25/2015 page17)