Patents given

China approved 58,000 patents last year, with more than half being granted to foreigners, according to the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO).

SIPO last year authorized 33,000 patents, or 56.6 percent of the total, to overseas applicants. The rise of patent applications from overseas shows that China's market is drawing increasing attention from other countries since China's entry into the World Trade Organization, says SIPO spokesman Yin Xintian.

SIPO director Tian Lipu says although China has granted a large number of intellectual property rights (IPR), domestic IPR competitiveness and innovation capability is still far behind those of developed countries. Research and development investment of large and medium-sized domestic corporations accounted for 0.71 percent of their annual turnover on average, much lower than the average five percent in developed countries.

Concerned over IPR

A recent survey from the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (CAEFI) shows that IPR-related issues have been a vital factor for decision-making in enterprises with foreign investment.

The survey, conducted by the Brand Protection Committee under CAEFI, indicates that 68 percent of the multinational enterprises questioned believe that IPR is one of the three problems for doing business in China and trademark infringement is their primary concern.

Furthermore, 74 percent of enterprises among them regarded online trademark infringement as a very serious problem.

Zhang Wei'an, president of the Brand Protection Committee, says the Chinese Government has made contributions to IPR protection in 2006, however, there is still a lot of work to do in future. He hopes that through joint efforts by the government and the public, IPR infringement can be prevented and China can make more progress in IPR protection in 2007.

Copyright software

China Computer World (CCW) Research unveiled a report called the "Copyright Software's Value to Enterprises" in Beijing recently.

The report emphasized the importance and benefits of using copyright software for the development and smooth operation of enterprises.

Copyright software products are more expensive to acquire than pirated counterparts. But the total cost of ownership of copyright software is much lower in the long run, CCW Research says.

Reporting piracy

The National Copyright Administration (NCA) is planning to construct a surveillance platform of digital copyright to promote copyright administrative enforcement and set up awards for reporting piracy, in order to develop a mechanism of administrative enforcement and social surveillance.

NCA asked copyright administrations at all levels to balance the relation between administrative enforcement and criminal judicatory, strengthen the investigation of major cases through coordination and cooperation with judicial departments, and transfer piracy crimes to judicial departments in accordance with related laws and regulations to prohibit acts of imposing a fine instead of criminal punishment.

Progress on rights protection

Since the implementation of an IPR promotion project in August 2004, preliminary progress has been made in the national defense industry, which indicates that the IPR promotion project has played an important role in enhancing innovative ability and core competitiveness, according to the Commission of Science and Technology Industry for National Defense.

The commission says during the past two more years, the quality and quantity of IPR has greatly increased the national defense industry and core competitiveness has been strengthened, IPR publicity activities have been widely held and the social awareness of IPR protection has been enhanced, and great efforts have been made in science and technology achievements.

Science initiatives

China will promote a manned space flight, lunar exploration and a number of other science and technology initiatives in 2007, said Minister of Science and Technology, Xu Guanhua, on January 29.

"These key projects are vital to upgrading China's innovation capacity and consequently its economic competitiveness," says the minister.

The ministry will invite experts to discuss budget requirements and the feasibility of these projects. Several projects will get underway by the end of this year, says Xu.

Large planes, a new generation of wireless communications and exploration of large oil and gas fields will also be high on the government's agenda.

Global legal conference

An international conference on globalization and the protection of IPR has been held recently in Beijing.

About 120 domestic and overseas high-profile legal experts participated in the conference and exchanged views on topics such as the globalization of IPR, protection and management of intellectual property in a global economy, antitrust policy, the enforcement of IPR in China, International Trade Commission Proceedings in the United States, and judicial enforcement of IPR in the United States.

The conference was sponsored by Kenyon & Kenyon LLP USA, National Economic Research Associates, Inc, USA, and was held by the Civil, Commercial and Economic Law School at China University of Political Science and Law.

(China Daily 02/05/2007 page9)