President Xi Jinping clarifies on many important diplomatic occasions that China will strictly protect IP right and create international first class operation environment. Premier Li Keqiang also expressed in Boao Forum for Asia of this year, China will equally treat domestic and foreign enterprises, also will soundly maintain lawful rights of kinds of enterprises. For many years, China government always pays high attention to protection of IP right, insists on the equal treatment and equal protection on domestic and foreign enterprises, also takes the unified standard and procedures in the course of registration, examination and authorization, confirmation and authorization, as well as the law enforcement. Whatever the construction of legal system or practice, equality and fairness have been reflected through them.
“Foreign Investment Law”, which was passed in March 2019, has clearly defined that “protecting foreign investors and foreign enterprises’ IP right, also protecting the lawful right of the IP right owners, strictly investigating legal liability against the infringement of IP right”, the firm stand related to equal protection to IP rights of kinds of market main bodies has been further confirmed through legal form. China always perform dialogue with foreign and foreign investment enterprises, continuing perfect “Patent Law”, “Trademark Law”, “Copyright Law”, “Anti-unfair Competition Law” and other regulations according to requests of domestic and foreign innovation subject and right owners.
China government always performs special action to protect and enforce IP rights, continuously crack down on the infringement and counterfeiting. Including, infringement against the foreign trademark always be the key target of kinds of special actions. For the import and export, China government formulates high standard. China Customs keeps strengthening law enforcement, takes strict law enforcement to the infringement existing in the import and export. China keeps raising the quality and efficiency related to examination and registration of patents and trademarks, in order to kinds of foreign enterprises can apply for IP and obtain IP protection in China.
China court insists on adopting equal protection, the principle of justice and equity to exam foreign IP cases. In recent years, China has become a good location for foreign country to dispose IP right disputes because of fair and transparent examination. An article of “The Diplomat”, an American famous magazine, said between 2006 and 2011, the amount of patent infringement cases posed by foreign enterprises in China was more than 10% among all kinds of infringement cases, amongst which 70% cases are success, all of these have reflected foreign enterprises recognize and trust IP right protection system of China.
Amount of IP right applications submitted by non-resident citizens is an important index to reflect a country’s IP right protection level and business environment. For many years, foreign countries’ application for renewal of IP right in China keeps increasing, main bodies of foreign market use their actions to prove they have great interests in investment and sharing development opportunity in China, the world innovation main bodies also show their confidence to China IP right protection system and business environment. In the first half of this year, the foreign enterprises applied for patents and trademarks have separately increased 8.6%, 15.4% in China, foreign enterprises keep fasting the IP layout in China. Including, Japan, U.S.A. and German rank at top 3 in the application for patents in China, and separately increased 12.6%、3.4% and 6.6%. U.S.A. Japan and Great Britain rank at top 3 in the application for trademarks in China, with separately increased 13.6%、31.4% and 56.9%.
According to the show of IP right protection society satisfaction query, which was made by National IP Bureau, the satisfaction level of national IP right protection keeps elevating, the score was 76.88 in year 2018. Including, Sino-foreign joint venture enterprises’ satisfaction ranks the top in kinds of market main bodies for 4 years, the satisfaction level of foreign enterprises is growing steadily.
Improvement of IP right protection is one of important measures for China to further expand opening up. Whatever the change of external environment, China government will not change its position of firmly maintaining IP right’s international regulation, also keep its heart to remains the same on strengthening the protection of IP right, will insist on taking equal protection principle to domestic and foreign enterprises. China government will take further step to exert the function of IP system in order to protect and encourage innovation, keeps creating business environment and innovative ecosystem for valuing the knowledge value, also will provide strong guarantee to facilitate global technological exchange, sharing innovation results and sharing development opportunity in China.
