China has done much in the past two years to regulate the markets.

But the efforts should focus more on supervising patent protection, as the patent market is in urgent need of rectification, said Ma Weiye, an official with the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).

The lack of awareness among inventors and patent holders concerning patent protection allows individuals and groups to infringe on patents or cheat in business activities.

Intellectual property rights (IPR) administrations should widen IPR education among inventors and patent holders, instructing them on how to effectively protect patents and their own interests, and what they should do when their patents are infringed, said Ma.

As well, he held that judicial departments should deliver more serious punishments to patent violators.

At present, patent violators are only required to cease their fraudulent activities and pay a fine of no more than 500,000 yuan (US$60,000), depending on the value and quantity of products involved and the length of the violation period.

This loose punishment has only encouraged violators to become bolder and continue committing infractions, said Ma.

Generally speaking, judicial departments do not deal with cases if IPR holders do not file lawsuits.

Yet administrative departments, such as the IPR supervision department, can watch the patent market and take administrative crackdowns to regulate the market any time even if IPR holders do not file suit.

Ma said that SIPO must update its methods of detection and enforcement of the patent market on an annual basis.

In recent years the number of major patent disputes has risen each year.

It may look like a negative development, but actually it reflects an increase in public awareness, said Ma.

He said that SIPO will also tighten annual checks on intermediary service agencies to confirm their qualifications.

Unqualified agencies will be punished or suspended.

In addition, Ma noted a lack of funds for transportation and uniforms in carrying out administrative supervision.

He suggested that the country should standardize uniforms for officials supervising the patent market to improve their professionalism so that people take them more seriously.

Sources from the SIPO reiterated that both domestic and overseas inventors can apply for patent protection at SIPO or regional IPR offices. If their intellectual property rights are infringed upon, they can bring lawsuits directly into the local people's courts.

The country's 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have all set up IPR tribunals in high people's courts.

Zhang Qin, vice-commissioner of the SIPO, said the market economy must operate under a more effective legal system.

Zhang said the country will further improve patent information services, informing the public which patents have been developed and registered and which have been published so that companies or research institutions can avoid overlapping work.

IPR education is always important, Zhang said, adding that more efforts will be made to increase IPR knowledge among officials at both the ministerial and provincial levels, as well as among patent agents, lawyers, judges, brokers and staff members from intermediary agencies.

According to Zhang, to bring more awareness of intellectual property rights to the general public, IPR courses will be offered to postgraduates at universities and colleges and lectures or TV programmes will be provided for primary and middle school students.

(China Daily 07/26/2004 page5)