Oct.12 (China IP News) -- "It is my fourth time to come to China. Every time I came here, I was deeply shocked at what was in sight,"said INPI Commissioner Yves Lapierre who came to China to participate the 29th joint conference on IPR between China and France. He was deeply touched by the outstanding achievements China had made in IPR since he took office six years ago. He believed that such achievements have constantly promoted the IP cooperation between the two countries.

Yves Lapierre has visited Zhongguancun of Beijing. For many Chinese start-ups, the France appeals equally to them. In fact, as an important member of European and EU, France has long history in IP protection. Like many countries, France has made concerted efforts in the formulation of laws and regulations, and made IPR to become engine in facilitating economic growth. "The Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property, the first international convention for IPR protection, was signed in the international diplomatic conference held in Paris in 1883. Currently, in a bid to lower the costs of patent filing and inspire innovation, EU has been making efforts to establish a unified patent system and patent court, and France has played an important role in this process, " Yves Lapierre added.

"As a vital link for commercializing innovation achievements into productive force, IPR is the key to equal cooperation among innovators, "said Yves Lapierre. China has become the biggest country in invention patent filing and trademark registration for many years, and the Chinese government has made efforts in protecting innovation, making innovation becoming the master impulse of development. The development of Internet economy, however, gave rise to the widespread of infringement and counterfeiting goods in the global market. Therefore, it is important to beef up international cooperation on IP field. He suggests that great efforts should be made by international community to create a sound IP protection environment and crack down on infringement and counterfeiting goods.

For more than thirty years, the IP cooperation between the two countries has been fruitful. Within the framework of comprehensive strategy partnership between the two countries, such cooperation has been progressing smoothly. The two sides have conducted pragmatic cooperation on law measures, IP service, local IP works and staff training. According to The Minutes of Talks of 29th Sino-French Joint Committee Meetings, the cooperation between the two sides would be further strengthened. "Building on the achievements of previous rounds of talks, we will push forward bilateral relations to grow in a more pragmatic way. For instance, we will help the companies of two countries to better use and protect IPR, and facilitate innovation to develop in a high quality way by conducting cooperation on IP finance service, patent quality evaluation and big date use," said Yves Lapierre.

"IPR is not only a legal tool for companies to protect their innovations, but also boasts an important links to facilitate economic development. Both INPI and SIPO recognize that IPR is the pillar for innovative development. I hope great efforts would be made to inject fresh energy to the cooperation between the two sides," Yves Lapierre adds. (by Wang Yu)