Shen Changyu Published a Signed Article with People's Daily under the Title of Comprehensively Strengthening China's Intellectual Property Protection
Updated: 12 23,2020

Secretary of Party Committee and Commissioner of CNIPA    Shen Changyu

On November 30, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held its 25th collective study on strengthening China's intellectual property protection. General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the study and delivered an important speech. The speech is lofty in conception, profound in thoughts, rich in connotation, and clear in requirements. It fully reflects the great importance and earnest expectation for intellectual property protection and provides fundamental guidelines and action guidelines for comprehensively strengthening the intellectual property protection in China in the new era. This is an important milestone for the development of intellectual property in China.

Firstly, the great significance of the important speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping should be deeply understood 

1. Great political significance. The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a collective study on strengthening China's intellectual property protection, and General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech with a distinct political orientation. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that innovation is the primary driving force behind development, and protecting IPR is equal to protecting innovation. We should recognize the situation and tasks of China's intellectual property protection, summarize the achievements while identifying shortcomings, raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property protection, and in terms of strengthening the intellectual property protection, provide a strong guarantee for implementing new development concepts, building the new development pattern, and promoting high-quality development.

2. Great contemporary significance. Currently, China's intellectual property system is thoroughly implementing the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee and seriously planning China's intellectual property development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and the development for 2035 for the intellectual property business. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech provides us with the most authoritative, timely, systematic, and powerful guidance, which will profoundly influence the future reform and development of China's intellectual property business.

3. Great theoretical significance. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, which cuts across the theories, practices, and development of intellectual property protection at the past, present, and future, integrates the needs of domestic development and changes in the international situation, and profoundly clarifies a series of major theoretical issues in the field of intellectual property, with distinctive theoretical qualities and rich theoretical connotations.

4. Great strategic significance. Standing at the historical intersection of the Two Centenary Goals, General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech integrates both our domestic and international imperatives, points out the strategic direction of intellectual property protection in the new era, and makes strategic deployment. It will certainly lead China in comprehensively strengthening intellectual property protection, continuously optimize the innovation environment and business environment, and provide strong support for innovation-driven development and high-level opening to the outside world.

5. Great practical guidance significance. General Secretary Xi Jinping, having profoundly analyzed the situation facing the intellectual property protection, made six important instructions setting out the future course and sketching the blueprint for overall strengthening of the intellectual property protection. The speech has strong relevance and guidance that we need to implement it item by item.

Secondly, the core meaning of the important speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping should be deeply understood  

1. We should deeply understand what General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: to build a modern socialist country in a comprehensive way, it is necessary to proceed from the height of national strategy and the requirements of entering a new stage of development, to strengthen intellectual property protection comprehensively, promote the building of a modernized economy, stimulate the innovation vitality of the whole society, and promote the construction of a new development pattern. We should further enhance the sense of responsibility, mission, and urgency to properly protect intellectual property in the new era, consciously focus on the needs of national development, plan and promote intellectual property protection, and improve the relevance of the work.

2. We must deeply understand what General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: intellectual property protection relates to the modernization of China's governance system and capacity, high-quality development, people's happiness, the overall situation of the country's opening up to the outside world, and national security. We should grasp the relationship between intellectual property protection and all aspects of economic and social development, find the right role positioning, and play the proper role.

3. We should deeply understand what General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: China's intellectual property business has been developing continuously, and a path of intellectual property development with Chinese characteristics has been established, historic achievements have been made in the intellectual property protection, and the awareness of the entire society to respect and protect intellectual property has been significantly improved. The "historic achievements" in the development of the cause have inspired us to further heighten the “awareness of maintaining political integrity, thinking in big-picture terms, keeping the CPC as the core of leadership, and acting consistently with the policies of the CPC Central Committee”. We must have confidence in “our path, guiding theories, political system, and culture”and resolutely “defend the status of General Secretary Xi Jinping at the core of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party and defend the authority and leadership of the CPC Central Committee”. We will always follow the direction guided by the Party and adhere to the Party's leadership of the intellectual property business.

4. We must deeply understand what General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: China is changing from a big country of introducing IPR to a big country of creating IPR and from pursuing IPR quantity to improving IPR quality. We should clearly understand of the situation and tasks of China's intellectual property work, highlight the high-quality development, and vigorously improve the capability of independent innovation.

5. We should deeply understand what General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: we should adhere to the supremacy of the people's interests and fair and reasonable protection with China as dominant party; we should strictly protect intellectual property while ensuring public interests, and creating incentives for innovation. We should conscientiously practice the notion of people-centered development, in the process of strict intellectual property protection, effectively stimulate innovation, and maintain public interests.

