Beijing to further intellectual property protection

The International Trademark Association (INTA), the Zhongguancun Federation of Social Organizations (ZFSO) and the Beijing Intellectual Property Protection Association (BIPPA) signed a cooperation agreement for Chinese brand construction strategy on September 20 in Beijing. 

The signing ceremony was also a high-level dialogue forum focusing on how INTA could promote Chinese enterprises tapping into international markets. More than 60 guests from government agencies, industry associations and companies from home and abroad attended the event. 

At the ceremony, Etieenne Sanz de Acedo, chief executive officer of INTA, analyzed the internationalization strategy plans from 2014 to 2017 and offered his opinion on the best methods to help Chinese companies enter international markets. 

Ronald van Tuijl, president of the INTA, said "Our three organizations are uniquely positioned to support brand owners and innovation in China. This cooperation agreement will allow us to do this effectively, through education, exchange and engagement." 

The INTA brought its Annual Meeting -- the first Annual Meeting in Asia -- to Hong Kong in 2014 and attended seminars in Beijing on online counterfeiting and brand building in 2015. The company will continue to host such events in China. 

Dai Jian, secretary general of the ZFSO, said that with the rapid development of the knowledge economy and economic globalization, intellectual property has become a strategic resource for enterprises and a key element in international competitiveness. Entry of Chinese companies into international markets has been accelerating in recent years, and intellectual property has become a core factor in global business competitiveness. 

The new agreement is intended to promote international cooperation and protection of intellectual property and to help improve corporate competitiveness. 

The ZFSO will offer exchange platforms for government offices, companies, social organizations, colleges and services institutions and hold forums, seminars and lectures to help enterprises learn more about the exploitation, review and internationalization of intellectual property. 

Etieenne Sanz de Acedo also mentioned that INTA’s strengths are in its international membership from 190 countries and the breadth of its education programming experience. It has hosted the world’s largest gathering of IP professionals every year at its annual meetings. 

He said they will leverage these strengths with those of BIPPA and the Zhongguancun Authority, which are strong in innovation, technology, experienced in a growth market and have deep local knowledge of China, in particular the innovative zones in the Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei area and Z-park. 

He added that the INTA board, many of whom are not from China, found the experience very educational. 

Cao Zhongqiang, director of the Intellectual Property Rights Center, one of the sponsors of the event, said they look forward to further improving the trademark registration, protection and management abilities of the company through the three party cooperation. 

Li Zhong, deputy director general of Beijing Intellectual Property, also said the three-party cooperation is an opportunity to deepen relations among companies in China and elsewhere and to build a beneficial platform for the development of China as a world intellectual property protection center. 

Beijing is now constructing an innovation ecological system driven by intellectual property with equal participation. It anticipates becoming an example of intellectual property protection. 

Li Zhong said that as a gathering place of political, scientific and human talent resources, Beijing has been instrumental in the rapid development of intellectual property development. From 2011 to 2015, patent applications and approvals had increased to 19.44 and 22.9 percent respectively. 

In the next five years, the city will take advantage of its talents and high technology to strengthen intellectual property protection and to hasten transformation of science and technology achievements into marketable products. 

The event was sponsored by the INTA, the ZFSO, the BIPPA and the Intellectual Property Right Center, located in Beijing.