Create system of professional titles for specialized IP majors

China will award professional titles for those graduating in specialized intellectual property (IP) majors, a move an analyst said was intended to advance the proficiency and team building of IP professionals, amid pressure from the US over allegations that Chinese firms have stolen IP from American companies.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) recently released guidelines to advance reform to the title system for professionals working in fields related to economics. They will establish majors specializing in IP and grant professional titles that will be named after the major, online news site people.com.cn reported Friday.

Professional titles of the IPR majors will include Assistant IP Specialist, IP Professional and Senior IP Professional, according to the guidelines.

In recent years, China's team of IP professionals has grown stronger and developed more expertise, and strengthening the construction of the group is of great significance for the in-depth implementation of the national IP strategy, the report said, citing an official from the MHRSS.

Compared with other majors, the IP major needs to be supported by multiple subjects, as it not only involves economic principles, basic knowledge and assessment of policies and regulations, but also features engineering and legal knowledge, the official said.

Since its professional knowledge structure and assessment requirements differ from other majors, giving it a distinctive name will reflect its professional characteristics, according to the official.

The addition of professional titles in the IP sector will greatly improve the evaluation system for industrial professionals, an industry analyst surnamed He told the Global Times.

He said that China has made great efforts to advance its IP industry and such efforts cannot be ignored by foreign countries like the US, which continues to discriminate China.

For instance, China continues to promote the reform of trademark registration and improve the quality and efficiency of IP review. In the first half of this year, China completed 3.515 million trademark registrations, an increase of 67.8 percent year-on-year, news site thepaper.cn reported on Sunday.

The number of IP professionals in China has expanded quickly in recent years as the country has attached great importance to IP protection, He said, noting that as a result, there will also be more people specialized in IP management in the future.

The State Council, China's cabinet, released a national plan on protection and application of IP in January 2017, which will be carried out during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20).

According to the plan, the number of China's IP professionals will reach more than 500,000 by 2020 and the number of employees working in the IP industry will exceed one million.