6. We should deeply understand the six important instructions made by General Secretary Xi Jinping: to improve the top-level design for intellectual property protection, to make intellectual property protection more law-based, to strengthen the whole-chain intellectual property protection, to deepen the reform of intellectual property protection mechanisms and systems, to promote international cooperation and competition in intellectual property protection, and to safeguard national security in the field of intellectual property. We should grasp the focus of work, seize the key links, and achieve integrated promotion, and integrated implementation.

Thirdly, the spirit of the important speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping should be conscientiously implemented

Currently, China National Intellectual Property Administration is studying and implementing the spirit of the important speech of General Secretary Xi Jinping, actively doing a good job of propaganda and interpretation, formulating the opinions to be implemented, coordinating and introducing the plan for division of labor of the member units of the State Council Inter-Ministerial Joint Meeting for Implementing the Intellectual Property Right Strategy, and joining together to implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech. In particular, we should combine our own functions and seriously grasp the implementation.

1. Looking ahead to improve the top-level design for intellectual property protection. We will seriously study and create a national plan for intellectual property protection and application for the 14th Five-Year Plan period, specifying goals, tasks, measures, and a blueprint for implementation, and ensure that the plan meets the requirements of the central government, meets the expectations of the public and reflects the characteristics of the times. We will adhere to the principle of balancing the interests of rights holders and the public, and not only strictly protect intellectual property, but also prevent excessive expansion of rights. We will vigorously implement the patent quality improvement project to promote breakthroughs in key core technologies and support high-quality development.

2. Keeping pace with the times to make intellectual property protection more law-based. We will strictly implement the relevant provisions of the Civil Code while accelerating the improvement of relevant laws and regulations. We will work hard to revise the relevant implementation rules after the revision of the Patent Law, carry out a new round of research and demonstration on the revision of the Trademark Law, speed up the revision of the Provisions on the Protection of Geographical Indication Products, and carry out research on special legislation on geographical indications. We will promote the unification of intellectual property examination and authorization standards, infringement judgment standards, administrative enforcement standards, and judicial adjudication standards, strengthen patent, and trademark administrative enforcement guidance, and better play the role of administrative enforcement and protection.

3. Making concerted efforts to strengthen the whole-chain intellectual property protection. We will implement the "Opinions on Strengthening the Intellectual Property Protection" to a high standard and build a large protection work pattern. Work will be done to further improve the comprehensive management system of intellectual property and enhance the system's protection capability. We will strive to build a well-rounded IPR public service system, strengthen the construction of IPR-related information and intelligent infrastructures, and promote the integration of intellectual property protection online and offline. We will promote the construction of an integrity system in the field of intellectual property, strengthen propaganda education, and enhance the awareness of the entire society to respect and protect intellectual property.

4. Making sustainable innovation to deepen the reform of intellectual property protection mechanisms and systems. We will continuously make great efforts to implement a series of reforms and deployments of the Central Government on intellectual property protection since the 18th Party Congress to ensure the effectiveness of the reforms. More work will be done to improve the intellectual property examination system, promote the renewal of examination concepts, technical innovation and work innovation, so as to better meet the needs of the public. We will actively explore the establishment of a system for intellectual property protection in emerging fields to improve the intellectual property evaluation and ownership system.

5. Taking the initiative to promote international cooperation and competition in the field of intellectual property. We should adhere to the concept of the community of human destiny, deeply take part in the global intellectual property governance within the framework of the World Intellectual Property Organization, promote the improvement of international rules and standards concerning intellectual property and related international trade and investment fields, and push the global intellectual property governance system in a more just and equitable direction. We will strengthen foreign publicity of intellectual property and further establish a good image of China's strict intellectual property protection in accordance with the law in the international arena. We will also seriously study the new mechanism and mode of intellectual property cooperation in the Belt and Road under the environment of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control to better support the construction of the Belt and Road.

6. Holding on to the bottom line to safeguard national security in the field of intellectual property. We will strengthen the independent research, development and protection of core technologies related to national security, manage the transfers of IPR related to national security in accordance with the law. We should cooperate with the State Administration for Market Regulation to perform well in anti-monopoly work in the field of intellectual property, prevent the abuse of intellectual property, and promote the independent and orderly flow and efficient allocation of innovation factors. We will enhance the early warning of overseas intellectual property risks of our enterprises and assistance in the protection of their rights to resolutely safeguard their own development interests.  (Translated from CNIPA Website Chinese Version)