By the end of 2018, the number of invention patents per 10,000 population in China reached 11.5-
Intellectual property: improving quality and efficiency, and strictly examining authorization.
2018 is the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the Outline of National Intellectual Property Strategy, and it is also the year of the reform of intellectual property institutions, and China’s intellectual property protection has been comprehensively strengthened.
In the next step, China National Intellectual Property Administration will improve the quality and efficiency of intellectual property examination and strictly control the examination authorization; In-depth implementation of patent quality improvement project and trademark brand strategy, and vigorously cultivate high-value core patents and well-known brands; Severely crack down on abnormal patent applications, trademark hoarding and malicious registration.
The meeting of directors of the National Intellectual Property Office was held in Beijing on January 7th. This is the first national conference held after the reorganization of China National Intellectual Property Administration in 2018. Shen Changyu, director of China National Intellectual Property Administration, said that in 2018, China’s intellectual property protection will be comprehensively strengthened, and in 2019, the quality and efficiency of intellectual property examination will be improved, and the examination authority will be strictly controlled.
Ten years of implementation of intellectual property strategy has achieved remarkable results.
2018 is the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the Outline of National Intellectual Property Strategy, and the year of the reform of intellectual property institutions. Shen Changyu said that in 2018, China’s intellectual property protection was comprehensively strengthened. The the State Council executive meeting passed the amendment (draft) of the Patent Law, and the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) completed the first review of the draft, actively established a punitive damages system for infringement, and greatly increased the cost of infringement; Thirty-eight ministries and commissions jointly issued the Memorandum of Cooperation on Joint Punishment of Serious Breach of Trust Subjects in the Intellectual Property (Patent) field. At the same time, the Intellectual Property Office vigorously promoted the "streamline administration, delegate power, strengthen regulation and improve services" reform, shortened the average review period of trademark registration to less than 6 months, and completed the annual target and task of the State Council 52 days ahead of schedule; The trial time of trademark rejection review cases was reduced to less than 7 months. The examination period of high-value patents is reduced by 10%.
At the same time, the Patent Agency Regulations have been revised and will be implemented on March 1, 2019. In 2018, the total patent fee was reduced by 5.86 billion yuan, and 3.357 million patent and trademark application materials were reduced. In 13 provinces, such as Hunan and Sichuan, pilot projects of intellectual property rights in integration of defense and civilian technologies were carried out, and matters such as acceptance of national defense patent applications, licensing filing and transfer approval were decentralized.
According to reports, the above measures have effectively promoted the development of intellectual property in China. By the end of 2018, the number of invention patents in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) reached 1.602 million, an increase of 18.1% year-on-year; The number of invention patents per 10,000 population reached 11.5. In 2018, the number of PCT international patent applications accepted was 55,000, a year-on-year increase of 9.0%. The number of valid trademarks registered in China (excluding foreign registrations in China and Madrid) reached 18.049 million, a year-on-year increase of 32.8%. In 2018, the number of applications for international registration of trademarks in Madrid exceeded 6,000, a year-on-year increase of more than 25%. A total of 2,380 geographical indication products were approved, and 4,867 geographical indication trademarks were registered. In 2018, patent administrative law enforcement handled 77,000 cases, a year-on-year increase of 15.9%, and investigated and dealt with 31,000 trademark violation cases, with a case value of 550 million yuan and a fine of 510 million yuan. In 2018, the total import and export of intellectual property royalties exceeded $35 billion.
Shen Changyu said that in 2019, China National Intellectual Property Administration will further improve the quality and efficiency of intellectual property review. Focus on building a world-class examination institution, strengthen the construction of patent and trademark examiners, and continuously improve the examination business ability. Improve the review quality assurance system and business guidance system, and improve the quality management of "double supervision and double evaluation". To study policies and measures to improve utility models and designs. Explore ways to improve the review efficiency by improving the review mechanism. Collaborative use of centralized review, green channel, patent prosecution highway (PPH) and other review modes. In the whole year, the backlog of invention patent examination was reduced by more than 100,000 pieces, and the high-value patent examination cycle was compressed by more than 15% on the basis of 10% in 2018.
Intellectual property protection is more powerful after institutional integration.
In 2018, the Intellectual Property Office was reorganized, and trademarks and geographical indications were included in intellectual property rights, and intellectual property rights were transferred from science and technology to market supervision departments. According to Shen Changyu, the task of reforming national and provincial intellectual property institutions has been successfully completed, achieving centralized and unified management of trademarks, patents, geographical indications and integrated circuit layout designs, effectively improving management efficiency.
Zhang Mao, director of the State Administration of Market Supervision, believes that this adjustment means that intellectual property rights will play a more important role in maintaining fair competition market order.
Shen Changyu said that the intellectual property system, as an important component of the modern property rights system and the basic guarantee for innovation-driven development, plays an increasingly prominent role in the country’s economic and social development. "We should truly establish an efficient comprehensive management system for intellectual property rights through institutional reform, build a public service system for intellectual property rights that is convenient for the people, and explore the operating mechanism of intellectual property rights that supports innovation and development. In particular, we must accurately grasp the internal relationship between market supervision and intellectual property rights, promote the effective connection between intellectual property rights work and market supervision, and further highlight the market attributes of intellectual property rights.
It is reported that in the next step, China National Intellectual Property Administration will strengthen the creation of intellectual property rights, improve support policies, highlight quality orientation and dilute the number complex; Improve the quality and efficiency of intellectual property review and strictly control the authorization of review; In-depth implementation of the patent quality improvement project and trademark brand strategy, and vigorously cultivate high-value core patents and well-known brands.
In 2019, China National Intellectual Property Administration will severely crack down on abnormal patent applications, trademark hoarding and malicious registration, implement the pre-supervision of abnormal applications screening, make a heavy effort to catch a number of typical cases, deal with them according to laws and regulations, and include relevant personnel and units in the list of dishonesty. Carry out the work of arranging idle trademarks and explore the formulation of regulatory measures. Carry out special rectification of intellectual property agency, and crack down on acts such as conducting patent agency business in violation of regulations, submitting a large number of abnormal patent applications, attaching the qualification certificate of agent, disrupting the order of trademark agency market, etc. Implement the memorandum of cooperation on joint punishment for serious dishonesty in the field of intellectual property rights (patents) and improve the joint punishment mechanism. (Reporter Yan Ying)