Enforcement a prominent issue in rights protection

The criminal and administrative law enforcement organs should further intensify cross-regional and interdepartmental cooperation ...” Yuan Gaoqiang, deputy head of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment

Law enforcement has become a prominent issue concerning intellectual property protection to ensure fair trade at home and abroad, according to officials at a recent event held by the Quality Brands Protection Committee of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment.

The remarks were made at a news conference on Friday to announce the 2017-18 annual top 10 practice cases in IP protection, and model cases bridging administrative and judicial IP enforcement.

The approach to IP protection varies from country to country due to diverse national conditions, said George Chu, a special adviser at the United Nations.

China makes progress in IP protection every year, but still faces many challenges such as insufficient protection of trade secrets, malicious registrations concerning trademarks, and inconsistent civil judgment of judicial organizations on foreign original equipment manufacturers, which may go against preventing fake and infringing commodities from entering the international field, Chu said.

“The practical and feasible method is to find a solution from all aspects based on the reality and finally eradicate infringement,” he added.

Jack Chang, chairman of the QBPC, said the emergence of new technology, especially social media, has made it difficult for the authorities to gain accurate information when gathering evidence in IP protection cases.

“Infringement is dynamic and its ways keep changing,” Chang said.

He added that the types of infringement can be reduced with an increase in IP protection and government crackdowns.

The QBPC started ranking the annual top 10 practice cases in 2002 and has been rolling out the annual list of model cases bridging administrative and judicial IP enforcement in 2012.

This year, the model cases were selected by government agencies, such as local customs and public security organs, and related to fighting the sales and production of counterfeit goods.

The top criminal cases this year mostly involved telephones, scanners and medicine, and the top noncriminal cases were mostly concerned with unfair competition and trademark infringement.

These cases revealed the rigor and impartiality of justice, said Yuan Gaoqiang, deputy head of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment.

“The criminal and administrative law enforcement organs should further intensify cross-regional and interdepartmental cooperation through hightech methods to create a sound business environment,” Yuan said.