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Read in Chinese
Speakers:
Hu Wenhui, deputy commissioner and spokesperson of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), and director general of the CNIPA's General Affairs Office
Ge Shu, director general of the Strategic Planning Department of the CNIPA
Zhang Zhicheng, director general of the Intellectual Property Protection Department of the CNIPA
Lei Xiaoyun, director general of the Intellectual Property Utilization and Promotion Department of the CNIPA
Chairperson:
Xing Huina, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and SCIO spokesperson
Date:
Jan. 12, 2022
Xing Huina:
Friends from the media, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). Today, we will brief you on statistics concerning intellectual property and take your questions. At this press conference, we are joined by Mr. Hu Wenhui, deputy commissioner and spokesperson of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), and director general of the CNIPA's General Affairs Office; Mr. Ge Shu, director general of the CNIPA's Strategic Planning Department; Mr. Zhang Zhicheng, director general of the CNIPA's Intellectual Property Protection Department; and Ms. Lei Xiaoyun, director general of the CNIPA's Intellectual Property Utilization and Promotion Department.
Now, let's give the floor to Mr. Hu for a brief introduction.
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Hu Wenhui:
Friends from the media, good morning. Thank you for your consistent attention and support for the work concerning intellectual property.
In 2021, all government bodies and departments involved in intellectual property work across China followed the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implemented the guiding principles of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and all plenary sessions of the 19th CPC Central Committee, and earnestly carried out the CPC Central Committee and the State Council's decisions on building China's strength in intellectual property as well as the 14th Five-Year Plan. We strive to pursue progress while ensuring stability and continue advancing reform and innovation. As a result, China's intellectual property work in 2021 has improved in terms of both quality and quantity, and all tasks and targets in the sector have been fully accomplished, providing strong support for people's pursuit of a better life. Based on all categories of statistics, our work in 2021 has the following four characteristics:
First, the innovation capacity and vitality of market entities have been further stimulated. As of the end of 2021, the number of domestic enterprises with valid invention patents amounted to 298,000, an increase of 52,000 over the previous year. These domestic enterprises had a total of 1.91 million valid invention patents, up 22.6% year on year, 5 percentage points higher than the national average growth rate. Specifically, valid invention patents held by high-tech enterprises reached 1.21 million, accounting for 63.6% of the total held by domestic firms. This reflects the growing creativity and innovation capacity of China's market entities.
Second, the pledge financing of patents and trademarks has seen a further increase in scale and become even more inclusive. The total amount of patent and trademark pledge financing in 2021 amounted to 309.8 billion yuan, and the number of financing projects in the field reached 17,000, benefitting a total of 15,000 enterprises. All three factors have increased about 42% year on year. Specifically, inclusive loans under the 10-million-yuan limit have benefitted 11,000 enterprises, accounting for 71.8% of the total firms benefitted. This fully demonstrates the inclusiveness of patent and trademark pledge financing in helping micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Third, patent reserve in digital economy and medical sector has been further improved. Among the 35 fields of technology classified by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), IT methods for management, computer technology and medical technology rank as the top three fields in China with the fastest growth rate of the number of valid patents, up 100.3%, 32.7% and 28.7%, respectively, year on year. This shows China's growing capacity in patent reserve of core technologies, which will provide stronger support for the country's industrial upgrading and better benefit people's health and daily life.
Fourth, foreign enterprises have stronger confidence in China's protection of intellectual property. In 2021, a total of 110,000 invention patents were approved and authorized for overseas applicants in China, up 23% year on year. Overseas applicants registered a total 194,000 trademarks in China, up 5.2% year on year. Among them, authorized invention patents and registered trademarks applied for by U.S. enterprises increased by 32.1% and 17.3%, respectively. The number of intellectual properties held by overseas applicants in China keeps growing fast, indicating overseas enterprises' strong confidence in China's intellectual property protection and business environment.
These are the four characteristics of data on intellectual property in 2021. Specifically, the overall statistics on the creation, protection, utilization and relevant services of intellectual property in the aspects of patents, trademarks, geographical indications, and layout designs of integrated circuits by the end of 2021 are as follows:
First, patent. The number of valid invention patents from China reached 3.597 million, while the number on the Chinese mainland stood at 2.704 million. The number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people reached 7.5, up by 1.2 from the previous year.
