Department of Treaty and Law
Ministry of Commerce
of the People’s Republic of China
March，2005
Intellectual Property Protection in China
The Chinese government has always attached great importance to the protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and considered it as part of the reform and opening policies as well as the buildup of the socialist legal system. The Chinese government is of the view that the system of IPR protection is of great significance to the promotion of technological advancement, cultural flourish and economic development. It is not only an important system that ensures the normal operation of socialist market economy, but also serves as a necessary condition for the exchange and cooperation of science, technology, economy and culture among different countries. In the two decades since 1980s, the Chinese government has done a tremendous amount of work relating to the protection of IPR and has made great progress in lawmaking, enforcement as well as international exchange and cooperation in this regard. Particularly in the past several years, the Chinese government, abiding by the principle of tackling both surface problems and root cause with the emphasis on the latter, has taken a series of measures against fakes, inferior products and pirates, in order to improve the overall level of IPR, and its great efforts have yielded notable achievements.
Ι. Status Regarding Legislation in Terms of IPR in China
In the early period of the reform and opening up to the outside world in the 1980s, China began its legislation regarding the protection of intellectual property (IP). In order to meet the requirements of economic development and scientific advancement and to satisfy the objective needs in developing the national economy, China has used for reference the relevant international conventions, treaties and the strong points of other countries’ legislation in this aspect, gradually established and improved its legal system in terms of the protection of IPR. Our present legal system in this regard mainly comprises the following three parts: laws, administrative regulations and department rules. These laws mainly include: Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China, Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China, Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China, and so on. Special administrative regulations include: Implementing Regulations on Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China, Implementing Regulations on Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China, Implementing Regulations on Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China, Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property, Regulations on Computer Software Protection, Regulations for the Protection of Layout-Design of Integrated Circuits, Regulations on the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, and so on. Special department rules include: Provisions for Identification and Protection of Well-known Trademarks, Procedures for the Registration and Administration of Collective Marks and Certification Marks, Measures on Compulsory Licensing of Patents, and so on (for details about the promulgation and amendment of some of those main specific laws, administrative regulations, and department rules on intellectual property, please refer to Table 1 below). In addition, some of China’s civil laws, criminal laws, foreign trade laws and judicial interpretations issued by the Supreme People’s Court or the Supreme People’s Procuratorate also include special regulations about IPR protection. In conclusion, China has established a relatively sound legal system concerning IPR, which has won universal acknowledgment from the other countries across the world as well as the international organizations.
During the process of building up its legal system in terms of IPR, China has made amendments regarding some concerned laws, regulations and rules with a view to satisfying the requirements arising from reality. For example, when making preparations for joining WTO, the Chinese government made necessary amendments and improvement regarding its legal system about IPR according to the requirements of Agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of WTO, in order to fulfill its commitment for joining the Organization. The amended laws, regulations and rules provide a wider protection scope and stronger protection for the owner of IPR and they put more emphasis on judicial reviews. These amendments have greatly improved Chinese legal system in terms of IPR, thus ensuring its consistency with the TRIPS. For instance, the amended Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China and its implementing regulations have extended their protection scope so that more objects can be protected as trademarks. They contain special provisions for the protection of geographical indications and well-known trademarks, add regulations concerning the right of priority, and judicial reviews over administrative determinations on trademarks, and also strengthen the investigation and punishment against infringement. The amended Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China and its implementing regulations have enlarged the scope of objects enjoying patent protection to medicine, food and substances obtained chemically. They prolong the protection term of patents, perfect requirements for the award of compulsory patent license and strengthen judicial reviews over administrative determinations on patent for a design and utility model. The amended Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China and its implementing regulations have extended the types of rights to be protected. They clarify the rights of performers and producers, add the provisional measures as property attachment and preservation of evidence, and provisions about statutory damages, and increase administrative punishment against infringements harming the public interests. These three amended laws also include temporary injunctions prohibiting an action by a party before a lawsuit and provide stronger protection for the owner of IPR. All these amendments have greatly improved Chinese legal system regarding IPR protection.
Moreover, China has never stopped its work on new laws and regulations for IPR protection. For example, Interpretations by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues of Concrete Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Infringing Intellectual Property went into effect on Dec. 22, 2004, while the Regulations for the Collective Administration of Copyright have become effective on Mar. 1, 2005. In addition, Regulations on the Right of Communication through Information Network are also under discussion at the present time. It is believed that with the promulgation of these new laws and regulations, China’s legal system regarding IPR will be further improved and perfected, and China’s legislation in this regard will gain continuous development.
