The standing committee of the National People’s Congress amended the Scientific and Technological Progress Law on December 29. The amendments aim to boost innovation in the country and move the publication of the National IP Strategy forward.
The National IP Strategy is designed to raise IP awareness throughout the country, encourage so-called joined-up government by connecting existing IP policies in different departments and take “a macroeconomic look at IPR protection,” according to Thomas Pattloch, IP officer at the EU delegation in Beijing.
A National Working Group for IPR Protection was set up in 2005 to coordinate IP policies and develop a more comprehensive national IP strategy. It is made up of 13 officials from 12 IP-related agencies and ministries, including the Ministry of Commerce, the State Intellectual Property Office, Customs, the Supreme People's Court and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
The Chinese government originally planned to release the National IP Strategy in 2007. Officials have held a series of symposiums to discus the strategy and SIPO Commissioner Tian Lipu has said publicly that it is now complete.
But publication may have to wait until after the first plenary session of the 11th National People's Congress on March 5 this year, during which members will elect new state and government leaders. These may need to approve the Strategy before it is published, although one US official who follows IP issues in China told MIP Week that the Strategy is expected to be published “in the first half of 2008”.
The amended Scientific and Technological Progress Law will apply from July 1 2008. An official translation of the law is not available. But, according to an announcement on SIPO’s website, Article 7 contains general provisions that deal with IP.
These include commitments by the government to improve independent innovation capacity, build an innovative country and formulate the National IP Strategy.
The law also states that researchers involved in government-funded projects own any IP that the projects create. According to SIPO’s statement, this does not apply to research “involving national security, national interests or major public interests”.
In another attempt by the government to encourage innovation, the Regulations for the Implementation of Enterprise Income Tax Law came into force on January 1 this year.
These allow new and high technology companies to pay a reduced tax rate of 15%. To qualify, companies must meet certain criteria, which include proving independent ownership of “core IP rights”. Many foreign companies in China prefer to register their IP rights abroad, so may not be able to benefit from this regulation.
