China strengthens IPR protection to improve business environment

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China has improved its business environment by enhancing its protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), a senior official with China's National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) said Wednesday.

China's global ranking in the business environment has moved up thanks to the priority it has given to IPR protection, said Gan Shaoning, deputy head of the NIPA at a press conference held at the State Council Information Office of China.

Gan said China had refined its laws and regulations on IPR and improved its punitive damages system, greatly increasing the cost of IPR infringement. In April, China adopted a new trademark law, which raised the punitive damages for malicious infringement to up to five times the amount of actual losses, which is high by global standards.

China cut the review time for trademark to six months last year. Gan said the time will be further reduced to five months this year, while the review time for high-value patents will also be significantly reduced.

China has strengthened its law enforcement on IPR infringement. Around 77,000 administrative cases of patent infringement were handled last year, year, up 15.9% from the previous year. More than 31,000 trademark violation cases were dealt with, involving nearly 550 million yuan (about US$80 million).

Gan said China has combined IPR protection with the building of the social credit system, with 38 ministries involved in the joint punishment of serious IPR infringements.

Besides accelerated rights authorization and confirmation, more convenient and efficient channels are being set up, allowing market entities to safeguard their rights at lower cost, Gan said.

"Through the Internet plus IPR protection initiative, we can realize online identification and real-time monitoring of IPR infringement," Gan said.

China has set up 24 IPR protection centers and 20 IPR rapid reaction centers.

"We will also start working on a national strategic plan for building China into a major IPR power by 2035, to create a better business environment and support high-quality economic development," Gan said.