In 2021, the number of international patent applications filed in China via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) hit 73,000, while the number on the Chinese mainland reached 68,000. A total of 54,000 patent reexamination cases and 7,100 declarations of invalidation cases were closed.
Second, trademark. The number of valid registered trademarks reached 37.24 million.
In 2021, China received 5,928 international trademark applications using the Madrid System. China has reviewed 164,000 trademark opposition cases, as well as 383,000 trademark review cases.
Third, geographical indication (GI). China has approved 2,490 GI products and has seen 6,562 GIs registered as collective trademarks and certification trademarks.
Fourth, integrated circuit layout design. A total of 52,000 integrated circuit layout designs were certificated.
Fifth, intellectual property application, protection and services. To date, China has established 57 intellectual property protection centers and 30 fast intellectual property service centers. The National Advisory Center for Overseas Intellectual Property Dispute Settlement has been established, with a total of 22 branch centers at the local level.
In 2021, a total of four batches of 815,000 abnormal patent applications were identified. The withdrawal rate of the first three batches reached 97%. China has cracked down on 482,000 filings of malicious trademark registration.
Statistics show that, before excluding the price factor, the added-value of China's patent-intensive industries reached 12.13 trillion yuan in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, accounting for 11.97% of GDP, 0.35 percentage points higher than last year.
By the end of 2021, the "one window" system for patent and trademark business was made available in all 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities). The number of intellectual property information public service institutions at the provincial level reached 52, and that of city-level comprehensive intellectual property information public service institutions reached 104.
That is all for my introduction. We would now like to answer your questions. Thanks.
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Xing Huina:
Thank you, Mr. Hu, for your introduction. Now it is time for questions. Please indicate the media organization you work for before raising a question.
CCTV:
In recent years, China has strengthened its work on patent and trademark pledge financing to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs represent the "capillaries" of the national economy, and they have been under tremendous pressure amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to know, over the past year, what work has the CNIPA done to support SMEs? Thanks.
Hu Wenhui:
Thank you, I will answer your question. To support SMEs and mitigate their difficulties, CNIPA has worked with related departments to issue, promote and implement a series of policies and measures, which provide strong support for the innovative development of SMEs in terms of cultivating entities, financing, transfer and application and improving services. These works are as follows:
First, we have expanded the intellectual property pledge financing work to mitigate the difficulties SMEs have faced in accessing financing. CNIPA, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and the National Development and Reform Commission launched the three-year campaign entitled, "Intellectual Property Pledge Financing to Benefit Enterprises in Industrial Parks," promoting intellectual property pledge financing services to benefit more SMEs, with an aim to cover "100 industrial parks and 10,000 enterprises." As I just mentioned, in 2021, China's patent and trademark pledge financing reached 309.8 billion yuan. Inclusive loans worth less than 10 million yuan have been issued to 11,000 enterprises, accounting for 71.8% of the total enterprises benefiting from the policies.
Second, we jointly launched a patent transfer plan to support patent technology transfers for SMEs. We worked with the Ministry of Finance to organize and implement a three-year special plan for patent transfers, in a bid to promote innovations from universities and institutions to transfer and utilize in SMEs. So far, a total of 30 provinces have launched the special plan to further promote the policies and measures that benefit more SMEs, among which eight provinces have received the first batch of subsidies and rewards.
Third, we have stepped up efforts to foster SMEs and increase their capacity for intellectual property management. We have encouraged SMEs to implement the national standard of enterprises intellectual property management and further optimize intellectual property management systems. We have scaled up our efforts to foster demonstration enterprises with advantages in intellectual property among SMEs. Among the total 5,729 national demonstration enterprises, the number of SMEs accounted for more than 76%. The research and development investment, the average number of in-force patents, and other indicators of those SMEs are higher than the national average.
