On September 30, VNC once again organized the China Café, since 2007 the place where professionals dealing with China on a daily basis meet and share knowledge. This time we took a closer look at the topic of Intellectual Property.
Intellectual property rights (IPR) are crucial for protecting innovation and creativity worldwide. In China, a country that has emerged as an economic powerhouse in recent decades, the importance of IPR has grown. China’s transformation from a manufacturing-oriented economy to a knowledge-based economy has led to a growing need for a robust legal framework to protect intellectual property.
In recent years, China has made significant efforts to strengthen its IPR laws, in part due to pressure from international trading partners and rising domestic demand for better protection of inventions, trademarks and copyrights. These developments have resulted in a complex and dynamic IPR landscape in China, where companies encounter both opportunities and challenges.
During the China Café, VNC board member Lianne Baaij interviewed two experts on intellectual property rights in China; Ruud Peters (former Chief Intellectual Property Officer and Executive Vice President of Philips and named one of the Global IP Leaders) and Jayachandran Suria( Intellectual Property Coordinator at Versuni) . The most important take away from the interview though was the conclusion that China is now leading the way when it comes to a sound system for IP protection. Applications for patents proceed much faster, judgments in lawsuits over IP violations are rendered much faster, and gathering evidence for them is made much easier. In the field of IP protection for valuable data, China is leading the way with a pilot data IP platform in Zhejiang province. China’s ambition is even to gain greater influence in determining IP policies and procedures.
The advice the two experts give to companies is that companies should think carefully about what they want to achieve with IP protection, whether it pays to go down the complex path. If they go into the process, they should do it with a good IP firm and law firm, don’t skimp on that. A tip is also to always translate all important documents, such as patent claims back to the source text for verification. Finally, the advice was to keep a good mix of the different IP instruments such as patents, copyrights, trademark rights, etc.
After rightfully thanking the experts of the hour-long interview, it was time for snacks and drinks. The speakers were further addressed by the attendees, there was busy networking and after-discussion on this fascinating topic of Intellectual Property in China.
