Earlier this year China issued a detailed “Outline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country.” It is an impressive document which needs to be taken seriously by the West, especially the U.S., even if the 115-point plan is contains cryptic passages and goals that will be impossible to achieve.
This is not the first time Beijing has said it will become a lead IP player. But specifically what in this plan can it actually to achieve? Will implementation make it easier for Chinese businesses, inventors and other creators to enforce their rights? Will foreign businesses and individuals who file in China find infringement less likely and dispute resolution more accessible? It is difficult to say.
The detailed plan is worth parsing to get a fix on what China is saying and why, and provide a baseline for what it says and actually does regarding intellectual property. The words “promote,” “implement” and “strengthen” are used throughout the outline.
For a Google translation of the 14th Five-year IP plan, go here. (Those using a Safari browser will need to tap the url to access the translation.)
China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has made public the 2021-2022 outline for ‘Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country and the Annual Promotion Plan for the Implementation of the Plan’ comprising 115 points in seven categories. This was reported in January by Aaron Wininger of the Schwegman law firm in China IP Law Update.
“Of particular interest,” said Wininger, “are plans to revise the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China, Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China, Provisions on Regulating Patent Application Behavior, and Provisions on the Protection of Trade Secrets.
On the copyright side, there are plans to amend the Regulations on the Implementation of the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China, Regulations on Copyright Collective Management, Trial Measures for Voluntary Registration of Works, Measures for the Registration of Computer Software Copyrights, Measures for the Implementation of Copyright Administrative Penalties, and advance the legislation of the Regulations on Copyright Protection of Folklore and Art Works.”
Support colleges and universities to set up IP-related majors, implement the “Double Ten Thousand Plan” for the construction of first-class majors and first-class courses
Point 100 is of particular interest given the surprising lack of U.S. and European undergraduate and graduate business courses that cover IP rights and strategies:
100．Support colleges and universities to set up IP-related majors, implement the “Double Ten Thousand Plan” for the construction of first-class majors and first-class courses, create a number of IP “golden majors” and “golden courses”, and support colleges and universities to implement IP-related new liberal arts research and reform practice projects.
“The Supreme People’s Court will formulate the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law on Punitive Compensation for Civil Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights and the Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Drug Patent Linkage .”
Section Five
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