Sino-European ties add to global system

The cooperation between China and Europe in the intellectual property sphere has contributed to the innovation and progress of the global IP system, a senior official said on Thursday. 

Shen Changyu, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office, made the remarks at a symposium on the 30th anniversary of Europe-China cooperation. He said the European Patent Office is "a trustworthy, long-standing strategic partner", and the two offices have enjoyed "fruitful cooperation" over the past three decades. 

Since the EPO offered a helping hand at the beginning of China's modern IP system - which enabled the country to start at a high level - the European office has played a key part in milestone events in Chinese IP history, he said. 

SIPO and EPO established bilateral cooperation in 1985, the same year that China's first patent law came into effect. The relationship increased to a strategic partnership in 2007. 

Shen said his team calls for construction of public service platforms for trade and information to promote patent industrialization and information and help analyze the market, make sound major research decisions and serve mass innovation and entrepreneurship campaigns in the country. 

IP protection is key to providing a primary guarantee for innovation, he said, noting that the Chinese government has made it clear it will implement strict IP protection for an open, fair and transparent legal and market environment.