On November 10th, the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) successfully concluded. According to data, the annual intended turnover of transactions reached a record high of 78.41 billion U.S. dollars. At the 6th CIIE, more than 400 new products, technologies and services were unveiled. As important support for these new products, technologies and services, intellectual property rights (IPRs) created new opportunities for the innovative development of global enterprises.
Strengthening protection, boosting development confidence
Boehringer Ingelheim, a familyowned pharmaceutical company in Germany, made its fifth CIIE presence with a strong lineup of eight human drugs and innovative products for animal health. "With full trust in the potential and resilience of the Chinese market, and great appreciation for China's ever-improving business environment, we are willing to take root in China and grow with the Chinese market," said Pavol Dobrocky, President and CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim Greater China. "High-standard IPR protection has boosted our confidence in innovating and operating in China."
At the new development stage, China has aligned itself with international high-standard IPR rules and comprehensively strengthened IPR protection, creating an open, fair, impartial and non-discriminatory environment for innovation-driven development.
On the one hand, China has continuously enhanced legal guarantee for IPR protection. The Civil Code has established major legal principles for IPR protection; laws and regulations such as the Patent Law and the Trademark Law have set up the higheststandard punitive damages system, the system of administrative adjudication on major patent infringement disputes and other systems. On the other hand, China has protected the IPRs of foreign-funded enterprises on a non-discriminatory and equal basis. This August, the State Council issued the Opinions on Further Optimizing the Foreign Investment Environment and Stepping up Efforts to Attract Foreign Investments, to intensify the administrative enforcement of IPR laws and promote fair competition.
Promoting application, enriching commercialization results
With an average annual R&D investment of more than 120 million yuan, "Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit" and "Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit" show the sincerity of Zespri Group Limited (Zespri) to develop the Chinese market. "Protecting the right to new varieties of plants is an important move of Zespri to balance inputs and outputs, and stimulate innovation," said Bruce Cameron, Chairman of the Board of Zespri. "In our in-depth contact with the Chinese market, we've seen China's determination and ability to protect IPRs, including the right to new varieties of plants, as well as China's robust measures for promoting the application of IPRs, which have inspired us and boosted our confidence in pursuing sustained development in China."
How to promote the high- yield commercialization and use of IPRs is also a concern of foreign-funded enterprises that pursue sustainable development in China.
The Special Action Plan for Patent Commercialization and Utilization (2023-2025) issued by the General Office of the State Council this October proposed that overseas patentee and foreign-funded enterprises should be encouraged to commercialize patents under the principle of marketization. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will work with relevant departments to improve the mechanism of communication with foreign-funded enterprises, protect the IPRs of them in strict accordance with law, and offer them better IPR services. In the meantime, CNIPA will encourage various countries to rely on the IPR cooperation mechanism among China, the U.S., Europe, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the BRICS IPR cooperation mechanism, as well as relevant forums and exhibitions, to promote dialogues with the industry, as well as the trading and commericialization of patented technologies and products under the principle of marketization and legalization.
Deepening cooperation, integrating innovation elements
Siemens Healthineers brought more than 20 new products and solutions to the 6th CIIE. "We are pleased to see China's formal accession to the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs in 2022, which enables more convenient design protection for medical devices; the CNIPA-EPO Pilot for ISA (International Search Authority) Files has also greatly facilitated international patent applications (under the PCT) by Siemens Healthineers and other European enterprises in China," said Pu Zhengrong, Vice President of Siemens Healthineers Greater China.
Westwell Holdings (Hong Kong China) Limited showcased Q-Tractor, an all-time driverless new energy commercial vehicle starring in The Wandering Earth II; and Q-Truck, a driverless new energy tractor. To accelerate its global operations, Westwell has made the most of the Madrid system of trademark registration to promote its brand globally.
In recent years, China has continuously deepened international IPR exchanges and cooperation. China has established IPR cooperative ties with more than 80 countries and regions and international organizations around the world, constantly expanded the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) cooperation network that now connects 32 countries. In addition, China has pushed for the improvement of international IPR rules and standards, continuously established and improved foreign-related work mechanisms under international treaties, and gained more international recognition in terms of examination standards and conclusions. These measures and outcomes have provided critical support for the "inviting in" and "venturing out" of innovation elements.