In early March, I will make my first visit to China as CEO of the UK Intellectual Property Office. I will meet SIPO’s Commissioner, Tian Lipu, State Administration of Industry and Commerce Minister Zhou Bohua, National Copyright Administration of China Minister Liu Binjie, and senior officials from the Supreme People’s Court, State Council Information Office and other IP enforcement agencies. This visit is the first milestone in a journey which sees the UK and China working more closely on IP issues.
That journey began when Chinese ministers signed Memoranda of Understanding with UK ministers.
In today’s globalised economies, intellectual property also operates within an international framework. The continued penetration of the internet with its ever increasing download speeds means that the rate at which copyrighted, trade marked or patented materials can be distributed around the globe has risen exponentially. This adds weight to the increasing importance of an international approach to intellectual property.
China’s 2001 accession to the World Trade Organization required strengthening of its intellectual property laws, a process that is still ongoing. And although long viewed as the world’s major source of illegally copied goods, over the same period China has increasingly become a nation that innovates rather than imitates, with rapid growth in its creative industries. The UK has a long history of success in the creative industries – from works of art to the music industry, which today employs nearly 2 million people.
That is why the cooperation with China on Intellectual Property is so important. The UK is the largest EU investor in China. Sino-British trade is worth over £25bn. It is vital to ensure that British companies can easily protect their intellectual property in China, and for Chinese companies to do the same in the UK. My work will help UK firms better understand, and therefore access, the Chinese market. It will also help to develop ways of protecting companies in both countries from losing on the benefits of their creativity to pirates and counterfeiters.
The suite of UK-China IP agreements sets out a general framework for closer cooperation: the exchange of information and best practice in IP laws, regulations and enforcement procedures; the principle of coordination on IP issues; and collaboration in encouraging businesses to make full use of the intellectual property system.
Both countries have already begun work to ensure this agreement leads to real, tangible benefits. Work programmes are being drawn up to underpin the commitments made within the agreements, and I plan to finalise this year’s work programmes with my counterparts next week.
The Memoranda build on already strong ties between the UK and China in the field of intellectual property. The Intellectual Property Office in the UK, and the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office have had an ongoing dialogue since 1996. Since then, cooperation has enjoyed a smooth and fruitful growth to cover many areas of common interest. Mutually beneficial activities such as awareness-raising events have taken place in both countries, and work has begun to start addressing the problems facing the global IP system, like the backlog in unprocessed patents. The cost to the global economy of the delay in processing patent applications alone may be as much as £7.65 billion each year.
The thorny issue of enforcement of IP rights in China is still a concern for UK businesses operating in, or considering working with China. There are positive signs; the legislative framework in China, the backbone of any IP system, is now comparable to many other established IP frameworks throughout the world. There is also recognition within the Chinese Government that enforcement needs improving. Strengthening enforcement is one of the six working guidelines in China’s Action Plan on Intellectual Property Protection 2010.
However, as has been demonstrated through global concerns about music file-sharing over the internet, enforcement measures are often impractical against large numbers of consumers, which is why education and awareness-raising are important. This is particularly relevant to China, as China’s approach to IP has been required to change very quickly in the last three decades. Thirty years ago it was a country without intellectual property laws and where imitation, for example copying another calligrapher’s style, was seen as a form of respect. In order for IP rights holders in the country to have confidence, the cultural shift on IP in China needs to continue.
It is against this background that the UK Government’s cooperation with China on IP is based, with the ultimate aim of improving the prospects for businesses in both countries.
The author is John Alty, CEO, UK Intellectual Property Office
