A mounting number of intellectual property rights (IPR) cases
involving foreign companies displayed China’s aggressive crackdown
on counterfeiting and piracy, said a senior official.
"The increasing number of disputes last year doesn't necessarily
mean there are more violations," State Intellectual Property
Office (SIPO) Deputy Commissioner Xing Shengcai said on the
sidelines of yesterday's high-level seminar on Intellectual
Property of Central and Northesat China, held?in Changsha,
capital city of south central China’s
Hunan Province.
The seminar was co-organized by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), SIPO and Hunan provincial government.
"Some of the violations, which occurred two or three years ago,
are once again disclosed as the IPR issue is attracting more
attention," Xing said. He emphasized China's dedication to IPR
promotion and protection and would produce a national strategy
which featured a sound legal and policy system by the end of the
year.
The number of foreign-related IPR cases rocketed last year,
according to Jiang Zhipei, chief justice of the IPR Tribunal of the
Supreme People's Court.
In 2005, there were 268 civil IPR disputes relating to foreign
companies mainly in such sectors as automobiles, motorcycles,
pharmacy, computer software, books and audio-visual products. This
was a jump of 78 percent over 2004.
Authorities taking stronger measures to curb IPR violations
actually helped uncover more cases and the crackdown was expected
to create a more favorable market environment, Xing added.
China is devising a national strategy to further improve the IPR
system, create a legal environment in which the laws will be
respected and protected, increase people's awareness of IPR
protection and sternly crack down on any infringements.
A working group, led by Vice-Premier Wu Yi and
including officials from SIPO and other government agencies, is
expected to produce a strategy at the end of the year.
In their latest move the authorities designed the seminars, the
Changsha meeting is the third in a series of four, to promote
awareness of IPR at provincial levels.
China "has realized where its efficiencies, weaknesses and
strengths (in IPR protection) are and it has decided to take
measures at the highest level," said Mpazi Sinjela, dean of the
WIPO Worldwide Academy.
Consequently, the "attitude of other countries particularly from
developed nations has changed in favor of China and this is why you
can see so many sophisticated technologies coming to China because
what we’re doing to promote and protect IPR is evident,” he said.
"And that's why they come to do business here," he added.
(China Daily August 3, 2006)