II. China’s Accession to International Conventions for the Protection of IPR and Its Participation in International Negotiation about IPR
1. China’s Accession to International Conventions for the Protection of IPR
While improving its legal system, China, since the 1980s, has acceded one after the other to the major international conventions and agreements for the protection of IPR. Since 1980 when China first acceded to the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, it has acceded successively to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respects of Integrated Circuits, Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, Bern Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, Universal Copyright Convention, Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against Unauthorized Duplication of their Phonograms, Patent Cooperation Treaty, Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Service for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Design, Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants and WTO’S Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of IPR (See Table 2 for information about China’s accession to international conventions for the protection of IPR).
During the process of its accession to these international conventions, treaties and agreements, China has always been active in taking part in such activities as prescribed by them, and it has won worldwide recognition for its sincere attitude of adhering to these conventions, treaties and agreements as well as its ability to undertake these international responsibilities.
Furthermore, China is also considering acceding to other international treaties. An example is that it has set about to draft and amend relevant laws in order to accede to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).
2. China’s Participation in Reforms on International IPR System and in International Negotiations about IPR Issues
Paying close attention to the development of the situation concerning IPR worldwide, China has actively organized its relevant departments to participate in reforms on IPR system and international negotiations about IPR issues, initiated by international organizations such as WTO, WIPO, UPOV, APEC, ASEM, etc. For example, China actively took part in the negotiations about such subjects as public health, geographical indications, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and other IPR issues, which were considered to be important parts of the new round Doha negotiation of WTO and which were presided over by TRIPS Council. China organized its relevant departments to attend many conferences held by WIPO, at which Chinese delegation made important speeches on the progress China had made in its IP system as well as on such hot IP issues in the world as international patent system, genetic resources, traditional knowledge, folklore and so on. These speeches fully showed China’s principles and attitude. China also attends conferences organized by UPOV, APEC or ASEM, at which Chinese delegates actively propaganda the progress Chinese government had made in IP protection, and had beneficial exchange with their counterparts from the rest of the world.
III. China’s Exchanges and Cooperation with Relevant International Organizations, Other Countries and Regions Regarding IPR
1. China’s Exchanges and Cooperation with Relevant International Organizations Regarding IPR
China has, in an all-round way and by various means, stepped up its exchanges and cooperation in the field of IPR with relevant international organizations such as WIPO, UPOV and APEC. Here are some examples for the last few years. The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) cooperated with WIPO to organize "Asia-Pacific Symposium on the Impact of the WCT and WPPT on the Copyright Industry" in Guangzhou from Mar. 27 to 29, 2001. From June 10-16, 2001, State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) cooperated with WIPO to jointly organize Intellectual Property Enforcement Training Seminar in Beijing and Shanghai, and over 250 participants were at the seminar. From July 23-26, 2001, Asia Technology Coordination Meeting for Protection of Plant Varieties was held in Beijing, which was sponsored by UPOV and organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, State Administration for Forestry, and SIPO. From May 21 to 25, 2002, SIPO together with State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) and NCAC, cooperated with WIPO, sponsored in Beijing the China-Africa Forum on IP, the Forum on Innovative Power and Invention. During the period of the forums, China and WIPO signed the framework agreement of cooperation. From 20 to 28 November, the NCAC and the WIPO jointly held the Symposium on the "Right of Disseminating to Public" mentioned in WCT and WPPT of WIPO. And in April 2004, the Ministry of Commerce and APEC jointly convened in Beijing the APEC 18th Conference of Intellectual Property Experts Group as well as the Symposium on Patent Protection and Access to medicine. These events have not only offered opportunities for countries to exchange experiences and opinions, but also are of great significance for the improvement of intellectual property protection in China as well as the other countries.
