Japanese Government and the Private Sector Encouraging the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights: The "Japan-China Intellectual Property Protection Symposium" at the Canton Fair

JETRO Guangzhou, Monday, June 27, 2011

On April 18, 2011, the "Japan-China Intellectual Property Protection Symposium," jointly sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and China's Ministry of Commerce, was held to coincide with the 109th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) (from April 15 to May 5, 2011), which is one of the largest trade shows in China. In the past, the fair had run into problems, such as Chinese-made, counterfeit goods being exhibited, and thus the protection of intellectual property rights at the fair had been a major agenda for Japanese companies.

The Japanese government and the International Intellectual Property Protection Forum (IIPPF), in which many major Japanese companies participate, dispatched the Eighth Intellectual Property Protection Government-Industry Joint Mission to coincide with the 109th Canton Fair. This was the first time that the IIPPF mission had visited a city outside of Beijing.

Government officials of both Japan and China, the organizers of the Canton Fair, the IIPPF, and representatives of companies of both countries took part in the symposium, held on April 18. Ms. Jiang Haiyan, Deputy Security-General of the People's Government of Guangdong Province, as the representative of the Guangdong government, stated, "In order to enhance the industrial structure of Guangdong Province, it is necessary to reinforce the autonomous creation and management of intellectual property rights, perform protection according to the letter of the law, strengthen law enforcement for its protection, and create an environment that nurtures proactive innovation."

What is particularly noteworthy is that more than 100 of the representatives of more than 50 of the regional trading delegations and industry groups that were exhibiting at the fair took part in the symposium. If a company exhibited a product that is infringing on intellectual property rights, the regional trading delegations and industry groups have the authority to strip the company of its eligibility to exhibit at the fair. The symposium was particularly meaningful in that it was able to educate representatives of these organizations on intellectual property rights.

At the symposium, Ms. Liao Liwen, deputy director of the Policy & Law Department of Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation of Guangdong Province, representing the regional trading delegations, signed and read out loud the "Advocacy Declaration for Intellectual Property Protection." This declaration articulated the urging of exhibitors to build an in-house system for the protection of intellection property rights and prohibit the manufacture or sale of counterfeit goods, in order to honor the intellectual property rights of others, as well as to enhance the fair's capacity to protect these intellectual property rights.

The Ministry of Commerce is the main regulatory authority for the trade shows held in China, and in 2006, together with the State Administration for Industry & Commerce, the National Copyright Administration, and the State Intellectual Property Office, it published information on the intellectual property protection provisions of the exhibitions. However, the duration of trade shows tends to be short, and activities to protect intellectual property rights are not progressing as hoped. In light of these circumstances, the initiatives taken at the Canton Fair will make a public appeal to the rest of the world on China's endeavors and will also have the effect of enlightening both foreign buyers and exhibitors.

During the Canton Fair, a center for filing complaints concerning intellectual property rights was set up, and specialists from the State Administration for Industry & Commerce, the National Copyright Administration, and the State Intellectual Property Office were stationed there. These specialists, upon receiving a complaint, decided whether rights had been infringed upon, and if a product was determined to be infringing up such rights, it was taken out of the exhibition.

After the symposium, the IIPPF mission conducted an exchange of opinions with the managers of the Intellectual Property Rights Complaints Center. According to the explanation given by the Canton Fair, of the complaints received, the majority of the trademark infringements comprised foreign trademark infringements (where a Chinese company infringes on a world-famous trademark). Trademark infringements at the Canton Fair have decreased dramatically in the past few years. However, patent infringements have been on the rise, and design- and utility model-related patent cases have been particularly numerous. In recent years, 70% of the complaints concerned patents. There have also been an increasing number of cases where both parties involved in the patent infringements are Chinese companies.

The IIPPF mission also met with Mr. Wang Yang, secretary of the Communist Party of China, Guangdong Provincial Committee, to exchange views on the protection of intellectual property rights. Mr. Wang Yang, explained, "Guangdong Province, which leads the nation in the number of patent applications, attaches great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights, and it is important that the protection of such rights leads to lively technological innovations." Having said that, Mr. Wang Yang also stressed that, "Japan is a country that has been built on intellectual property, and it is an important partner for Guangdong Province, which aims to achieve economic development through scientific technology. Therefore, we hope to maintain both our exchanges regarding the protection of intellectual property rights and our cooperative relationship with Japan."

Guangdong Province had played a major role as the driver of the Chinese economy during the 30 Years of Reform & Opening, and, as it has already achieved industry agglomeration, mainly through the export industry, it will from now on need to enhance the sophistication and added value of its industries. To this end, it must once again become aware of the importance of proactive technological innovations and the protection of intellectual property rights. Guangdong Province is one of the nation's leading regions for the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit goods, and this recent visit by the IIPPF mission, which reconfirmed the Guangdong provincial government's understanding of the protection of intellectual property rights, and which built a new cooperative framework with this government, was particularly significant for the Japanese business community.

Note: The trading delegation of each region and the industry groups have the authority to solicit exhibitors to the fair from their region or industry and to grant exhibition permits to those companies that satisfy a certain set of criteria. The companies exhibit at the fair, not as individual companies, but as members of the trading delegation or the industry group.