Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good Morning!

I am very pleased to be present at today's news conference.  Firstly, I would like to announce to you, that in six days, the "Intellectual Property Protection Publicity Week" will commence, in which the main theme is to "respect intellectual property and maintain market order".  This will be a large-scale activity for publicizing and protecting intellectual property rights, specially organized in China for celebrating the "World Intellectual Property Day".  We may say that the news conference today is the beginning of this activity.

The Chinese government has always attached great importance to strengthening intellectual property protection.  The annual governmental report explicitly demonstrates that we should "further strengthen intellectual property protection, combat and punish piracy and infringement by the law".  As a result, the government has put the fight against counterfeit production and sales and protection of intellectual property on its top work agenda in the year 2004 for rectification and standardization of the national market and economic order.  Protecting intellectual property is not only the necessity for China to comply with its promises made in its accession to WTO, but also the needs of expanding opening-up and introducing foreign investment and advanced technologies. Above all, it is also the inherent demand of the country in its economic development and comprehensive social progress.

On the occasion of the forthcoming "World Intellectual Property Day", nine governmental agencies under the State Council will jointly launch a large-scale campaign for publicizing intellectual property and combating infringement across the nation.  It aims at further promoting public awareness of intellectual property and creating gradually a favorable social environment for protection of intellectual property.

Respectively in the year 2000 and 2001, China revised its major intellectual property laws and regulations, such as the Patent Law, the Trademark Law, the Copyright Law, and the Regulations on Protection of Computer Software.  It also formulated and promulgated the Regulations on Protection of the Layout Design of Integrated Circuits.  Those laws and regulations expand the scope and force of protection of intellectual property. They also increase the rights of right holders and intensify the force of judicial and administrative law enforcement.  As a whole, those intellectual property laws and regulations are already in conformity with the TRIPs agreement of the WTO.

The year 2003 witnessed the new progress achieved by the Chinese government in intellectual property protection. During the year, China's intellectual property system was further perfected. A number of regulations and administrative protection measures were promulgated, such as the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Customs Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, the Implementing Measures on Copyright Administrative Sanction, the Measures on Implementation of Compulsory Patent License and Measures on Administration of Patent Agencies. In addition, China has also amended or abolished some other regulations or rules that do not consist with the WTO rules. Thus, China successfully passed the WTO review and transitional review of its intellectual property system and practice.

In 2003, the number of patent applications in China exceeded 300,000, while the number of filings for product and service trademark amounted to over 450,000. In the field of copyright administration, major achievements were also scored in the same year. Moreover, the Regulations on Protection of Plant Varieties saw significant and new progress in its implementation.  In the year 2003, the law enforcement system for intellectual property protection in China was further improved. In enforcing the law, China has adopted "Dual Channels and Coordinated Operation" mechanism, characterized by both judicial trial and administrative protection.  Practice over the past two decades has proven that this mechanism has been very effective, owning to the fact that it is in full accordance with China's national conditions.  With regard to the latest situation of China's intellectual property protection, I am not going into details right now, because we are to provide you with detailed materials in written on the intellectual property protection situation in 2003.

Now, Mr. Wang Ziqiang, the Spokesman of the National Copyright Administration, Mr. An Qinqhu, the Director General of the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and I myself are very pleased to answer your questions.

2004-04-14

2004-04-14