Fourth, we have enhanced intellectual property service to support the innovative development of SMEs. We have guided the construction of patent navigation service bases and promoted applying a series of national standards like the Patent Navigation Guidelines. We have pushed forward the establishment of the decision-making mechanism in patent navigation, thus effectively serving the innovative development of SMEs. By establishing trademarks and brands guidance stations, we have provided SMEs with convenient and high-quality guidance and services on trademarks and brands. Meanwhile, we have launched a campaign to "provide intellectual property services in a tour of ten thousand miles." With the critical tasks of attracting employment and entrepreneurship to the intellectual property service industry, supporting rural vitalization with geographical indications, and benefiting and helping enterprises, we have guided and supported nearly 10,000 local online and on-site activities, benefiting more than 15,000 market entities, mainly SMEs. In addition, we have sped up the building of the comprehensive intellectual property service window, providing all intellectual property services through the window.
Going forward, we will continue to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, launch the SMEs intellectual property strategic promotion project, and take multiple measures to bolster the innovative development of SMEs. Thank you.
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Tianmu News:
The quality of patent applications has drawn much attention. Mr. Hu just mentioned the statistics of combating irregular patent applications. What has been done in this regard? What about the achievements and plans?
Hu Wenhui：
Thank you for your question about cracking down on irregular patent applications. Let us invite Mr. Zhang to answer this question.
Zhang Zhicheng:
Thank you for your question. To thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and take concrete actions to turn China from a country relying on imported intellectual property into one with solid innovative ability, and from quantity-orientation into quality-orientation, the CNIPA has continued to carry out patent quality promotion projects in recent years. It has scored outstanding achievements in firmly taking actions against irregular patent applications with no intent to protect innovation. In general, we have delivered in the four following aspects.
First, we have actively instructed local governments to improve intellectual property policies and promote high-quality development by canceling subsidies and rewards for applying.
Second, we have strengthened examination efforts at an early phase. Through combined manners of computer-assisted screening and manual checking, we have strictly examined and prudently confirmed cases suspected as irregular patent applications.
Third, we promptly notified local authorities of the patent applications confirmed as irregular and requested local intellectual property management authorities to inspect the applications, and the applicants to withdraw them. We also protect the legitimate rights and interests of applicants in accordance with laws during the process.
Fourth, we have intensified positive publicity and guidance to foster a sound environment for high-quality development, instructed applicants to apply for patents correctly and promoted quality.
As Mr. Hu just said, the CNIPA has organized a special campaign to crack down on irregular patent applications last year and notified local governments across China about a total of 815,000 irregular patent applications in four batches. By the end of last year, 97% of the notified irregular patent applications of the first three batches were withdrawn. Meanwhile, the CNIPA has intensified regulation in the patent agent industry. In the "Blue Sky" special campaign, we have heavily punished nine agent institutions dealing with irregular patent applications by qualifications revocation and agency suspension. As for 84 agencies whose cases per agent consistently exceeded five times the average level, we have organized intellectual property management departments in relevant provinces to conduct critical inspections. We have urged the local governments to impose an administrative penalty on 29 institutions with severe cases.
Last week, the national meeting attended by heads of the country's intellectual property departments was held. In accordance with the deployment of the meeting, we will continue to crack down on abnormal patent applications. Next, we will continue working with local intellectual property management departments to improve the standardized working mechanism for cracking down on abnormal patent applications, promote the synergy between upper and lower levels of collaborative governance, increase efforts to crack down on abnormal patent applications, improve the quality of patent applications and accelerate efforts to build China into a country that is strong on intellectual property. Thanks.
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Economic Daily:
According to recently published statistics, in 2021, the amount of national patent and trademark pledge financing exceeded 300 billion yuan for the first time. How do you comment on this and what specific measures have been carried out? Thanks.
Hu Wenhui:
Thank you for your question. Regarding pledge financing, we will invite Ms. Lei to answer the question.
Lei Xiaoyun:
Thank you for your question. Mr. Hu just introduced the overall situation for national patent and trademark pledge financing in 2021. Last year, the amount of national patent and trademark pledge financing exceeded 300 billion yuan for the first time, and financial inclusion was also improved. It was the result of superimposing multiple factors including policies, measures, market environment and business demands, as well as giving full play to the initiatives of both central and local governments.