2. China’s Exchanges and Cooperation with Other Countries or Regions Regarding IPR
China has also conducted active exchanges and cooperation with other countries or regions regarding IPR. Let’s take the United States as an example. China and the US signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America on the Protection of Intellectual Property in 1992 and established in 2000 a framework for regular consultation mechanism on IP. On the basis of annual consultation, a roundtable discussion on the same issue, jointly sponsored by the two sides, took place in 2003. And in 2004, the Intellectual Property Protection Working Group of Joint Commission of Commerce and Trade (JCCT) of China and US was set up. Another example is the EU. China and EU signed the Minutes of Discussion on Intellectual Property Protection on Jun. 30, 1992. On Oct. 30, 2003, the two sides signed an agreement on establishing China-EU Dialogue on Intellectual Property which was viewed as a new platform for China and EU to conduct exchanges regarding IPR, and the first session of dialogue between the two sides was successfully carried out from Oct. 21 to 22, 2004. The EU-China IP Cooperation Program started in 1996 and lasted for six years. In addition, activities related to the China-EU Mixed Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation at Minister-Level also include discussions about IP issues. The trademark organs of China and France regularly hold the China-France Trademark Mixed-workgroup Meetings and on Sep. 24, 1998, China and France signed Cooperation Agreement on Intellectual Property between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the French Government. China has also established bilateral or triangular dialogues and cooperation mechanisms on IP with Japan and South Korea. And since 2001, the Third Trilateral Policy Dialogue Meetings among the Commissioners of the SIPO, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) were held annually. The copyright administrations of China and Japan meet regularly, and in 2003, the Chinese National Copyright Administration and Japanese Ministry of Culture signed the Cooperative Agreement on Copyright and Neighboring Rights. In 1996 the Trademark Bureau of Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce and JPO created a mechanism that leaders from both sides should meet irregularly, and currently, the said Chinese organ and South Korean offices are negotiating to foster a close business cooperation relationship between the two sides. Moreover, the joint meetings of bilateral economy and trade between China and Japan as well as between China and South Korea also concern the subject of IPR, so do the Director General Consultation Meeting among China, Japan and South Korea. The Chinese government has also conducted fruitful exchanges and cooperation on IPR protection with other countries or regions like Brazil, Mexico and so on.
Furthermore, under these frameworks of dialogues and cooperation, China has, in conjunction with other countries, held many seminars over the issue of IPR. For example, from September 4-6, NCAC and European Union Intellectual Property Office (EPO) co-organized the training seminar on the copyright collective management in Beijing. During the late Aug. 2003, the NCAC and Japanese Ministry of Culture jointly convened the First Sino-Japan Copyright Seminar in Beijing. From 23 to 24 October 2003, under the framework of the EU-China IP Cooperation Program, the SIPO and the EPO co-organized the Symposium on Partnership in the Protection of Intellectual Property between China and Europe- Past, Present and Future in Beijing. And in Oct. 2004, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Delegation of EU in China and Japanese Embassy in China jointly convened the IPR Seminar of China, EU and Japan. Through these effective communications and dialogues, China and other countries or regions have deepened their understanding of each other, benefited from each other’s strengths and jointly contributed to the improvement of the protection of IPR.
IV. Situation about Publicity Activities for Improving the Public Awareness of IPR Protection in China
To crack down on fakes, inferiors and piracies and protect IPR, the Chinese government adopts a series of publicity measures, which mainly include: intensify legal publicity activities ( especially for new laws and regulations) via news coverage, television and broadcastings, and symposiums, and make legal education concerning intellectual property as part of national legal publicity work simultaneously, strengthen the supervision of public opinion, expose some influential typical cases through news media and constantly bring to light the top 10 cases damaging market economy for many years, which has produced an awful and preventive effect upon future criminal activities and malpractice. All these have enhanced IP protection awareness of the public and laid a good foundation for comprehensive legal enforcement and protection of IPR. For instance, In April 2001, SIPO cooperated with the SAIC, NCAC to organize series of activities and events for the World Intellectual Property Day entitled "Today Creates the Future". All across the country, there were activities for the dissemination of intellectual property to create an environment for the respect of the knowledge and protection of the IPR for a common beautiful future.
