Patents, trademarks and design rights are increasingly important to the Chinese government. This was made clear at the People’s Congress, recently held in Beijing. On this occasion, the draft for the 14th five-year plan was presented. The five-year plans are significant because they set the strategic direction at all levels and all areas of Chinese policy. The plan states that the expected target for valuable patents per 10 000 inhabitants will increase from 6,3 in 2020 to 12 in 2025.
”The announcements from the People's Congress confirm an increased focus on IPR in China. It continues to verify the trend we have seen over several years, with China emphasizing the importance of intellectual rights in the economic and social development of the country. They work purposefully towards becoming a great power in innovative technological development”, says Flemming Kønig Mejl, Head of Department at the Danish Patent and Trademark Office. General Secretary Xi has previously commented on the protection of IPR in China, pointing out that innovation is the primary driver of development, and protecting IPR is equal to protecting innovation.
That is why we are seeing new trends where the focus is not only on strengthening the amount of rights, but also the quality of them.
”That is why we are seeing new trends where the focus is not only on strengthening the amount of rights, but also the quality of them. China is developing into becoming an innovative country that, to a much greater extent than before, creates IP rights internally. There is nothing new in that. The novelty lies in the strengthened focus on how the ambition is supported”, says Flemming Kønig Mejl.
The five-year plan states that China will support the innovative development of companies by implementing the strategy of making China a strong country in intellectual property and implementing a strict IPR system, improving IPR laws and regulations and speeding up IPR legislation in the field of IPR within new areas and with new business models.
Furthermore, China wants to improve the patent subsidies and reward policies and well as the assessment and evaluation mechanism in order to better protect and encourage high value patents and to promote the development of patent-intensive industries.
Finally, IPR law protection and administrative law enforcement will be strengthened, improving arbitration systems, mediation and improving the system of criminal compensation for IPR infringement.
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