First, the central government has attached great importance to intellectual property pledge financing. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly pointed out the necessity of increasing financial support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee proposed improving the financial support innovation system. The Central Economic Work Conference emphasized guiding financial institutions to increase support for the real economy, especially the technological innovation of small and micro-sized enterprises. The Outline for Building China's Strength in Intellectual Property and the 14th Five-Year Plan proposed developing intellectual property finance in an active and steady manner. The executive meeting of the State Council discussed and made arrangements for intellectual property pledge financing.
Second, the financing demands of technology-based micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have been increasing. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have been an important force for stabilizing growth, promoting employment and safeguarding people's livelihood. Against the backdrop of COVID-19, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have been under enormous pressure and faced many difficulties. Particularly, many technology-based enterprises in the start-up stage, which have strong innovation capacity and solid growth potential, have been eager to obtain financial support with "light assets" such as patents and trademarks to achieve better development.
Third, we should implement multiple measures, combine details, analyze the overall situation and make joint efforts. In terms of policy guidance, we should follow the deployment of the State Council. The CNIPA has joined the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) and the National Copyright Administration in issuing the Notice on Further Strengthening Intellectual Property Pledged Financing. The Notice establishes specific measures such as separate credit plans, specialized evaluations and incentive mechanisms, as well as loosening non-performing loan ratios. The Notice on Promoting and Regulating the Operation of Intellectual Property Rights, which prioritizes strengthening financial services for intellectual property rights, has also been issued. The CNIPA, the CBIRC and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) have jointly launched a three-year campaign entitled, "Intellectual Property Pledge Financing to Benefit Enterprises in Industrial Parks," and provided guidance to local authorities for bank-enterprise matchmaking activities. In terms of optimizing services, the Measures for Registration of Pledge of Patent Right has been revised, providing online registration of intellectual property pledges for financial institutions on a trial basis. We have jointly provided guidance with relevant departments for building a national intellectual property pledge information platform to gather information on patent and trademark pledges and financial products. In terms of bank-enterprise cooperation, we have conducted strategic cooperation with Bank of China and China Construction Bank to guide the development of special products for intellectual property pledges.
Next, in accordance with arrangements made by the central government, we will continue to promote intellectual property pledge financing to provide better services for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and provide support for the high-quality development of the real economy.
Thanks.
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China Intellectual Property News:
The establishment of an open licensing system has been added to the newly amended patent law. Why did the authorities create such a system? What positive outcomes have been achieved since the system took effect more than six months ago?
Hu Wenhui:
Thanks for your questions. I'd like to take the question regarding the open licensing system. As you said, it was revised according to China's national realities while also learning from the experience of foreign countries. The open licensing system was set up to promote the enforcement and application of patents, and it works in the following three aspects:
First, it facilitates the transmission of patent license information. The CNIPA announcements regarding the patent licensing act as a bridge between patentees and licensees, making it easier for both parties to reach each other.
Second, it ensures patent licensing negotiations are more efficient. The removal of complicated negotiations makes it easier for patentees and licensees to reach an agreement over patent licenses, thereby lowering the patent licensing costs.
Third, it reduces the risks amid patent license transactions. There are mechanisms to disclose patent license information and handle patent disputes in the open licensing system, allowing the licensees to comprehensively understand the licensing conditions and other information in advance.
The open licensing system has drawn the broad attention of the patentees and people from all walks of life over the past more than a half year. According to our statistics, the CNIPA has received 608 open patent license statements, 572 of which are invention patents filed by 110 patentees from 24 provinces and equivalent administrative units .
To ensure the implementation of the patent licensing system, the CNIPA has also made efforts such as releasing statistical data of the patent royalties and developing assessment criteria, laying a solid foundation for the smooth operation of the system.
