In July 1898, Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty adopted the reformist views and issued the "Regulations on Awarding Prizes for Promoting Arts and Crafts," marking China's first law with patent-like qualities and the beginning of Chinese intellectual property legislation. In 1904, the Qing government established the "Trial Regulations on Trademark Registration," followed by the "Great Qing Copyright Law" in 1910.

Since then, China has experienced the inheritance and changes in intellectual property law through the successive governments of the provisional government of the Xinhai Revolution, the Beiyang government, the Beijing government, and the Nanjing Nationalist government, until the founding of the People's Republic of China.

On August 23, 1982, the "Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China" was promulgated; on March 12, 1984, the "Patent Law of the People's Republic of China" was issued; and on September 7, 1990, the "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China" was enacted. This marked a new era in China's intellectual property legislation.

Today, the importance of intellectual property protection is undisputed, and intellectual property rights have never been as widely recognized worldwide as they are now. However, as is widely known, the intellectual property system originated in the West, and the profound cultural differences between East and West make the development and improvement of a modern intellectual property system in China a challenging task.

The questions of how to fairly balance the interests between rights holders and the public, how to equitably and reasonably protect the intellectual property rights of various entities, and how to harmonize modern intellectual property systems with the ancient and rich traditional culture of the Chinese nation are issues that every Chinese intellectual property lawyer must deeply consider over the long term.

With these considerations in mind, in 2006, led by lawyer Xu Xinming, a group of conscientious and justice-minded intellectual property lawyers and scholars in Beijing gathered together to establish the China Intellectual Property Lawyers Network, aiming to promote justice, oppose infringement, advance the rule of law, and contribute to the development and improvement of intellectual property protection in China.

Laozi said, "A tree as big as a man's embrace springs from a tiny shoot; a tower nine stories high begins with a pile of earth; a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." Although China's intellectual property system has only existed for about a hundred years, it has already taken root in Chinese soil. We have reason to believe that the rich and brilliant cultural heritage of the Chinese nation will give birth to a unique and vibrant intellectual property system that will further the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

We are walking on this path, looking toward the farthest distance with the most sincere gaze.

Xu Xinming

April 26, 2008

The China Intellectual Property Lawyers Network is an academic, non-profit professional website jointly established by intellectual property lawyers and scholars in Beijing. It aims to promote up-to-date intellectual property law knowledge, advocate for just legal principles regarding intellectual property, closely monitor both domestic and international developments in the field, and contribute to the advancement of intellectual property law in China.

Following an open-minded principle, we welcome attention and supervision from all sectors of society and look forward to submissions from intellectual property lawyers, scholars, judges, prosecutors, and other related professionals, though we do not offer any form of remuneration or reward for submissions.

To fulfill the website's mission, it is sometimes necessary to reprint articles from relevant authors, for which we express our sincere gratitude. If any rights holder believes that content provided by this site infringes upon their copyright or other rights, please notify us promptly. Upon verification, we will add copyright information or remove the content as requested by the rights holder, and we offer our sincere apologies.

No individual may reproduce articles, materials, or any other content from this site (beyond legal and regulatory documents) without the permission of the relevant rights holders. The articles, materials, laws, regulations, and any other information provided by this site are for reference purposes only and do not represent the stance or opinions of this website. Any disputes or legal consequences arising from the use of this information are the sole responsibility of the user and have no relation to this website.

China Intellectual Property Lawyers Network

January 3, 2007