As China's foreign trade develops rapidly and Chinese companies go global, it is increasingly imperative for Chinese enterprises to protect their intellectual property in overseas markets. Li Chenggang, Deputy Director of the Department of Treaty and Law in the Ministry of Commerce, revealed that China is going to establish and improve mechanisms to protect IPR in overseas markets.

According to Li, China will do this by: setting up an information reporting system on protecting IPR overseas, and providing legal services within the responsibilities of the government; establishing a joint mechanism between the government, enterprises, industry intermediary service organizations, research institutes and legal services, supported by Chinese business operations overseas; delivering training in key sectors to Chinese firms so that they will be courageous and adept at protecting their rights overseas; and encouraging firms to actively adopt IPR measures. Meanwhile, relevant government agencies will use their resources to negotiate and communicate with their foreign counterparts at appropriate times, to create a fair environment.

Goals for the Next Five Years

- The level of proprietary intellectual property will be higher by a large margin and the quantity of intellectual property will be greater. China will rank among the advanced countries of the world in terms of the annual number of patents for inventions granted to domestic applicants, while the number of overseas patent applications filed by Chinese applicants will rise significantly. A number of world-famous brands will emerge. The proportion of GDP accounted for by the value of core copyright industries will greatly increase. China will own the rights to a number of high-quality new varieties of plants and high-level layout designs of integrated circuits. Trade secrets, geographical indications, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore will be effectively protected.

- The benefits of using IPR will be increased significantly and the proportion of products rich in IPR will grow significantly. Enterprises will make progress in improving their systems for managing intellectual property, invest more into it and improve their capacity to IPR as a means for improving their competitiveness. A number of enterprises with famous brands, core intellectual property and rich experience in utilizing the intellectual property system will emerge.

- The protection of IPR will be significantly improved. Infringements, such as piracy and counterfeiting, will be significantly reduced, the expense of IPR protection will decrease and the abuse of intellectual property will be effectively curbed.

- IPR awareness throughout society, especially among market entities, will be greatly enhanced and a favorable intellectual property culture will be formed.

Source: The Outline of the National Intellectual Property Strategy