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China's Five-Year March to Cleaner IP
- Posted in: Ip Strategy
on 26th October 2006 Link to this page
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In late August, the Chinese Government announced the IP provisions that it plans to establish as important parts of its current, 2006-2010 five-year plan. The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has outlined the measures that will come on-stream during this period:
- A continuation of the Mountain Eagle initiative, launched in 2005 to combat IP crimes. As of early August, Mountain Eagle had uncovered 1,000 infringement cases, leading to the capture of 2,600 suspects. The extension will be combined with an empowerment of trademark agencies to penalise infringers themselves
- A concerted effort to stem the rising tide of digital piracy, with special focus given to the manufacture of counterfeit discs. Parts of the scheme – launched under the banners Sunlight One, Two and Three – will address the effects of counterfeit sales on young people, wholesalers and the film industry itself
- Blue-Sky will see seven government divisions team up in a year-long bid to firm up IP protection at exhibitions
- Consumer's Day (March 15) and World IP Day (April 26) will become annual watersheds for the purpose of boosting IP awareness and mounting enforcement drives
SIPO’s announcement arrived just a week after the industrial polling firm, Manufacturing Insights, revealed a dim view of China in results of a survey conducted among 138, mostly US-based, executives with overseas factories – 55% of which run facilities in the emerging superpower. According to their response, IP infringement is the greatest cause for concern for Western firms doing business in China.
With the bazaar-like complexity of its counterfeiting scene, and its lengthy dispute with the US over IP provisions, China has much to do in order to convince the international community that it is serious about enforcement. Enshrining these four steps into national policy can be seen as a bold step forward.
Arguing the case for indigenous business, Su Xiaoxi – lawyer for white goods firm, Haier – said: ‘There should be more encouragement in the law to help Chinese companies to protect their own IP rights.’
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