In particular, the National Office of Rectification and Standardization of Market Economic Order, National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office, SIPO, Ministry of Public Security, Customs General Administration, SAIC, General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, General Administration for News and Publications, and NCAC, in accordance with the national work plan 2004 for the rectification and standardization of market economic order, organized a joint event named Publicity Week of Intellectual Property Protection to match the World Intellectual Property Day on April 26. The Publicity Week, with the theme of Respecting Intellectual Property and Maintaining Market Order, was carried out nationwide from Apr.19 to 26, 2004. The said Week aimed to popularize general knowledge about IP protection, publicize the significance of reasonable and efficient IP protection, the vital role intellectual property system can play in the implementation of the strategy of making the country prosperous by means of science, education and talents and in the promotion of scientific and technological innovation, cultural prosperity and economic development, and publicize China’s work and results concerning IPR protection. In addition, a batch of typical cases infringing on IPR and their punishments were disclosed during the Week. The Week included the following activities: news conference for the Protection Status regarding China’s IPR attended by both Chinese and foreign reporters, Symposium on China’s IPR and Economic Development, Dialogue about IPR Topic by University Students, Award-given Ceremony for the Second Female Inventors Competition, a series of publicity programs with the theme of IPR in China and commonwealth advertisements in this regard were provided by China Central Television, the articles-soliciting activity with the subject of Respecting IPR and Maintaining Market Order on such media as China IPR Newspaper, Copyright Knowledge Competition on media such as CCTV, China News and Publication Newspaper and Sohu Website, broadcast of a special award-given program of Golden Wisdom Prize for invention and creation among common people nationwide jointly made by CCTV and some local TV stations and shown on CCTV, publicity activities such as small exhibitions, street consultations, and lectures throughout the country, broadcast of a soiree with the theme of Crack Down on Piracies and Protect IPR on CCTV. To guarantee the smooth implementation of the said Week, the National Rectification and Standardization Office, Department of Publicity of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and Information Office of the State Council were authorized by the Chinese government to be responsible for the organization and coordination of the activity. To this end, a special organizing committee for the Publicity Week of Intellectual Property Protection was formed and a work-coordinating group set up at State Intellectual Property Office, and a notice about preparations for the Week was issued to the local departments concerned nationwide. The notice required all the provinces, municipalities and regions to fully realize the significance of the Week, and made clear the specific requirements for its preparations, implementation and follow-up activities. On account of the wide range and large scale, the Week achieved its desired result. The Chinese government hopes to crack down infringements on IPR and increase public awareness of protection in this regard through such regular activities.
V. Status Regarding China’s Enforcement of IPR
1. Enforcement Channels of IPR in China
There are two parallel approaches adopted in the enforcement of IPR protection in China, namely, administrative and judicial measures. In case of the infringement, the right holder may either file a lawsuit or apply to competent authorities for administrative measures.
Protecting IPR through administrative means is an important feature of the enforcement of IPR protection in China. According to the Patent Law, the relevant authorities under the State Council or local governments can establish a patent administration organ. To effectively implement the Copyright Law, the National Copyright Administration is set up at China’s central level and local administrations in this regard can also be found in various provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and even in relatively big cities. Pursuant to the provisions of the Trademark Law, trademark is managed with the principles of registration at central level and administration by local organs. Trademark management organs are included in the administrations for industry and commerce at various levels from state, province, city (prefecture) to county. In addition, China General Administration of Customs set up a Border Protection Division for IP protection in June 1995 and all the local customs administrations also designated the teams and contact persons responsible for IPR protection within their own areas. Therefore, the right holder can protect his or her rights through the above administrative approaches in addition to judiciary means. As for acts infringing IPR, the right holder can complain to the competent administrative authorities and the above authorities can also investigate and handle cases in light of their duties. During this process, they can seal up, sequester infringed goods and take such remedies as order of stopping infringement and fines. On account of its rapid crackdown on infringement and low cost, administrative measures are very popular with right holders.
As far as the judiciary aspect is concerned, special judicial tribunals for IP cases have been established at courts at all levels in China. During the process of litigation, a court can take such temporary measures as preservation of evidence or property. In case of torts, the people’s court, in accordance with the law, can not only order a tort-feasor to undertake such civil liabilities as infringement cessation, negative influence elimination, apology, and loss compensation, but also give him or her such punishments as illegal income confiscation, fines, and detention. In the event of an intellectual property crime, an intellectual property wrongdoer will be given a penal punishment in accordance with the law. As prescribed by the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, a criminal in this regard can be sentenced to a seven–year imprisonment as maximum penalty.
2. New Achievements Regarding IPR Enforcement in China
In recent years, the Chinese government has devoted huge manpower and material resources to IPR enforcement in severely cracking down on counterfeiting and pirating, and attained remarkable results. (See Tables 3, 4 and 5)
From 1996 to Oct. 2003, China seized 163 illegal CD production lines. In Aug. 2003, 42 million smuggled and pirated CDs were destroyed once during the Campaign for the Destruction of Smuggled and Pirate CDs carried out by the Customs General Administration and the State Administration for News and Publications.
