From 2004 to September 2007, China has investigated 1,357 intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement cases related to the Olympics.

Here are figures and facts about IPR development in China.

IPR WATCHDOG: The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), founded in 1998, was developed from the China Patent Office, which was established in 1980.

PATENT PROTECTION: In April 1985, the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China came into force. The law was amended in 1992 and again in2000.

In 2007, the SIPO handled 694,153 patent applications. Of these, 586,734 were domestic applications. Foreign applications hit 107,419.

TRADEMARK PROTECTION: China centralized the registration of trademarks in 1979. The Trademark Law took effect in 1983.

By the end of 2007, China had had about 3.03 million registered trademarks. Since 2002, the number of applications for trademark registration has increased by 200,000 annually. The total number of applications was the most in the world for the sixth consecutive year.

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION: In 1988, the Copyright Agency of China was established. The Copyright Research Society of China was set up in 1990 and changed to the Copyright Society of China in 2002.

In 1993 the China Copyright Society of Works of Music was established, and 1998 saw the establishment of the Copyright Protection Center of China.

LAWSUITS: In 2007, local people's courts accepted a total of 17,877 IPR suits of first instance and concluded 17,395.

The accepted cases included 4,041 patent suits, 3,855 involving trademarks, 7,263 involving copyright, 669 technological contracts, and 1,204 unfair competition.

IPR STRATEGY: The State Council (Cabinet) promulgated an outline of the IPR strategy earlier this June, under which it plans to raise public IPR awareness over five years. By 2020, it says, China would have a fairly high level of IPR creation, use, protection and management.

The key points of the strategy include the perfection of the IPR system, the promotion of IPR creation and use, strengthening protection, avoidance of abuse and nurturing respect for IPR. Enditem

Source:Xinhua