Chinese President Hu Jintao emphasized the implementation of IP strategy in his working report for the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. “This raised national IP practitioners’ spirits,” said the delegate and commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) Tian Lipu when interviewed. “Since the 16th National Congress, particularly the 17th National Congress, China has made great achievements in IP cause with the development of CPC and the country.”
As a delegate of the 17th National Congress and the 18th National Congress, Tian Lipu felt delighted about the good and fast development of China’s IP cause. Tian said, in recent years, under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and focusing on scientific development and the transformation of economic development, China further carried out national IP strategy, enhanced IP protection and made brilliant achievements.
Improved legal system
In 2007, as the delegate of the 17th National Congress, Tian Lipu listened to President Hu’s working report. “The report put forward to carry out IP strategy from the perspective of building innovation-based country.” Tian said in recent years, China’s policy and regulatory system was gradually improved, which laid a solid foundation for the sound development of IP cause.
Tian Lipu expressed that as early as the year 2005, CPC Central Committee and the State Council determined to work out and implement IP strategy and set up a leading group responsible for the institution of national IP strategy. With the guidance of CPC Central Committee and the State Council and the close cooperation between more than 30 sectors, National IP Strategy Outline was promulgated and implemented on June 5, 2008. Led by the Outline, China’s IP strategy implementing system was gradually bettered and IP work bent into all the sectors of China’s economy and society.
Tian especially mentioned that when he participated in NPC & CPPCC sessions, the government working report again defined to “unswervingly carry out IP strategy”.
According to Tian Lipu, besides the strategic implementing system, in recent years, China also consummated IP laws and regulations. Take patent laws and regulations as an example, in April 2005, the third amendment work of the Patent Law was officially started. To cater for the need of China’s economic and social development, the revised law moderately raised conditions for patent granting, enhanced patent protection, added measures on safeguarding public interests and improved design system, confidentiality censorship on foreign patent applications and compulsory licensing system.
“The occasion when the third revised patent law came into effect was the vital moment when Chinese enterprises met financial crisis head-on and fight to extricate themselves from a plight. The third revised patent law brought hope for the struggling enterprises in the context of crisis,” Tian Lipu said.
Till now, China has formed its own patent legal system to protect domestic and foreign patent holders and created a better innovation and open environment.
Upgraded ability
Looking back the achievements since the 16th National Congress, particularly the 17th National Congress, Tian Lipu expressed with emotion that China’s IP work concentrated on the central work of CPC and the country, integrated into economic and social development and contributed to the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics and party building. He noted that China’s IP ability was greatly upgraded on the basis of the gradually improved IP policy and regulation system.
Tian Lipu believed that in recent years, the raise of China’s IPR creation ability was especially noticeable. In 2011, SIPO received 1,633,000 pieces of patent applications from home and overseas, 6.5 times the amount in 2002. Among these received patent applications, invention patent applications were 526,000 pieces, surpassing the number of the United States for the first time and topping the world; domestic invention patent grants were 112,000 pieces, ranking the second in the world; domestic invention patent grants accounted for 65.3% of the annual invention patent grants. Meanwhile, last year, China filed 16,406 pieces of PCT patent applications, ranking the fourth in the world. As of the end of this September, invention patents for every ten thousand people reached 3.02 pieces.
“The SIPO continuously enhanced IP protection and effectively organized special enforcement actions in Beijing Olympic Games, Shanghai World Expo and Guangzhou Asian Games,” Tian Lipu stated. In particular, it is worth mentioning that during the period from October 2010 to June 2011, the IP sections across the nation launched a nine-month-long special campaign against IP violation and the manufacture and distribution of shoddy products, which effectively curbed IP infringement.
On the occasion of the open of the 18th National Congress, Tian Lipu unfeignedly expressed, “standing on the new starting point, we have the feeling that the development of IP cause is the main support in transforming economic development mode and pushing the building of innovation-based country. We have a great responsibility but the mission is glorious.”