It is worth noting that the Chinese governments at all levels have fully realized the promoting role which IPR protection can play in China’s economic development, basically removed protectionism for their local enterprises involved in counterfeit and infringement, and positively taken cross-region actions to crack down on counterfeiting and pirating. Enforcement networks of trademark have been established in Circular Huaihai Economic Zone in China, one city and three provinces of East China, and three provinces of Northeast China. These networks play a certain role in the cross-region coordination and cooperation of administrative enforcement. In the meantime, relevant enforcement authorities also pay attention to strengthen their mutual coordination and cooperation. For example, a corresponding joint conference system has been instituted between China’s judiciary and administrative organs of intellectual property, and a positive, efficient cooperation has been obtained.
Practice proves that illegal acts infringing IPR have been successfully abated, the lawful rights and interests of right holders and consumers have been protected, the market economy environment improved, and the market economic order of fair competition maintained via the enforcement of various authorities.
3. Interpretations by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues of Concrete Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Infringing Intellectual Property
In accordance with the pertinent provisions of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, out of practical need for punishing IPR infringement crime, promulgated the Interpretations on Several Issues of Concrete Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Infringing Intellectual Property (hereinafter referred to as Interpretations) on Dec. 8, 2004 to further strengthen criminal judicature protection of intellectual property, effectively crack down on intellectual property infringement crime, maintain market economic order, and constantly improve legal protection level of intellectual property in China. The Interpretations went into effect on Dec. 22, 2004.
The Interpretations give detailed and definite stipulations regarding the standard for concrete application of criminal responsibility for intellectual property crimes, lower the threshold of penal punishment for intellectual property, expand the range of penal protection in intellectual property, determine terminologies concerned, thus resolve difficult issues of law application by local enforcement, and enhance the maneuverability of relevant articles in the Criminal Law.
During the process of drafting, the judiciary organs extensively solicited opinions of pertinent domestic businesses and authorities in charge and listened to those of industry associations and departments such as the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, EU Commission, Commercial Software Union, China Commercial Software Union, U.S. Film Association, China American Chamber of Commerce, and U.S. Information Industry Organization through many channels and means for many times. In a word, the drafting of the Interpretations was a process during which views were widely sought. In particular, sufficient attention was given to the opinions of the relevant countries and multinationals, which had never occurred previously in such drafting process.
As a judiciary measure, the promulgation of the Interpretations is to meet the demand to develop socialist market economy and improve the legal system of intellectual property, and to practically keep China’s serious commitments to the international community and set a good international image. It will be beneficial to the enhancement of domestic enforcement level of intellectual property and that of trial in this regard, to the intensification of crackdown on IPR infringement crimes, and to the improvement of the penal protection of intellectual property.
4. Use of Legitimate Software in Government by Chinese Government
To better fulfill its international commitments and promote the IPR protection for software in China, the State Council issued a document in 2000, requiring governmental organs and state-owned enterprises to use legitimate software .To comprehensively carry out the order of the State Council, the NCAC, former State Planning Committee, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Information Industry issued a joint document in 2001, requiring governmental organs and state-owned enterprises to use legitimate software and establish a regular inspection system. To this end, the Chinese Government has conducted a check among various ministries and departments of the State Council. It had completed the work for using legitimate software before May 2002. At present, the Government is concentrating on promoting governments at local levels to strictly implement relevant provisions of the State Council and has made a significant progress in this aspect.
5. National Working Group on IP Protection, the Mechanism of Regular Communication and Coordination with Foreign Investment Enterprises and Nationwide Special Campaign for IPR Protection
1). National Working Group on IP Protection
To strengthen the organization and leadership of IPR protection, the State Council adjusted and reinforced the National Working Group on IP Protection in August 2004. Vice Premier Wu Yi of the State Council has been appointed as head of the Group, and the 12 authorities comprising the group include the Office of Legislative Affairs of the State Council, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the National Copyright Administration, the State Food and Drug Administration, the General Customs Administration, the Ministry of Information Industry, the State Intellectual Property Office, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. It is responsible for the unified planning and coordination of national intellectual property protection, and supervision of handling important cases.
Since 2001 when it was set up, the National Office of Rectification and Standardization of Market Economic Order has launched many concentrated campaigns to punish acts of harming market economic order such as infringement and piracy. For instance in 2001, the administrative enforcement authorities such as those for industry and commerce, quality supervision, inspection and quarantine, health, agriculture, and drug administration, under the direction and coordination of the Office, sent enforcement personnel 8.9-million persons/times in total, destroyed over 500,000 dens for counterfeiting and inferior products, investigated and handled more than 1.2 million cases with their value amounting to 16.4 billion RMB.