Going forward, we will continue to promote the enforcement and application of patents and ramp up efforts in the following three aspects: First, we will ensure that services in terms of license statement submission, information disclosure, and filing will become more convenient. Second, we will improve the services regarding the pricing of patent royalties and the transfer of patent licenses under the framework of the special plan to promotes the application of patents, thereby encouraging more people to make better use of the system and patents. Third, we will strengthen regulation and supervision and crackdown on the practices of counterfeiting licenses to avoid or reduce the annual fees in accordance with the laws and regulations. Moreover, we will fulfill the duty of handling the patent disputes to create a favorable environment. Thank you.
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ThePaper.cn:
In December of last year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) imposed sanctions against a trademark agency in Shenzhen, invalidating more than 15,000 trademarks the agent filed. What is your comment on the U.S. sanctions? Is there any problem with the agency? What measures have the CNIPA taken to respond to the issue? Thank you.
Hu Wenhui:
Thank you for your questions. I'd like to invite Ms. Lei to answer it.
Lei Xiaoyun:
Thank you for your questions. We've learned about the U.S. announcement. Media outlets and experts have made objective analyses on the steady growth of trademark applications in the United States from Chinese applicants. Most of them believe that the rapid increase in trademark applications in foreign countries is mainly because that the rapid development of China's cross-border e-commerce, which has pushed more Chinese products to meet the sales requirements of Amazon and other e-commerce platforms in the United States.
As Chinese companies have become increasingly global in recent years, market entities' demand for intellectual property services has also surged, which therefore triggered rapid development of the intellectual property agency sector. In order to ensure the rights and interests of the applicants, we have stepped up efforts in the "Blue Sky" campaigns among other multiple measures to tighten regulation on trademark agents.
First, we launched a self-examination and rectification campaign and collected integrity commitments. Approximately 23,000 trademark registration agencies completed self-examination of key rectification issues and submitted their reports.
Second, we cracked down on malicious trademark registration activities in a timely manner. More than 130 such cases were investigated and punished.
Third, we strengthened supervision of major trademark registration cases and severely cracked down on acts that disrupted industry order. Three trademark registration agencies were ordered to cease related operations.
Fourth, we regulated platform-based trademark registration agencies and trading behavior through multiple means, such as offering administrative guidance, making regulatory talks for self-correction, suspending operations for self-rectification, and giving administrative penalties. The trading of 2.07 million trademarks suspected of being registered with malicious intention was withdrawn.
As for the Shenzhen-based agency you just mentioned, during a special crackdown campaign last year, the trademark law enforcing department imposed administrative penalties on the agency and its person in charge for false advertising and using illegal means to solicit business in China.
Next, we will fiercely crack down on violations of laws and regulations within trademark registration agencies, continue to improve the order of trademark agency industry and stimulate the vitality of trademark agency services, so as to provide strong support for comprehensively strengthening the protection and utilization of intellectual property. Thank you.
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China Daily:
In China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035, the "number of high-quality invention patents per 10,000 people" was set as a major social and economic development goal for the first time. How is the goal achieved now? What does it indicate? Thank you.
Hu Wenhui:
Thank you for your questions. I would like to invite Mr. Ge Shu to answer the questions on high-value invention patents per 10,000 people.
Ge Shu:
Thank you for your questions. As Mr. Hu just noted, by the end of 2021, the average ownership of high-value invention patents on the Chinese mainland reached 7.5 patents per 10,000 people, up 1.2 over the previous year. The number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people aims to objectively evaluate China's innovative development and guide the transformation of intellectual property work to become an quality-oriented one. The number is an anticipatory goal. How it is achieved primarily depends on how market entities play their role. According to statistics of 2021, China's scale of high-value invention patents expanded steadily, and the structure of high-value invention patents was further optimized. This ensured a good start to the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). It can be shown in the following aspects:
First, the reserve of patents for high-tech and strategic emerging sectors was continuously strengthened. By the end of 2021, the number of invention patents for high-tech and strategic emerging sectors was 792,000 in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), up 114,000 over the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). Industries' independent innovation capacity strengthened continuously.
Second, the number of valid invention patents effective for a long period of time increased rapidly. By the end of 2021, the number of valid invention patents effective for more than 10 years was 323,000 in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), an increase of 27.7% over the previous year, contributing 11.9% of the national GDP, up 0.6 percent point over the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).
