China briefs the media on progress in IPR protection

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-17-2007 15:56

China says it's made good progress in protecting intellectual property rights over the past year. The assessment came from the State Intellectual Property Office.

A spokesman said the country is confident and determined to gain further improvement in IPR protection.

The software giant, Microsoft has been a victim of rampant software piracy in China. But last week, the company announced an expected 20 percent sales revenue increase of its software products in China, and gave much credit to improved IPR protection.

Last year the Chinese government required that all locally made computers be installed with genuine operating software before leaving factories.

And this policy is just one of a series of measures. IPR officials say the country has the confidence and determination to deal with IPR protection.

Yin Xintian, spokesman State intellectual property office, said, "The Chinese government puts IPR protection as a fundamental national policy. It's not just out of the need to attract foreign investment and technology. Protecting IPR is more out of China's internal requirements for pushing forward its own scientific, technological and economic development, as well as perfecting the country's market economy mechanism."

According to Yin Xintian, China has made remarkable progress in setting its IPR protection strategy. He said the country saw substantial double-digit growth in patent, trade mark and copyright applications in 2006. China has also improved legislation, and strengthened enforcement at both civil and criminal levels.

Authorities also responded to US charges against China at the WTO.

Wang Ziqiang, spokesman State Admin. of copyrights, said, "We admit that there are still pirated goods in our market. But this should not constitute an excuse for the US to accuse China to the WTO."

Authorities say the charges will not be helpful for bilateral cooperation in this area. He said China and the US should try to solve their IPR problems through dialogue and communication.

Editor:Du Xiaodan