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)