State Council Seeks to Solve IP Infringement Issue

On May 31, the State Council issued a Notice on the Key Tasks for 2017 Work on Cracking Down on IP Infringement and Manufacturing and Selling of Counterfeit Goods in line with high-level policy documents such as the Strategy for Innovation-Driven Development, the National IPR Strategy, and the 13th Five Year Plan on IPR Protection and Utilization.

The document outlines several areas as focal points for government efforts in combatting IPR infringement and counterfeit goods in the coming year. The sections highlighted below are of particular relevance to USITO members. 

• In the first task of “continue to improve governance of key areas,” the Notice calls for strengthening governance over infringement and counterfeit goods in the realm of the Internet. 
• The third task of “Increase efforts in combatting IP infringement” touches the topics of patent infringement (including in high-technology sectors), trademarks, copyright, and use of legitimate software. 
• In regard to "Juridical protection and criminal penalties," the fourth task calls for increased efforts in the force of criminal penalties, the role of inspections, and the “three-in-one” trial system.
• Under the fifth task, ‘Comprehensively promote cross-department coordination,’ the Notice calls for the increased efforts in creating ‘digitized’ supervision, including leveraging modern technologies such as big data and cloud computing.
• Under the sixth task, ‘Strengthening the creation of the legislative system,’ the Notice urges the legislative progress of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, Copyright Law, Patent Law, and Regulations on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests.
• Under the seventh task of ‘Actively promoting social governance,’ the Notice includes points on increasing efforts behind information disclosure and increasing cooperation between the government and industry, in particular with e-commerce platforms.