On September 22, 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the “Guidelines for Building a Powerful Country with Intellectual Property Rights (2021-2035)” (Hereinafter referred to as "the Guidelines"). The Guidelines outlines China's grand blueprint for accelerating the construction of an intellectual property power nation. This is a programmatic document for building a powerful country with intellectual property in the new era, and also a call for implementing the new development concept in the new era. China has shifted from a big country importing intellectual property rights to a big country of creation, and the transformation of intellectual property work from the pursuit of a quantity to the improvement of quality has accelerated in an all-round way.
On the one hand, the Guidelines is based on the domestic view to launch the construction of building a powerful country with intellectual property rights from the multi-dimensional perspectives of the intellectual property system, protection system, operating mechanism, public service system, the humanistic and social environment, etc. On the other hand, the Guidelines takes a global view, deeply participates in global intellectual property governance, and promotes the development of the global intellectual property governance system in a more just and reasonable direction.
Highlights
1. The blueprint is drawn — six key tasks support the strategy of strengthening the country with intellectual property rights
"Implementing the strategy of strengthening the country with intellectual property rights, responding to the challenges posed by new technologies, new economies, and new situations to the reform of the intellectual property system, accelerating the reform and development of intellectual property rights, and comprehensively enhancing China’s comprehensive intellectual property strength are of great significance for enhancing the country’s core competitiveness and expanding high-level opening up to the outside world." The CNIPA officer said.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China's intellectual property protection work has made historic achievements. The intellectual property legal system has been gradually improved, and the administrative and judicial protection of intellectual property has been significantly strengthened. The social satisfaction of intellectual property protection increased from 63.69 points in 2012 to 80.05 points in 2020.
As of the end of 2020, the number of domestic invention patents per 10,000 population (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) has reached 15.8, and the number of valid trademark registrations has reached 30.173 million, which is more than four times that of 2012. Core patents, well-known trademarks, premium copyrights, high-quality geographical indication products, etc. continue to increase.
The Global Innovation Index report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization shows that China's ranking has risen from the 35th in 2013 to the 12th in 2021, a steady rise for 9 consecutive years.
"Entering a new stage of development and promoting high-quality development is an inevitable requirement for maintaining sustained and healthy economic development. Intellectual property has become more prominent as a strategic resource for national development and a core element of international competitiveness." The CNIPA officer said.
The Guidelines deploys six key tasks:
1) Constructing an intellectual property system oriented to socialist modernization.
2) Constructing an intellectual property protection system that supports a world-class business environment.
3) Constructing an intellectual property market operating mechanism that encourages innovation and development.
4) Constructing the Public Service System of Intellectual Property Right for the Convenience and Benefit of the People.
5) Constructing a Humanistic Social Environment for Promoting the High Quality Development of Intellectual Property Rights.
6) Deep participation in global intellectual property governance.
2. Stronger protection —strengthening the construction of the system and improving the level of protection
Strengthening the protection of intellectual property is the foundation of the development of intellectual property. According to the Guidelines plan, the building of a strong country with intellectual property rights is divided into two stages: from the first stage to 2025, the protection of intellectual property rights will be stricter, social satisfaction will reach and maintain a relatively high level, the market value of intellectual property rights will be further highlighted, and some basic indicators of intellectual property rights will continue to rise; from the second stage to 2035, China's comprehensive intellectual property competitiveness will rank among the top in the world, with a complete intellectual property system, and intellectual property will promote the vigorous development of innovation and entrepreneurship. The intellectual property culture of the whole society has basically formed consciously, and the pattern of international cooperation involving all-round and multi-level participation in the global governance of intellectual property has basically taken shape, and a world-level intellectual property power with Chinese characteristics has basically been established.
"In recent years, China has protected intellectual property rights with unprecedented intensity and achieved remarkable results. According to the Guidelines, in the future, more attention will be paid to the construction and improvement of the intellectual property system and protection system, to better meet the evolving needs of intellectual property protection, and to further improve the level and efficiency of intellectual property protection." The relevant person in charge of the China National Intellectual Property Administration said.
The Guidelines proposes to build a more complete intellectual property legal system, management system, and policy system, and build an intellectual property rule system in emerging fields and specific fields that responds promptly and protects reasonably. Improve the judicial protection system and administrative protection system, and improve the coordinated protection pattern of unified leadership, smooth connection, fast and efficient.
The Guidelines also focuses on the construction of a humanistic and social environment for intellectual property rights, and promotes the realization of a higher level of protection and higher quality development of intellectual property rights by enhancing the intellectual property cultural consciousness of the whole society.
The Guidelines proposes to shape intellectual property cultural concepts that respecting knowledge, advocating innovation, honesty and law-abiding, and fair competition, building an intellectual property cultural communication matrix with novel content, and creating a more open, more active, and more dynamic environment for the development of intellectual property talents.
3. Leading by quality — creating a powerful engine for high-quality development
Innovation is the first driving force leading development. High-quality development places urgent demands on higher-level creation and higher-efficiency use of intellectual property rights.
In this regard, the Guidelines proposes that by 2025, the added value of patent-intensive industries will account for 13% of GDP, the added value of copyright industries will account for 7.5% of GDP, the total annual import and export value of intellectual property royalties will reach CNY 350 billion, and the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people will reach 12; By 2035, intellectual property rights will promote the vigorous development of innovation and entrepreneurship.
The relevant person in charge of the China National Intellectual Property Administration said that the Guidelines highlights "quality leadership", and through deepening the reform of the intellectual property field, building a more complete system and mechanism for the market-oriented allocation of factors, and making better use of the basic guarantee role of the intellectual property system in stimulating innovation, so as to provide a steady stream of motivation for high-quality development.
The Guidelines proposes to improve the enterprise-oriented and market-oriented high-quality creation mechanism of intellectual property rights, improve the efficient and smooth operation, and fully realize the application mechanism of value, and establish a standardized, orderly and dynamic market operation mechanism. It is also required to strengthen the supply of intellectual property public services, and establish data standards, resource integration, and efficient use of information service models.
"China will also promote the in-depth integration of intellectual property rights with economic, technological, cultural, social and other aspects, in order to achieve higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and safer development, and to contribute to meeting the people's growing needs for a better life.” The CNIPA officer said.
