Protection advances supply-side reforms

Intellectual property provides a primary guarantee for advancing supply-side reforms, said Shen Changyu, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office, at a patent conference in Beijing on Monday.

IP boosts supply-side reforms, which "is of significance to China's new normal economic growth and also promotes the development of the global economy", Shen said at the Patent Information Annual Conference.

"IP - especially patented technologies - is a strategic resource for development and a key to sharpening competitiveness," he added.

Children experience a simulator of China's home-developed Tiangong-1 space lab at a technology exhibition in Beijing. Chen Xiaogen / For China Daily

Annual invention patent filings from China reached 1.1 million in 2015, marking the first time in the country's history to surpass the 1-million benchmark and ranking it above all other countries for five consecutive years.

In the same year, the number of valid invention patents in the country exceeded 1 million, enabling China to become the third country that has joined the 1-million club after the United States and Japan.

"How to tap into such a rich patent resource is our major concern," the commissioner said.

Meng Fengchao, chairman of the Patent Protection Association of China, called on Chinese companies to improve patent quality.

"Patents matter for industrial competition and innovative development," Meng said. "IP competition comes down to the rivalry for patent quality."

He called for an optimized patent environment and popularized IP management system certification.

"Many of our association's members are large State-owned companies, which are a major force in campaigning for building China into a strong IP powerhouse," said Meng, who is also the chairman of the board of directors at China Railway Construction Corp.

Chinese companies going abroad need to deploy their patent resources and strategies in advance, he said, suggesting that high-value patents be developed in key technological fields in advanced manufacturing and emerging industries.

Allen Lo, deputy general counsel for patents at Google, noted the importance of a transparent, fair and effective patent system, which is "just right".

Such a sound system helps to create high-quality patents, which provide significant inventions as technological solutions, rather than trivial exchanges, he said.

A patent's protection coverage should not be too broad. Otherwise, it would affect future inventions, he added.

A weak patent system would only leave a bleak landscape where few want to invest in inventions, while a too strong one would also impair technological progress, with litigation-riddled businesses in the patent-crowded markets, he said.

SIPO Commissioner Shen said the Chinese government has decided to further reforms in the IP sphere in a bid to increase IP use and protection.

One focus is "to promote patents' industrialization for increased profits and expanded development", he said.

Service providers a highlight at conference

The Patent Information Annual Conference held in Beijing from Monday to Tuesday attracted some 4,000 participants from China and abroad.

As throngs of people crowded the main venue to listen to experts' insights into how patent operation boosts supply-side reform, the neighboring lobby was also busy with exhibition stands of intellectual property service providers.

Lu Baofeng, IP sales specialist of LexisNexis, said it was the seventh time that he represented his company as a participant in the patent gathering.

"I have participated in every session of PIAC since it debuted in 2010, and have witnessed it becoming increasingly influential," the regular visitor said.

"The event is a key event in the industry," Lu said. "We can't be absent, as all our major rivals have made a presence here."

Different from Lu, Wu Jiao, assistant of general manager in the China branch of Ipside from France, attended the meeting for the first time.

"Our Beijing office has just been granted a business certificate recently," she said, adding that as a growing number of Chinese companies have started going abroad, China is gaining more popularity among IP service providers worldwide.

Shen Changyu, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office, said at the meeting that China's IP services have seen robust growth momentum in recent years, ranging from strategy consultation and technological financing to analysis, evaluation and training.

He said his team will speed up efforts to develop IP service clusters and encourage the development of high-end service institutes.