Third, innovators' capability of going global improved continuously. By the end of 2021, the number of China's valid invention patents possessing overseas patent family rights was 83,000, an increase of 21.8% over the previous year. Enterprises were the main innovators and owned nearly 90% of them.
Next, the CNIPA will focus on implementing the plan of building a major intellectual property country and implementing the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), make our targets more quality-oriented and value-oriented, fully unleash the creativity of the society, and vigorously strengthen the quality of intellectual property creation, so as to use high-quality intellectual properties to facilitate high-quality economic and social development.
Thank you.
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Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po:
We have noted that the CNIPA has issued data on intellectual property services in its annual statistics for the first time. What are the considerations behind this data release? What progress has China made in providing intellectual property public services over the past year? Thank you.
Hu Wenhui:
Thank you for your question and your long-term interest in intellectual property-related work. Indeed, this is the first time we have officially released data on intellectual property public services in our annual statistics. So let me brief you on this.
In recent years, according to decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on reforms to streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services, the NIPA has strengthened intellectual property public services and issued a guideline in 2021 on deepening the reforms mentioned above in the intellectual property field. This guideline includes 16 reform measures of six aspects to promote comprehensive progress in this regard.
First, we have deepened reforms to facilitate patent and trademark registration applications. As I mentioned earlier, the "one-window" service for patent and trademark business is now provided in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities). At the same time, we continued to promote the online completion of the whole process of patent pledge registration. Furthermore, we have advocated the notification and promise principle in the process of patent and trademark exclusive right pledge registration. The measures of reform on notification-promise mechanism for licensing and approving agencies' operations have been replicated and applied nationwide. In addition, in terms of the review cycle, in 2021, the review cycle of high-value invention patents was reduced to 13.3 months, the average review cycle of invention patents was decreased to 18.5 months, the average review cycle of trademark registration remained stable at 4 months, and the general trademark registration cycle was reduced to 7 months.
Second, we have made intellectual property public services more standardized, equitable, and accessible. Not long ago, the NIPA issued a list of intellectual property public services, which includes the online and offline access paths for 49 services in three categories of intellectual property application, management, and information. As a result, the intellectual property public service requests can be accepted without discrimination and processed with the same standard based on the list.
Third, we have accelerated the establishment of an intellectual property public service system that is convenient for and beneficial to the people. As I mentioned earlier, in 2021, China's intellectual property information service institutions achieved full coverage at the provincial level, with 52 provincial-level institutes and 104 prefecture-level comprehensive institutes. At the same time, we have jointly set up 101 technology and innovation support centers with the World Intellectual Property Organization, built 80 national intellectual property information service centers in universities with the Ministry of Education, and filed the first batch of 88 national intellectual property information public service entities.
Fourth, we have enhanced infrastructure construction for IT-based and intelligent intellectual property. We have further optimized the functions of the intellectual property public service network and advanced its connection with websites of governments at all levels, including the CNIPA's official website, as well as the technology and innovation support centers and the websites of the intellectual property information service centers in universities mentioned above and other resource platforms. We have cooperated with the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments to guide the establishment of the intellectual property pledge information platform, achieving "one-stop inquiry" and "one-window display."
Fifth, we have beefed up efforts to open and share intellectual property data resources. We opened 10 additional types of intellectual property data to the public. We provided the data of China's layout-designs of integrated circuits for the first time, realizing batch downloading of the data of 45 kinds of Chinese and foreign patents, trademarks, and layout-designs of integrated circuits. The European Union Trademark Search System was also launched to provide the public with foreign trademark information search services for the first time.
A few days ago, the CNIPA issued the 14th Five-Year Plan for intellectual property public services, the first five-year plan in this field. The plan will render the intellectual property public services more accessible and convenient and comprehensively support and efficiently serve the building of a strong country for intellectual property rights. Thank you.
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Cover News:
Trademark squatting with "Lake Changjin" and "Quan Hongchan" received significant attention. Data on the fight against malicious trademark registrations last year was also mentioned just now. What measures were taken in the previous year to combat malicious trademark squatting and what progress was achieved?
