April 26 this year was the first World Intellectual Property Day China embraces after its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) last year.  The Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) proposed Encouraging Creativity as the theme for this year.  Reflecting upon this theme, intellectual property administrations and other governmental or non-governmental agencies around the nation conducted various kinds of activities to educate intellectual property protection to the public.

The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) specially edited a pictorial titled Illustrated Intellectual Property ABCs and sent it in both paper and poster forms along with the custom-made publicity CD-ROMs elaborating the origin of the World Intellectual Property Day to the local administrations.  Encouraging Creativity, a TV talk show, jointly hosted by the Office and China's National Television, China Central Television (CCTV) was broadcasted nationally to give the public a clear idea what invention and innovation meant to the society and to inspire them to create.  The Office also conducted surveys on the China Intellectual Property News and Legal Daily to study the degree of public's awareness on intellectual property.  The information acquired from these surveys would be considered for the Office's future public education work.  

The activities implemented by the local administrations were also diverse and public-oriented.  The Beijing Intellectual Property Administration sent experts for free consultation to the Wang Fu Jing Pedestrian Street, the busiest shopping street in the downtown area of Beijing.  The administration also displayed posters and other exhibits on intellectual property and distributed books to high school students.  The Wang Fu Jing Bookshop, one of the largest bookshops in the nation carried a dedicated intellectual property book show in their establishment.  The Channel 3 of the Beijing TV Station televised a large-scale call-in Q & A program, inviting intellectual property experts to answer questions from audience.  The Jiang Su Provincial Intellectual Property Administration issued a guideline to its braches on how to conduct publicity activities for the World Intellectual Property Day.  The Yi Chang Intellectual Property Office in Hu Bei Province, in connection with the University of Three Gorges, Yi Chang Administration for Industry and Commerce and Yi Chang News and Publication Bureau organized intellectual property workshops and put inquiry stands on local streets. 

The State General Administration for Industry and Commerce and CCTV jointly made a TV program Click Trademark and rolled it on the prime time on April 26.  The State General Customs Administration sent a memo to its regional offices asking them to actively organize and participate local April 26 activities.  It also emphasized on commending how some state-owned companies reaped notable profits from the protection of their own well-known trademarks.  The National Administration for the Protection of Environment forwarded the SIPO-issued notice of public awareness survey to its affiliated institutions, China Academy of Environmental Science, Nan Jing Academy of Environmental Science, Southern China Academy of Environmental Science and China General Station for Environmental Monitoring, urging them to assist SIPO in conducting the survey. 

2002-05-10

2002-05-10