2). the Mechanism of Regular Communication and Coordination with Foreign Invested Enterprises
In 2003, the Chinese Government constituted the Mechanism of Regular Communication and Coordination with Foreign Invested Enterprises to further improve the foreign investment environment, reinforce crackdown on infringement, fakes and inferior products, and protect intellectual property. With the National Office for Rectification and Standardization of Market Economic Order taking the lead, the mechanism includes the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Commerce, Customs General Administration, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, General Administration for Quality Inspection, State Administration for News and Publications, Supervision Bureau for Food and Medicine, State Intellectual Property Office, Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment. It is mainly responsible for regular communication with foreign investment enterprises and for getting information about problems and suggestions in terms of cracking down on the counterfeit goods, IPR protection, improving foreign investment environment, and maintaining a unified, open, fair, competitive and orderly market, and organizing and coordinating departments concerned to study them. Through the mechanism, the enforcement authorities intensify their cooperation in infringement crackdown with foreign investment enterprises and have attained remarkable results.
3). Nationwide Special Campaign for IPR Protection
In order to achieve more concrete results, the State Council decides to launch a nationwide special campaign led by the working group from September 2004 to August 2005. The campaign will focus on the key subjects, key links and key regions. This campaign fully reveals China’s position and determination to protect intellectual property. On Aug. 19 and 27, 2004, the State Council successively convened a conference of the Working Group for IP Protection and a video and telecommunication conference for nationwide special campaign for IPR protection, at which Vice Premier Wu Yi gave a speech, making directive and arrangements for the campaign.
Led by the Working Group on Intellectual Property Protection, this campaign will be implemented by local governments and departments under the working pattern featuring uniform leadership by central government, responsibility held by local governments, guidance and coordination by relevant departments, and joint action by all parties involved. During the campaign, key areas, linkages and regions will be priority so as to promote protection work in all fields and regions. The so-called “key areas” refer to the protection of trademark right, copyright and patent. The “key linkages” refer to the import and export, exhibitions, wholesale markets, OEM, printing and duplication business, etc. The “key regions” refer to the regions where the counterfeiting and piracy are rampant. Besides, the major counterfeiting and piracy cases with serious consequences will be smashed in a forceful manner. The campaign gives its top priority to pirate CDs and trademark infringements. Especially focusing on prosperous business districts, foreign-visitor-oriented hotels, and traffic centers, the campaign continues to severely crack down on illegal CD production lines and peddlers selling pirated CDs, to supervise governments at all levels in using legitimate software so that supervision can be conducted on an institutionalized and regular basis and problems will be rectified in time, to especially regulate large commodity markets in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, coastal areas of Southeast China, and the rest of the country with a view to severely striking trademark infringements. The working group listed 15 regions as the key areas in the campaign, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Henan, Hunan, Guangdong, Shanxi and etc. Local authorities carried out forceful measures to ensure the effectiveness of the actions and to prevent the infringements from reappearing. All the administrative bodies as well as local governments assumed more specific responsibilities, and formed a unified cooperation mechanism for IPR protection. Moreover, cross-regional enforcement was implemented to strengthen the protection and fight against local protectionism.
To guarantee the success of the special campaign, the Working Group on IP Protection and the relevant departments have organized six supervision groups to especially oversee and direct the implementation of the above operation in regions concerned.
VI. Conclusive Remarks
The Chinese government has always attached great importance to IPR protection, not only to the protection of foreign Intellectual Property, but also to that of our own Intellectual Property. So far, the whole nation has realized that the IPR protection is not only the requirement to keep China’s commitments to the World Trade Organization, but also the necessity to broaden its opening to the outside world, improve investment environment, and introduce overseas investment and advanced technologies. In the meantime, the IPR protection is also an intrinsic need to speed up our own economic construction and social development.
Anyhow, it is worth pointing out that the establishment and perfection of IPR system and the increased protection awareness of IPR for any country are bound to be a process of gradual development. The protection level of IPR in one country closely links with that of its economic development and technological progress. At present, some problems still exist in China’s IPR protection, but they have attracted our special attention and are continually resolved one after another. The Chinese government’s determination and attitude regarding IPR protection have been consistent, the legal rights and interests of right holders from the rest of the world will be protected in China and all infringement and counterfeiting acts will be punished in accordance with the laws. Furthermore, IPR protection is a worldwide issue, demanding full cooperation from all sides. The Chinese government hopes that some countries should remove their suspicions about China’s IPR protection, have a better understanding of Chinese laws, regulations, and enforcement regarding IPR protection, and with cooperative attitude to jointly promote technological progress.
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