Hu Wenhui:
Thank you for your questions. Mr. Zhang Zhicheng will answer them.
Zhang Zhicheng:
Thank you for your questions. As you mentioned, incidents involving malicious trademark applications received much public attention. The CNIPA has attached great importance to solving the problem and taken multiple measures, such as improving regulations, setting up lexicons as examination guides, dealing with applications by type, and launching special actions, to crack down on trademark squatting and build a market environment featuring good faith. In 2019, we formulated and issued Several Provisions on Regulating Trademark Registration Applications. The regulation stipulates that a bad-faith application for trademark registration shall be rejected and invalidated according to the law and that the applicant shall be given administrative punishment such as warnings and fines based on the circumstances by the market regulatory department at or above the county level at the place where the applicant is located or where the violation occurs.
In early 2021, the CNIPA issued the Special Action Plan for Combating Malicious Trademark Squatting. The plan identified ten acts targeted during the special action, including maliciously squatting the names of public figures, well-known works, or character names with a relatively high reputation. Relevant case clues would be transferred to local intellectual property offices. As Mr. Hu mentioned, the CNIPA combated 482,000 malicious trademark registration applications throughout last year and rejected 1,111 applications involving trademark squatting with names including "Lake Changjin" and "Quan Hongchan." The CNIPA also announced 1,635 registered trademarks invalid and transferred 1,062 clues of cases involving suspected significant adverse consequences and malicious trademark registration to local authorities. Thanks to the measures, a tough position has been adopted across society in cracking down on malicious trademark registration.
In addition, as Ms. Lei mentioned, the CNIPA has intensified efforts in combating malicious squatting by trademark agents. For example, we organized local authorities to investigate 24 cases where trademark agents attempted to snatch buzzwords for the Olympic Games as trademarks maliciously and imposed administrative punishment on 13 cases. For two trademark agents involved in major severe squatting cases, we directly imposed an administrative penalty and stopped their business. In addition, we summoned 13 platform-based trademark agents for talks, guiding them to establish mechanisms for screening malicious trademark squatting and preventing the act and other violations of laws and regulations.
In the near future, the CNIPA will publish some typical cases of malicious trademark squatting on its official website and WeChat account to maintain long-term deterrence and ensure market and legal environments featuring fair competition and good faith for all market entities.
Thank you.
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China Economic Information Service (CEIS, affiliated with Xinhua News Agency):
China's patent-intensive industries have made relatively fast progress against the backdrop of COVID-19. Could you elaborate on their features and current status based on the just-released data?
Hu Wenhui:
Thank you for your question. I'd like to invite Mr. Ge Shu to answer.
Ge Shu:
Thank you for your question. Globally, patent-intensive industries, featuring outstanding innovative capacity and strong market competitiveness, have provided strong support for high-quality socio-economic development in innovation-oriented countries. Cultivating and expanding these industries is a significant measure to push forward the integration of intellectual property into innovative development and promote high-quality economic development.
In order to better monitor the growth of patent-intensive industries, the NIPA and the National Bureau of Statistics jointly established a mechanism for the accounting and release of the added value for these industries. Statistical data shows that the growth characteristics of patent-intensive industries are as follows:
First, patent-intensive industries have strongly driven China's economic growth. Data released by Mr. Hu just now shows that China's overall added value of these industries exceeded 12 trillion yuan, up 5.8% year on year (without deducting the price factors), contributing 24.6% to GDP growth. Its proportion in GDP rose 0.35 percentage point compared with last year.
Second, patent-intensive industries show a strong capacity for risk resistance and robust resilience in development. In spite of the big socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the added value of the information and communication technology service industry, medical and pharmaceutical industry, as well as R&D, design and technology service industry rose 15.7%, 10.1% and 5.9% respectively year on year, becoming new engines of growth.
Third, patent-intensive industries boast strong innovative capacity and rapid growth in patent reserve. The authorized invention patents in the information and communication technology service industry and medical and pharmaceutical industry increased around 50% year on year. The fast growth of patent reserves in digital economy and medical sectors, among others, has strongly supported the rapid development of relevant industries.
