Nearing the 21st World Intellectual Property Day, Beijing Intellectual Property Office Meeting and the Information Office of Beijing Municipality jointly held a press conference on Beijing's IP protection on April 22.
Pan Xinsheng, spokesperson and deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Intellectual Property Office, released a white paper on IP protection of Beijing in 2020 at the press conference. Principals from the Municipal Intellectual Property Office, Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, Municipal Bureau of Copyright, Beijing Customs, Municipal General Law Enforcement Team of Cultural Market and the Municipal High People's Court answered the questions of reporters.
Beijing continued leading the country in comprehensive IP strength as a national pacesetter with an optimized business environment in 2020, according to the white paper.
Last year, Beijing granted 163,000 patents, including 63,000 new inventions, and registered 363,000 trademarks out of 565,000 applications. The number of copyright registration was 1.005 million, including 204,000 on software. The year also saw 88 newly patented plant species out of 564 applications. By the end of 2020, Beijing's number of patents per 10,000 people was 155.8, ranking first in China, and there were 2.223 million registered trademarks in total. A total of 13 specialties in Beijing had been approved as geographical indication products, including Pinggu peaches and Daxing watermelons. And a total of 52 enterprises had been approved to use the special marks of GI protection products.
Greater efforts were made in IP law enforcement to enhance juridical protection in 2020. The Municipal Intellectual Property Office totally handled 360 patent infringement cases, including 316 ones in e-commerce, 5 in exhibitions and 39 in administrative adjudication. A total of 1,723 IP infringement and counterfeiting cases were settled by market regulation administrations, with total fines and forfeits amounting 56 million yuan. The Municipal General Law Enforcement Team of Cultural Market inspected 18,000 websites, closed 13 involving copyright infringement, deleted 8,000 webpage links involving copyright infringement, and disposed more than 200,000 pirated books. The Publication Identification Center of the Municipal Bureau of Copyright totally issued 1,380 pieces of expert opinions. Beijing Customs seized 576,000 pieces of commodities in 2,728 batches suspicious of IP infringement. Courts at all levels accepted 66,710 IP-related civil and administrative cases and settled 66,973 ones. A total of 1,315 tip-offs and complaints on IPRs were received, including 856 on trademark rights, 234 on copyrights, 221 on patent rights and 4 on business secrets.
Last year, Beijing strengthened top-level design to optimize its IP-related policy environment. Full play was given to the function and role of the Municipal Intellectual Property Office Meeting to form a collective force for IP protection. A series of documents were issued to create a favorable business environment, including the Action Plan on Strengthening Intellectual Property Protection, Opinions on Enhancing Copyright Protection and Measures of Beijing Customs for Intellectual Property Protection. Administrative protection and juridical protection were effectively linked up, and patents, trademarks and GIs of origins were put under standardized management.
Beijing also deepened IP reforms to serve the development of the "two zones". Active efforts were made to build the demonstration zone for administrative adjudication of patent infringement disputes. The "Joint Oral Trial" system for disputes over patent infringement and confirmation and the technical analyst system were selected into the "national typical experience and practices of administrative adjudication of patent infringement disputes" by CNIPA and Ministry of Justice. Besides, IP insurance pilot programs were launched, covering 1,660 patents of 142 enterprises. The Municipal Intellectual Property Office totally established 83 centers and workstations for IP public services across the city, and quick and coordination protection was provided through the "one-stop" IP dispute settlement mechanism.
Characteristics as the capital city were highlighted in IP protection through a work mode of inter-department linkage. The Municipal Intellectual Property Office signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Intellectual Property Protection with Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, and issued the Opinions of Beijing Municipality on Strengthening Diversified Mediation of Intellectual Property Disputes with eight departments including the Municipal Justice Bureau. Last year, 15 people's mediation organizations for IP disputes totally accepted 10,070 IP disputes with a settlement rate of 63.32%. Based on the attitude of zero tolerance against IP infringement, Beijing launched a number of special operations through collective forces to provide IP protection for more than 20 large-scale exhibitions including the 2020 CIFTIS, and no compliant was received. Breakthroughs were also made in IP protection in new business forms and new fields. The "Copyright Blockchain" of the Municipal Bureau of Copyright and the "Tianping Blockchain" of Beijing Internet Court were synergized.
Supervision on the IP service industry was enhanced in 2020. The Municipal intellectual Property Office established a "double randomly" selective examination program targeted at IP agencies to improve the work instructions as well as the standardization of administrative law enforcement. Efforts were increased to promote regional coordinated development of IP cause and crack down on trans-provincial IP violations. Supervision and inspection on anti-epidemic supplies like masks and crackdown on epidemic-related IP crimes were also intensified.
Last year, Beijing also strengthened international IP exchanges and cooperation and supported enterprises to participate in international competition to improve IP influence. Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, the first international treaty established in China and named after a Chinese city, entered into force last year.(Translated from CNIPA Website Chinese Version)