In 2006, the scale of international cooperation on intellectual property was further expanded, with a constant elevation of the level of cooperation and diversifi cation of cooperative forms.

1. Activities Involved in WIPO and UPOV

On the basis of strengthening communication and coordination with relevant departments, the Office has organized and participated extensively in a series of activities of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). At relevant discussions and consultations, the Office appropriately expressed its stance and views.

The Office has conducted a series of cooperation and exchange activities with the WIPO, including WIPO National Roving Seminars on PCT in Beijing, Harbin, Nanjing, Qingdao, Chengdu and other places and the Seminar on the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs in Shenzhen. A High-Level Seminar on Intellectual Property for Central and Northeast China were held in Hunan Province, China and in Geneva, Switzerland. The WIPO Inter-regional Seminar on Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions and Genetic Resources was held successfully in Henan. WIPO High-level Roundtable on Intellectual Property Enforcement was held in Beijing.

 

2. Cooperation with European Countries and Organizations

To further consolidate and develop relations with intellectual property institutions of major European countries, the European Patent Office and EU, the Office has established a new cooperative relationship with the Danish Patent and Trademark Office, Eurasian Patent Office and the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market of the European Community (OHIM).

Tian Lipu, Commissioner of the Office, accompanying Premier Wen Jiabao in a visit to Germany, attended the Symposium on the 25th Anniversary of Cooperation between SIPO and GPTO. He and Dr. Jürgen Schade, President of the German Patent and Trademark Office, signed a bilateral cooperation summary in 2007. Commissioner Tian Lipu and President Alain Pompidou of the European Patent Office, hosted the 17th Joint Committee Meeting of the two offices in Munich. The cooperation of the two offices has been further strengthened. The Office also held ministerial talks with Denmark, the Unite Kingdom, France, Russia, Austria and other countries and signed summaries of the talks and cooperation plans.

In 2006, Ron Marchant, Chief Executive of the United Kingdom Patent Office; Dr. Jürgen Schade, President of the German Patent and Trademark Office, Dr. Boris Simonov, Director General of the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patent and Trademarks (ROSPATENT), Dr. Friedrich Rdler, President of the Austrian Patent Office, Mr. Jesper Kongstad, Director General of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office, and Mr. Wubbo de Boer, President of the Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market of the European Community (OHIM), visited the Office and attended the bi-lateral joint meetings or held cooperation talks. Peter Mandelson, EU Commissioner for Trade, Charlie McCreevy, EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Service, Martin Tlapa, Vice Minister of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, and Mr. Alfonso Gianni, State Secretary to the Italian Ministry for Economic Development visited the Office successively to discuss intellectual property issues of common concern.

In addition, the Office has also held 4 international seminars with the European Patent Office, the Italian Patent and Trademark Office and French National Institute of Industrial Property.

 

3. Cooperation with Americas, Oceania and Organizations in Those Regions

In 2006, the Office deepened development with the United States, Brazil, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries in the field of intellectual property. In February, Commissioner Tian Lipu and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office held the first formal talk in Washington and signed the Work Plan for Strategic Cooperation, which established a formal mechanism for regular meetings between the two offices. In April, Commissioner Tian accompanied the Chinese government delegation led by Vice Premier Wu Yi and took part in the 17th China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade held in the United States. Deputy Commissioners Zhang Qin and Xing Shengcai respectively led delegations to the United States and Brazil to learn the IP strategy formulation as well as the status of cooperation with U.S. colleges and universities.

In 2006, many delegations from the United States government and the private sector visited the Office, including United States Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Assistant Secretary of Justice Thomas Barnet, United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Jon W. Dudas, and Deputy Director Stephen M. Pinkos, United States Chamber of Commerce, the China American Chamber of Commerce, the Business Software Alliance, the Intellectual Property Owners Association, the Lawyer Association, the International Intellectual Property Alliance, Pfizer, IBM, DuPont, Ebay, and Johnson & Johnson.

In September, David Tobin, Commissioner of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office visited the Office. The two Commissioners held talks and signed a memorandum on cooperation, which represented the start of full-scale cooperation between the two offices. The director-generals of IP Australia and New Zealand Intellectual Property Office and Commissioner Tian of the Office held talks in Geneva. IP Australia also sent senior examiners to the Office to conduct an in-depth exchange of examination practice. A delegation of utility model of was dispatched by the Office to Australia and New Zealand to carry out exchanges in the relevant field.

4. Cooperation with Asian Countries

In the multilateral cooperation with Asian countries, the Office strengthened exchange and cooperation with the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). It also expanded cooperation with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, promoting regional cooperation in Asia. On December 4th, the Sixth Trilateral Policy Dialogue Meetings among the Commissioners of SIPO, JPO and KIPO was held in the Office. Commissioner Tian chaired the meeting, and Commissioners of JPO and KIPO, Mr. Nakajima Makoto and Mr. Jun Sang Woo headed their delegations to attend the meeting. The meeting set the mid-term objectives of the blueprint for the trilateral cooperation and signed a Record of Discussion. On December 20th, the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the Patent Office of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf came into effect. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in staff training, and search and examination of the PCT applications. In April, the Asian Regional Seminar on Patent Examination Practice was held for the first time in Beijing successfully, with 22 participants from 14 Asian countries.

To further expand the areas of bilateral cooperation. Commissioner Tian Lipu of the Office and Mr. Omorov Roman Omorovch, Director of State Agency on Intellectual Property of the Government of Kyrgyz Republic, signed in Beijing the Intellectual Property Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Kyrgyz Republic. Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation between China and Singapore (JCBC) held its third meeting in Beijing. The cooperation of China and Singapore in the field of intellectual property was galvanized in the framework of cooperation between the two governments. Commissioner Tian led a delegation to Vietnam and signed an Agreement of Cooperation on Intellectual Property between the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China and the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam, unveiling Sino-Vietnamese cooperation in intellectual property. The offices in China and Mongolian co-hosted China-Mongolia Seminar on IP Legal System for the first time in Beijing. The Patent Law of two the countries will be translated into Chinese and Mongolian for publication. Deputy Commissioners Dr. Li Yuguang and He Hua respectively led delegations to the intellectual property institutions of Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, the Laos and the ASEAN Secretariat. Those visits established new bilateral cooperation relations in intellectual property. In addition, the Office actively conducted cooperation with Singapore, Thailand and other countries.

The Office received numerous delegations of enterprises and trade associations from Japan, South Korea, and other countries to dispel their confusion and explain China's stance, views and relevant measures. At the same time the Office cooperated with Korean and Japanese enterprises to organize meetings for technical briefings, which facilitated the Chinese examiners' understanding of the latest development in technologies.

2013-07-17