The tasks of Tian

01 February 2009

Managing Intellectual Property

China's developing IP system faces some big tests in 2009. Janice Qu and Peter Ollier spoke with SIPO commissioner Tian Lipu about patent amendments, the National IP Strategy and the Office's global role

This is going to be a big year for IP in China. The government set the scene in 2008 by publishing a National IP Strategy in June that aims to make the country one of the world's most innovative by 2020 and then passing amendments to the Patent Law in December that are designed to encourage domestic innovation. Now Tian Lipu, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) must deliver on the promise to turn "made in China" into "invented in China".

The challenge is great. While China's patent system has developed at incredible speed during the past 30 years, IP awareness among businesses is still low. A dramatic rise in filings hides the fact that few Chinese patents are included in lucrative patent pools and standards. That increase in filings has given SIPO many of the problems that are faced by the world's biggest patent offices: ensuring examinations...

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