Source: China IP News

"I am delighted to be here, on my third visit to China. China and the UK realise the importance of IP, and cooperation between the two countries has deepened over the years. The IP symposium gives us the opportunity to engage and share information with each other for mutual development. I think it is of much significance," said Pippa Hall, Director of Innovation and Chief Economist at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the UK, in an interview with China Intellectual Property News when attending the fifth China-UK IP Symposium in Beijing.
China and the UK have kept sound cooperative relations in the field of IP. The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the IPO of the UK have conducted fruitful cooperation in high-level visits, joint symposiums, and technical IP exchanges since the signing of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in 1996. This relationship has brought tangible benefits to industries and innovators in both countries. 

"Much like China, the UK economy is transforming to a knowledge-based one. As a result, intangible IP is a core asset of many businesses. The IPO of the UK is exploring ways businesses may secure financial loans, using their IP as collateral so that they may have the same chances to develop as the traditional companies," she said. 

In Hall's view, factors such as IP valuation can impact enterprises' ability to use their IP rights as collateral when seeking finance. In light of these problems, the IPO of the UK has discussed financing with banks and insurance companies about how to remove these barriers to facilitate the ability of IP-intensive businesses to access growth funding.

"I have discovered that China has made great progress in IP financing. We need to strengthen cooperation to break through these challenges, and raise the importance of IP in financing innovative and creative companies," said Hall.

In a bid to build a climate for creativity and ensure that the innovation of individuals and companies can create value, the IPO of the UK has rolled out measures to improve small enterprises' IP awareness.

"In the UK, many enterprises think that IP has nothing to do with their development. Instead, they only relate IP with law and technologies. We need to change their mind. The IPO of the UK pays much attention to raising IP awareness amongst children and young adults in the education sector.  Raising the importance of IP and IP protection from a young age is one of our missions," says Hall .

As the Director of Innovation and Chief Economist at the IPO UK, Hall is responsible for ensuring the policy-making work of the Office to focuse on key issues and formulating IP strategies and policies, facilitating British enterprises to join positively in IP activities.

"In order to support the development of small and medium enterprises, IPO of the UK is committed to providing a range of tools to build IP knowledge amongst businesses. For those unfamiliar with IP, we can deliver relevant training, provide guidance on their IP management and support improvements to their use of IP as an asset," said Hall. 

IP is an international topic. It is necessary for all countries to join in and coordinate with each other  to achieve global economic growth. Whether it is China or the UK, each country needs to value creativity and protect innovative products, ensuring the research and development can generate corresponding returns. "So we need to build a healthy and stable international IP system and balance interests of relevant parties. For one thing, it can make IP play the role in promoting economic development. For another, IP rights holders can realize the goal of constant growth by taking advantage of IP system resources," said Hall.