IPR plan

A working group comprising officials from the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and other government agencies was established last January to come up with a national intellectual property rights (IPR) strategy. The group, headed by Vice-Premier Wu Yi, held its first meeting on June 30.

The government's decision to set up this group was primarily based on the understanding that IPR is a key factor determining a country's core competitiveness. Wu said the national IPR strategy is an important way of emphasizing innovation and establishing a fair and competitive market.

20th anniversary

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the implementation of China's patent law. The legislation, which went into effect in 1985, was revised in 1992 and 2000, and is currently being amended for a third time.

The number of patent applications in the country had reached 2.48 million by June 2005. Approximately 1.36 million applicants were granted patents.

Awareness campaign

An IPR protection awareness campaign was held throughout the country from April to October last year. It was the first nationwide IPR protection promotion ever launched in China.

The campaign, jointly organized by SIPO and the Market Order Discipline Office, demonstrated the country's determination to protect IPR, and also showcased the great achievements China has made over the past several years.

The six-month long campaign was also designed to encourage domestic enterprises to be more innovative and help promote a social environment in which innovation and creativity are highly valued.

Music copyrights

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry launched a music copyright protection campaign in China in July by suing karaoke salons (KTV) for using songs without permission. A court in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province, ordered nine KTV operators to pay record companies 2,000 yuan (US$247) for every song they used.

The case triggered a nationwide music copyright protection blitz, but standards for record companies royalties have still not been set.

Impressive achievement

Managing Intellectual Property, a magazine covering international IPR issues, in August named four Chinese people, including Vice-Premier Wu Yi, as the World's 50 Most Important IP Figures in 2005. Wu was also on the 2004 list.

The inclusion of the four Chinese highlights the progress the country has made in IPR protection over the past several years.

Piracy crackdown

Eight government departments, including the National Copyright Administration, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Culture, and the General Administration of Press and Publication, started a nationwide crackdown on Internet piracy in October. The campaign is the largest offensive on cyber piracy ever launched in China.

Agreement signed

SIPO signed a co-operation pact with the European Patent Office in December that laid the framework for further collaboration in 2006. The agreement states that the two parties will co-operate on training programmes and other exchanges.

SIPO received 370,000 patent applications over the first 10 months of last year, 30 per cent of which were filed from EU countries.

Provincial inspections

The State Council began its annual IPR inspection blitz in November by dispatching seven investigative teams to monitor IPR protection initiatives in several provinces.

The teams include members enlisted from the Ministry of Public Security, General Administration of Press and Publication and other government agencies. They inspected 15 designated provinces where IPR violations are a major concern.

The one-month campaign combined random inspections, spot checks and clandestine investigations in an effort to secure evidence for several major IPR infringement cases. The first inspections were initiated in August 2004.

Pirated copyrights

Yan Xiaohong, deputy director of the National Copyright Administration, announced in February that any companies found using pirate software would be blacklisted. The announcement was part of an effort to crack down on software copyright infringement.

Software developed by domestic firms and foreign companies would be treated equally in the scheme, Yan said at an inspection tour of a software exhibition in Beijing.

A number of companies, such as Microsoft, have showcased their products at the exhibition since it was established in 2004. It usually attracts more than 10,000 visitors per day.

(China Daily 01/23/2006 page9)