GuYekai, People’s Daily
China recently issued a guideline calling for intensified protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).
Titled “The Guideline on Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Protection”, the document proposed a series of innovative measures to protect IPR, and clearly emphasized the goal of achieving strict, widespread, fast and equal IPR protection.
In recent years, China has made increasing efforts to strengthen IPR protection. From 2013 to 2018, the country investigated and prosecuted 269,000 patent infringement and counterfeiting cases and 201,000 trademark infringement and counterfeiting cases.
In the first half of the year, China advanced patent and trademark administrative law enforcement, investigating and prosecuting 6,529 cases of patent infringement and counterfeiting, and 11,500 trademark violations.
The document calls for strengthening the punishment for infringements and counterfeiting, regulating evidence collection, intensifying law enforcement measures and improving the protection system for new business forms.
Wu Handong, honorary director of the intellectual property research center with Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, said the documenthas improved the policy framework on stricter IPR protection through giving more play to the role of institutional constraints.
Meanwhile, through pushing for the revision of the Patent Law, the Trademark Law and the Copyright Law, the document provides a legal guarantee for stricter IPR protection.
Through the Internet plus IPR protection initiative, China has built a convenient, efficient, and low-cost channel for rights protection. In December 2018, 38 Chinese ministries and departments launched the joint punishment of serious IPR infringements. Besides, through innovating the IPR protection mechanism, the country has significantly improved the capability and efficiency of IPR protection.
The document also calls for greater efforts on the monitoring of IPR-related law enforcement, promoting an IPR governance system in the whole society, and providing professional support for IPR protection.
Sun Jungong, vice president of Alibaba, said IPR protection should involve the efforts of governments, owners of intellectual property, and e-commerce platforms, to share governance information and technologies, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win benefits through joint collaboration.
In the first half of 2019, China shortened the invention patent review period to 22.7 months, and high-value patent review period to 20.5 months, and reduced the average review period for trademark registration to no more than5 months. The country is seeing improving efficiency and quality in intellectual property review and strengthening IPR source protection.
In recent years, China has made globally acknowledged achievements in IPR protection. The level of social satisfaction with IPR protection in China climbed from a score of 63.69 to 76.88 between 2012 and 2018.
The number of non-resident IPR applications, a weathervane that reflects a country’s intellectual property protection level, maintained continuous growth over the past years.
In the first half of the year, the number of foreign invention patent applications in China reached 78,000, up 8.6 percent year on year. The number of foreign trademark applications in China reached 127,000, an increase of 15.4 percent year on year.
China will make greater efforts to step up international cooperation in IPR protection, facilitate communication between domestic and foreign rights holders, provide support in overseas IPR disputes, and improve coordination and information acquisition mechanism, according to the document.
Song Hefa, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that China gives equal IPR protection to various entity and individual right owners, and doesn’t treat disputed right holdersof different nature, types, sources and sizes differently ordiscriminate against them.
The country also gives equal treatment to domestic and foreign companies, big and small companies, state-owned and private companies, and universities and scientific research institutes, and non-profit organizations in terms of IPR protection.
Experts pointed out that strengthening intellectual property protection is the most important part of improving the property right protection system and the biggest incentive to improve China’s economic competitiveness.
With the implementation of a series of innovative measures, China will improve intellectual property protection capacity and level in a comprehensive manner.
中国加快知识产权保护
人民日报记者谷业凯
《关于强化知识产权保护的意见》（以下简称《意见》）日前印发，提出一系列有针对性的创新举措，明确要求实行知识产权“严保护、大保护、快保护、同保护”，对中国进一步加强知识产权保护作出全面部署。
近年来，我国知识产权保护力度不断加大。2013年—2018年共查处专利侵权假冒案件26.9万件、商标侵权假冒案件20.1万件。今年上半年，全国专利、商标行政执法办案实现综合执法，共查处专利侵权假冒案件6529件，查处商标违法案件1.15万件。
《意见》要求，加大侵权假冒行为惩戒力度、严格规范证据标准、强化案件执行措施、完善新业态新领域保护制度。中南财经政法大学知识产权研究中心名誉主任吴汉东认为，“通过强化制度约束来确立知识产权‘严保护’政策导向，加快修改完善专利法、商标法、著作权法等，确保了‘严保护’具有合法性。”
通过“互联网+”对侵权行为实时监测，为社会提供便捷、高效、低成本的维权渠道；2018年12月，38个部委开展对知识产权（专利）领域严重失信行为的联合惩戒，使严重失信者一处受罚、处处受限……创新知识产权保护机制，中国知识产权保护能力和效率大幅提升。
《意见》要求，加大执法监督力度、建立健全社会共治模式、加强专业技术支撑。阿里巴巴集团副总裁孙军工表示：“知识产权保护体系应当推动包括政府、权利人、电子商务平台等在内的多方主体共享治理信息和治理技术，以协同共治实现互利共赢。”
2019年上半年，中国发明专利审查周期为22.7个月，高价值专利审查周期为20.5个月，商标注册平均审查周期压减到5个月以内……知识产权审查质量和审查效率进步明显，知识产权的源头保护加强。
近年来，中国知识产权保护成效得到国际社会广泛认可。知识产权保护社会满意度由2012年63.69分提升到2018年76.88分。非本国居民知识产权申请量是反映一个国家知识产权水平的“风向标”，这一数字多年来持续增长：2019年上半年，国外在华发明专利申请量达7.8万件，同比增长8.6%；国外在华商标申请量12.7万件，同比增长15.4%……
《意见》要求，更大力度加强国际合作、健全与国内外权利人沟通渠道、加强海外维权援助服务、健全协调和信息获取机制。中科院科技战略咨询研究院研究员宋河发分析，“同保护”是对各类主体和个人实行平等的知识产权保护，不因诉争主体的性质、类型、来源、大小而区别对待、歧视对待；也是对内外资企业、大中小企业、国有集体民营企业，高校科研机构、非营利组织等市场主体和个人知识产权权益一视同仁的保护。
专家指出，加强知识产权保护，是完善产权保护制度最重要的内容，也是提高中国经济竞争力的最大激励。随着一系列创新举措的落地实施，中国知识产权保护能力和保护水平将进一步全面提升。
