The year of 2009 was the key year to fully initiate the implementation of the national intellectual property (IP) strategy of China.  The IP legislation work achieved new development, which further improved the IP system; the capabilities of examination and registration of intellectual property rights (IPRs) were prominently enhanced with new breakthroughs; the IP administrative enforcement was promoted and the trans-departmental cooperation was enhanced; the key role of judicial enforcement in IP protection was strengthened with various work entering a new stage; the construction of IP related mechanism and system was further promoted and improved; the IP publicity work was effective and reached a new level; the IP training work continued its progress and displayed a new outlook; and the IP international exchange and cooperation was further developed.

I. New Progress Achieved in the IP Legislation Work

In 2009, a series of IP laws, regulations and rules were formulated and revised according to the practical needs.  The IP legislation work in China made new achievements.

On October 1st, 2009, the Patent Law after the 3rd revision was implemented. On December 30th, 2009, the Decision on the Amendments of the Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (draft) was reviewed and passed. 

In 2009, the third revision of the Trademark Law continued to be pushed forward.  The revised version of the Trademark Law (for review) was submitted to the State Council.  Meanwhile, the formulation and amendments of other related regulations and rules including the Implementing Regulations of the Trademark Law, the Regulations on Trademark Commissioning, were carried out accordingly. 

In 2009, the revision work of the Copyright Law started.  The National Copyright Administration of China (NACA) amended and issued the Implementing Measures on Copyright Administrative Punishment.

II. IPR Examination and Registration Advanced Steadily with New Breakthroughs

In 2009, there were impressive breakthroughs in IPR examination and registration despite the financial crisis.  In 2009, patent applications maintained continuous and fast growth.  State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO) accepted 976,686 patent applications in 2009, up 17.9%.

 

877,611 of which were from home, representing 89.9% of the total and up 22.4%; 99.075 of which were from abroad, representing 10.1% of the total and the year?on?year decrease of 10.9%.

In 2009, Trademark Office (TMO) under the State Administration for Industry & Commerce of the People's Republic of China (SAIC) accepted 830,447 trademark applications, a year-on-year increase of 18.96%, which overtook the historical record of 766,300 applications in 2006 by 64,200 and ranked first in the world in eight consecutive years.

III. A New Prospect Opened up in the IP Administrative

Enforcement

In 2009, Chinese IP administrative enforcement authorities opened up a new prospect in administrative protection of IPRs through strict enforcement according to laws and in line with their respective administrative functions.

In 2009, local IP administrations across the country received a total of 937 patent disputes concerning infringement and 26 of other types.  30 cases related to counterfeiting patents and 548 cases regarding passing off patents were investigated and dealt with.

IV. A New Stage Entered in the Judicial Protection of IPRs

In 2009, people's courts at all levels across China strengthened judicial protection of IPRs and made new achievements in trial of IPR cases with a strong sense of responsibility.

The number of IPR civil cases continued its rapid increase.  In 2009, courts at various levels received 30,626 first instance IPR civil cases and concluded 30,509 ones.

In 2009, local courts concluded 3,660 IPR criminal cases. In 2009, local courts received 2,072 first-instance IPR administrative cases and concluded 1,971 ones. 

In 2009, the procuratorate organs nationwide accepted 1,492 arrest approval applications related to IP criminal cases with 2,667 suspects involved in, up 6.0% and 3.9% respectively.

V. New Achievements Made in the Construction of IP Enforcement Mechanism

In 2009, the IPR-related agencies made new achievements by strengthening coordination, improving administration, and continuously promoting mechanism construction.

In 2009, SIPO further strengthened communication and cooperation with related agencies and continuously improved the trans-agency enforcement cooperation mechanism.  SIPO, jointly with 28 member agencies under the trans-ministerial joint meeting mechanism for implementing the national intellectual property strategy, issued the China's Action Plan on Intellectual Property Protection 2009.

VI. IP Publicity Reached to a Higher Level

2009 witnessed the effective publicity and the development of favorable climate for IP protection by IP departments which centered on key programs and take advantage of important events like "World IP Day" with innovative measures and forms.

Collaborating with 24 ministries and administrations, SIPO led the 2009 National IPR Publicity Week themed with "Culture, Strategy, Development" shortly before the World IP Day.

SAIC launched extensive publicity activities to raise the public awareness of trademark strategy in line with the implementation of trademark strategy.  NCAC was devoted to the higher level of publicity via the National IPR Publicity Week and key festivals and events. Customs at all levels launched IPR protection publicity programs based on current economic climate and the functions of its branches.　MOA launched a series of publicity programs―the 3rd National Agricultural Forum on Intellectual Property.

VII. IP Training Showed New Outlook

In 2009, IP training developed further and professional development took new shape.

SIPO continued to advance the BaiQianWan IP Talents Program for the development of IP professionals with high quality. SIPO also collaborated with local governments, universities and institutions to develop IP training modes, integrated resources, and establish IP professional training bases.

SAIC intensified the training for trademark strategy. It established the Training Program for Heads of Local Administration for Industry and Commerce in Trademark Strategy and delivered a series of training for the heads above municipal level in trademark strategy.

NCAC and the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee jointly held Workshop on National Copyright Affairs to train the local officials in charge of copyright affairs.

VIII. New Development Scored in the International IP Exchange and Cooperation

In 2009, the international cooperation in the IP field made new developments by further improving the multilateral and bilateral cooperation mechanisms, expanding the cooperation means and scope, and increasing the cooperation level.  

SIPO continued to coordinate and organize relevant agencies to actively participate in the negotiation and discussion of international intellectual property affairs, deepened the cooperation in the IP field with international organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and other countries and regions, and promoted the overall development of international cooperation in the IP field. 

In 2009, SAIC dispatched participants to join several bilateral and multilateral meetings, strengthened exchange and cooperation with trademark offices of the United States, Japan, Europe, and other countries. In 2009, NCAC carried out international exchange and cooperation in line with the opening-up policy and expansion of foreign trade relationship.  GAC, MOA, SFA, SPC and the Supreme People's Procuratorate also paid attention to strengthening cooperation with IPR international organizations and related countries, which actively supported the foreign related IP negations.

 

(China IP News)

2010-05-05

2010-05-05