Distinguished Secretary Zhou Jiangyong, Vice-governor Zhu Congjiu of Zhejiang Province, WIPO Assistant Director General Takagi Yoshiyuki, Deputy-minister Pham Cong Tac of Science and Technology of Vietnam, heads of ASEAN Secretariat and intellectual property offices of ASEAN members, dear guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends,

Good morning!

I am delighted to gather with all of you at the 10^th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference (CIPAC) by the Qiantang River. Let me begin by extending, on behalf of CNIPA, warm congratulations on the opening of the Annual Conference, heartfelt welcome to our guests from home and abroad and sincere thanks to Zhejiang Province and Hangzhou City for your support to hold the Annual Conference!

CIPAC is the largest and most influential annual IP conference with the largest number of participants in China and various parties have actively taken part in it over the years. Compared with previous years, the Annual Conference this year presents three major changes.

The first change is the venue. This is the first time it is held outside Beijing. Hangzhou International Expo Center served as the main venue of the G20 2016. To hold the 10^th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference and the 10^th Meeting of China-ASEAN Heads of Intellectual Property Offices here endows more international significance and style to the Annual Conference.

The second change is the name of the Annual Conference. This is the first time China’s Patent Annual Conference is renamed as China Intellectual Property Annual Conference, which now includes not only patent information but also segments on trademarks, geographic indications and others, covering operation, service, rights protection, legislation and justice, making it a real annual grand conference on IP.

The third change is the theme. Previous sessions mainly focused on patents, economic development and opening-up. We have determined the theme as “IP, Evolving with the New Era” for this year after careful study. This reflects broader historical thinking and provides more space for participants to exchange ideas.

This year marks the 70^th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Looking back to the extraordinary 70 years, we can say with pride that under the leadership of the Party, China’s IP cause has made historic strides step by step from nothing and China has become a real big IP country. China has successfully caught up with the times, conformed to the times and strongly supported the development of the times. Early in 1950 when the People’s Republic of China was initially founded, in spite of the arduous domestic restoration and reconstruction and some international blockades, China issued a number of IP-related laws and regulations such as Temporary Regulations for the Protection of Invention Right and Patent Right and Provisional Regulations Concerning Registration of Trademarks , which were the preliminary explorations to implement patent and trademark systems.

After the reform and opening-up, China, based on the needs of the times, began to establish a modern IP system in an all-round way, enacted and repeatedly revised a number of laws and regulations, such as Trademark Law , Patent Law , Copyright Law and Anti-Unfair Competition Law , and joined almost all the IP-related international treaties. China has upgraded intellectual property work to a national strategy by launching the Outline of the National Intellectual Property Strategy . As a result, eye-catching achievements in IP creation, protection and application have been made.

Since the 18^th National Congress of the Party, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China has seen leapfrog development in IP cause. Nowadays, China ranks first in the world in the number of patent and trademark applications every year. The number of patent applications submitted via PCT and number of trademark applications submitted via Madrid System have ranked the second and the third in the world respectively. Besides, China’s IP creation quality, protection effect, utilization efficiency and international influence are also being continuously improved, ushering in a new era of building China into an IP powerhouse.

According to related survey, social satisfaction of IP protection in China increased from 63.69 points in 2012 to 76.88 points in 2018, increasing by 13 points accumulatively, indicating overall good development. According to the Global Innovation Index 2019 published by WIPO not long ago, China ranks the 14^th place, rising by 21, and ranks the first among middle-income economies. From 2013 to 2018, the number of foreign invention patent applications in China exceeded 798,000, with annual average growth of 3.9%; and the number of foreign trademark applications in China exceeded 1,088,000, with annual average growth of 10.5%. All these are good evidences that the progress China has made in IP cause is recognized by the world.

We have learnt a lot from the past and we are full of confidence in the future. In the new era, we will unswervingly develop our IP cause with Chinese characteristics. As is proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping, strengthening IP protection is the centerpiece of the system for improving property rights protection, and it would provide the biggest boost to the competitiveness of the Chinese economy. Based on this, we should keep in mind both domestic and international situations and carry out solid work to further give full play to such three important roles of IP protection as the rigid demand of innovation-driven development, the standard configuration of international trade and the cornerstone of the socialist market economy, thus strongly supporting innovation-driven development and high-level opening-up.

One the one hand, we will, based on our national conditions, continue to unswervingly implement a strict IP protection system to create a favorable innovation and business environment. This is not only the need for us to fulfill our international obligations, but also the need to make China a country of innovators and achieve our own development. It is the consistent principled stand and established policy of the Chinese government too. In the new era, we will step up our efforts in diversified aspects such as macro policy, strategic planning, laws and regulations and IP examination.