The 14th Five-Year Plan for Protection and Application of Intellectual Property Rights proposed the task of cultivating patent-intensive industries. By the end of 2025, the added value of patent-intensive industries is expected to account for 13% of GDP. Next, with focus on the implementation of the task, the CNIPA will continue to cultivate and expand patent-intensive industries and push forward the deep integration of intellectual property with industries, thus promoting the transformation of intellectual property into real productivity and reinforcing the new engines of high-quality economic development. Thank you.
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CNR:
With the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics approaching, what has the CNIPA done to protect intellectual property associated with the Olympic Games? Thank you.
Hu Wenhui:
Thanks for your question. I will answer this question. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics are major events for the Party and the country. Furthermore, a successful Beijing 2022 is China's solemn commitment to the international community. Therefore, making good preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics is an honor and an important mission. The CNIPA has thoroughly implemented the guiding principles of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions, attached great importance to the protection of intellectual property associated with the Olympics, actively deployed and implemented relevant work, and strived to provide a solid guarantee for a wonderful, extraordinary, and outstanding Olympic Games. I will briefly introduce our work in four main areas:
First, we have consolidated the foundation of work and promoted complete protection. We have announced the protection of 63 Olympic symbols submitted by the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, including the emblem, name, abbreviation, mascot, and slogan. At the same time, we have strengthened the protection of patents and trademarks for the emblems and torch designs of the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, providing complete protection of intellectual property associated with the Games.
Second, we have highlighted the key points of protection and enhanced the effectiveness of regulation and crackdown on intellectual property infringement. On the one hand, following the Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols, we have promoted the timely release of information on licensees of the protected Olympic symbols, effectively supporting the enforcement of administrative law. On the other hand, together with the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), we have issued a special action plan for protecting the intellectual property associated with the Olympic Symbols of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, according to which a special nationwide campaign has been ongoing since mid-October last year to June this year.
Third, we have strengthened supervision to see responsibilities fulfilled locally. In collaboration with the SAMR, we have conducted special investigations in the Beijing and Zhangjiakou competition zones and various venues. For example, not long ago, some officials of the CNIPA went to Chongli district and conducted a special investigation on the intellectual property protection associated with the Olympics to ensure that the relevant protection work was practical and to provide guarantees for the smooth development of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
Fourth, we have underlined the publicity and training of intellectual property protection to improve the ability of relevant staff. For example, in 2020 and 2021, we held special training sessions, organized in both online and offline format, on the improvement of abilities to protect intellectual property associated with the Olympics for a total of 1,100 people, which effectively improved the professional capacity of personnel who are responsible for intellectual property protection and further publicized relevant knowledge.
Next, the CNIPA will organize all localities to strengthen further the protection of intellectual property associated with the Olympics, strictly crack down on infringement before the competition, enhance the coordination during the competition, and maintain a tough stance against intellectual property infringement. We will help ensure a successful Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games with these efforts.
Thank you.
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Brazilian newspaper O Globo:
Could you talk a little bit about China's position on intellectual property on public health issues, especially on COVID measures, not only vaccines but the testing for example.
Hu Wenhui:
Thanks for your question. As many are concerned, we have attached importance to intellectual property related to the COVID-19. The CNIPA has launched a special green channel for quick review of patent applications related to the COVID-19. For intellectual property information services related to the COVID-19, we have also specially set up a professional service website for the public and professionals to inquire about relevant information. In this way, we have done our part to support the development of vaccines and the prevention and control of the pandemic. That's all I have to say in regards to that topic. Thank you.
Xing Huina:
Thank you, Mr. Hu, and thanks to the other three speakers. Today's press conference is now concluded. Thank you, journalists from the media. Goodbye, everyone.
Translated and edited by Cui Can, Liu Qiang, Liu Jianing, Zhang Rui, Gong Yingchun, Li Huiru, Wang Mengru, Chen Xia, Xu Xiaoxuan, Huang Shan, Wang Yiming, Yan Xiaoqing, Zhou Jing, Wang Qian, Zhu Bochen, Yuan Fang, Zhang Liying, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, and Drew Pittock. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.
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