As an important cooperation project between China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and European Patent Office (EPO), an international seminar, jointly sponsored by SIPO and EPO, began in Beijing on August.7 entitled as “Asia’s Traditional Knowledge: Development of Asian Patent Index Database”. Mr. Xing Shengcai, Vice Commissioner of SIPO, attended the seminar.

Mr. Xing said in his speech to the attendants that protection to traditional knowledge is an important issue and has attracted wide concern from the international community and many governments. Developing countries, especially countries in Asia like China, enjoy rich traditional knowledge (including the traditional medicine) and historical heritage. Proper and sufficient protections to the knowledge is quite necessary, the seminar is therefore of great significance for the protection.

The 3-day-long seminar covers such international topics as protection to traditional knowledge and its progress, legal protection from existed IP system and relevant systems, and some regions, including the experience exchange in protecting traditional knowledge in China, Mexico and ASEAN countries, the application database of traditional medicine and protection of traditional literature.

Senior specialists from China, Australia, Mexico, ASEAN countries attend the seminar and give their presentations.