Domestic enterprises should work harder to make technological
innovations under the protection of intellectual property rights
(IPR), as China's IPR laws and regulations have reached
international standards, Vice Premier Wu Yi said Tuesday in
Beijing.
She was speaking at a national patent conference, which was held
by State Intellectual Property Office in the capital.
Research institutions and enterprises should also upgrade
technology standards in the process of research development, Wu
said.
She said more efforts are needed to further tighten IPR
enforcement by combining people's courts with intellectual property
administrative departments. She added these sectors should deal
with a number of IPR infringement activities with a heavy hand.
Ministries or commissions under the State Council and regional
governmental departments must give higher regard to IPR systems and
increase relevant funds to create a more favorable climate for
enterprises, Wu said.
Starting this year, the State Intellectual Property Office will
team up with other governmental departments to build an
Internet-based patent searching and information service network
that covers information from major national economic sectors,
according to Office Commissioner Wang Jingchuan.
The network will be open to the public upon completion, said
Wang, who did not specify when the network is scheduled to be
complete.
He said preferential policies would be given to enterprises and
industrial parks in major cities to encourage the development of
patented technologies and products.
China will enlarge the scale of IPR co-operation and exchanges
with foreign countries, and actively take part in work for
re-adjusting and improving international IPR rules over the next
few years, said Wang.
In the past three years, China has taken part in IPR discussions
with the TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property
rights) Council of the World Trade Organization, according to
Wang.
Discussions involved studies of genetic resources, traditional
folk culture, IPR protection for small and medium-sized firms, and
reform of the Patent Cooperation Treaty with the World Intellectual
Property Organization, he added.
"This indicates that China has played an important role in the
improvement of international IPR systems,'' Wang said.
(China Daily January 14, 2004)