In terms of macro policy, General Secretary Xi Jinping hosted the 9^th meeting of the Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission on July 24, at which the Opinions on Strengthening Protection of Intellectual Property Rights was reviewed and approved. It is specified in the Opinions that we should reform and improve the work system for IP protection from the aspects such as examination and authorization, administrative law enforcement, judicial protection, arbitration and mediation and self-regulation, and make comprehensive use of legal, administrative, economic, technological and social governance means to strengthen IP protection and improve the overall protection capacity and level. The Opinions has defined the direction of our efforts in strengthening IP protection and provided fundamental guidelines for our action in the new era. Premier Li Keqiang has also presided over the executive meetings of the State Council for many times, listened to the reports on China’s IP work, and made deployments for strengthening IP protection, improving IP examination quality and efficiency and promoting IP mortgage and financing.

In terms of strategic planning, we are working hard to make an outline of the strategy of building China into an IP powerhouse by 2035, specifying the strategic goals, ideas and measures of China’s IP cause in the coming period, and orderly promote the building of an IP powerhouse and the implementation of the IP strategy. 

In terms of legal system, we will conscientiously implement the newly issued Foreign Investment Law and the newly revised Trademark Law and implement a stricter system of punitive damages for trademark infringement to intensify efforts to crack down on the malicious trademark registration and hoarding. Meanwhile, we will accelerate the amendment of the Patent Law , establish a system of punitive damages for infringement and a compensation system for drug patent protection duration and extend the design patent protection duration to protect patent rights better.

In terms of IP examination, we will continue to improve the quality and efficiency of IP examination and enhance the timeliness of patent and trademark authorization and the stability of rights to better meet social needs. In doing so, we will further create a world-class business and innovation environment to boost innovation and entrepreneurship, facilitate business activities and give more sense of gain, well-being and security to the public.

On the other hand, we will maintain a global vision, intensify international cooperation in IP protection and accelerate our steps to build a new international cooperation pattern in IP in which diversified levels are linked and coordinate with each other. China’s IP system is a result of reform and opening-up, which strongly supports reform and opening-up in turn. Currently, at the multilateral level, we are actively promoting cooperation with WIPO, the popularization and application of PCT and the Madrid System in China as well as the “Belt and Road” IP cooperation and jointly building TISCs to construct a nationwide IP information service network. 

During the National IP Publicity Week this April, State Councilor Wang Yong and WIPO Director General Francis Gurry attended the ceremony for signing the memorandum of understanding on establishing TISCs in China, and the construction of the first seven TISC host institutions was launched. So far, we have built 17 test units nationwide and are striving to build about 100 within 2-3 years to form a nationwide service network.

In terms of cooperation with neighboring countries and regions, we are now actively promoting northward trilateral cooperation with Mongolia and Russia, eastward trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea, westward cooperation with Central Asian countries and southward cooperation with ASEAN. The 10^th Meeting of China-ASEAN Heads of Intellectual Property Offices is also to be held here today and various parties will work together to explore the next golden decade for China-ASEAN IP cooperation and promote common development. In terms of “small multilateral” cooperation, we are actively promoting cooperation among IPOs of China, the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea and among the IPOs of BRICS, as well as China-Africa IP cooperation. In terms of bilateral cooperation, the China-France Joint Committee Meeting on Intellectual Property will be held in Beijing on Wednesday. In addition, bilateral meetings between China and Europe, China and the UK, China and Japan and China and South Korea will also be held soon to promote all-round foreign cooperation in IP. Here, I’d like to reiterate it that China is a firm advocate of international IP cooperation and rules. 

Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Intellectual property rights are international rules and the construction of such rules embodies various countries’ pursuit of economic globalization, trade liberalization and investment facilitation. From the establishment of the WIPO to the signing of the TRIPs by WTO, a universally accepted international system of IP rules has been established. We must earnestly maintain its continuity and stability rather than giving it up. Of course, we should do everything according to circumstances, and it is the same case with the international rules on IP. We need to keep improving it according to the changes of the times to enhance it openness and inclusiveness. To this end, various countries should follow the principle of “consultation, contribution and shared benefits”. We will actively participate in global IP governance to promote the construction of open, balanced and effective international rules on IP. We advocate solving IP-related problems through dialogues and negotiations to provide better service for normal exchanges in trade, science and technology and culture among various countries. We are against any form of trade protectionism in the name of IP protection.

Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen,

“This is the age of examiners, where we administer and evaluate tests, and so do the people.” When it comes to IP work, we should also conform to the times and make historical contributions to live up to the people’s expectations. The Annual Conference has offered an important platform for various parties to discuss the key, difficult and hot issues in IP. I sincerely hope that you can make full use of such platform to enhance communication and cooperation, work together to find new ways for IP development and give better play to the role of IP in encouraging innovation internally and promoting opening-up externally. Let’s join hands to bring more benefits to people of all countries through innovation and promote common development through opening-up and cooperation. To conclude, I wish this Annual Conference a complete success. Thank you.  (Translated from CNIPA Website Chinese Version)

2019-09-06