Strengthen Administrative Enforcement and Maintain Market Order

By the end of 2004, an accumulated number of 2,284,925 patent applications have been filed with SIPO, among which 1,255,499 patents were granted.

In 2004, SIPO received 353,807 patent applications and granted 190,238 patents 。

In 2004, 16,187 patent applications from U.S.A were filed with SIPO, accounting for 22% of foreign applications. Of all the applications from U.S.A, 7,824 were granted, accounting for 20% of all the granted foreign patents in China.

In case that infringement of patent rights results in dispute, patentee or stake-holder may either institute legal proceedings to people’s courts or seek for settlement from the patent administrative department.

In 2004, China’s government attached great importance to IP and further strengthened it. State Council established National Leading Group on IP Protection consisting of 12 governmental agencies responsible for leading and coordinating national IP protection, as well as supervising vital cases.

1.Establish Patent Administrative Enforcement Regulations

SIPO regulated <Patent Administrative Enforcement Rules> to make specific regulations on handling and mediation of patent disputes, fining bodies with the acts of passing off of patent cases and counterfeiting patent involved cases.

Currently, 23 provincial, regional and municipal people’s congresses have considered and passed <Patent Protection Regulations>.

In order to enhance IP protection in exhibition and unify administrative enforcement procedure and settlement, SIPO currently drafted <Rules on IP Protection in Exhibition > which is under the reporting process and will be promulgated within this year.

In order to strengthen overall management on vital patent cases and be kept updated of vital cases in time, SIPO issued < Methods for Vital Cases Recordal>.

2. Fulfill Requirement from National IP Protection Working Group and Initiate Special IP Administrative Enforcement

Operation In September, 2004, investigations and concentrated

campaigns against patent infringement, counterfeiting patent involved cases and passing-off of patent cases were organized in some important fields such as food and pharmaceuticals, etc.

From October to December, 2004, special enforcement campaigns against patent infringement, counterfeiting patent involved cases and passing-off of patent cases were organized in some selected key regions and fields .

Local IP administrations dispatched totally 19,449 person-times, investigated 10,251 marketplaces and 2,081,537 products and organized 605 joint enforcement activities with other departments.

3. Initiate Joint Action and Intensify Enforcement Coordination

Provincial IP protection functional departments such as IP administrations, industry and commerce administrations, copyright administrations and public securities established IP linking meeting mechanism so as to study and arrange affairs in need of coordination in enforcement practice。

During the concentrated campaigns, various administrative enforcement agencies made joint operations and cooperated within each others’ jurisdiction to operate investigation and combat strictly counterfeiting patent involved cases and passing-off of patent cases.

A trans-regional IP administrative enforcement mechanism was nationally-crossed established which has been started recently, while <Joint Mechanism Project on National Patent Administrative Enforcement> being formulated.

A case-transferring system was established among 16 cities within Shanghai and Jiangsu Provincial Delta Region.

4. Enhancing IP’s publicity and training,raising the public IP

consciousness Deepening and broadening the IP’s publicity,actively

exploring and practicing the new pattern of publicity,further expanding the channels and methods,continuously reinforcing IP’s penetration and social influence.

SIPO,together with another 9 central governmental agencies,held an IP Protection Publicity Week with the theme of ‘Respecting IP and Maintaining Market Order’.

In 2004, SIPO organized Public Education Group consisting of IP experts to give publicity sessions to over 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipal cities.

By taking the advantages of popularization of TV, local IP administrations created a TV program named ‘Case Analysis’ and some series of programs about IP protection and implementation.

In 2004, SIPO held more than 50 training courses of different levels.

In 2004, China Intellectual Property Training

Center(CIPTC) finished 35 various training courses with nearly 7000 participants.

Local IP administrations also held different training courses aiming to leading officials, as well as technologists in enterprises.