China has unveiled four special campaigns that will form part of its IP activities during the 11th five-year plan, which runs from 2006 to 2010.
The four campaigns will be in addition to continuing efforts to improve the legal system, improve enforcement, tackle repeat infringers, enforce criminal responsibility and improve cooperation, according to a statement issued by the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) on August 22.
In the first campaign, the Public Security Bureau will continue the Mountain Eagle action focusing on copyright infringement, while agencies in charge of trade mark administration will take remedial action to enforce penalties for serious infringements.
SIPO said the department responsible for trade mark administration had "detected some weaknesses in its trade mark protection work".
A second campaign will focus on copyright infringement and piracy in the audio-video field, and in particular on uncovering illegal disc production lines.
Three actions, called Sunlight 1, 2 and 3, will address particular problems with sales to young people, wholesalers and the Chinese movie industry.
The third campaign is known as Blue-Sky and involves seven government departments jointly sponsoring a one-year action to regulate IP protection at exhibitions.
Finally, two special actions will take place annually on March 15 (Consumer's Day) and April 26 (World IP Day) to examine IP rights and carry out wide-scale enforcement.
The 11th five-year plan should also see amendments to the patent, trade mark and copyright laws and their implementation rules as well as further legislative reforms including the regulation of patent and trade mark agents.
At a roundtable discussion organized by MIP in Beijing last week, Chinese IP specialists discussed issues including the third amendments to the patent law, due to be implemented by 2008.
Speaking at the roundtable, Wen Xikai, secretary-general of the national IP Strategy Formulation Leading Group Office, explained that while the first two sets of amendments to China's 1985 Patent Law had focused on WTO compliance, the third amendment would aim to improve "procedural aspects, such as damages and infringement".
Su Xiaoxi, director of legal affairs at Chinese white goods maker Haier, added: "Besides punishment issues there should be more encouragement in the law to help Chinese companies to protect their own IP rights."
A full transcript of the roundtable – with material on China's IP strategy, enforcement, domestic innovation and standard-setting – will be published in MIP's September issue and also available online from September 1.
