The People’s Republic of China’s State Council has issued Guidelines for Developing a Strong Intellectual Property Nation

In an effort to build China into a powerful intellectual property nation and to comprehensively improve the standard of intellectual property creation, application, protection, management, and services, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China issues Guidelines for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Nation (2021-2035) (“the Guidelines”).

Guideline on building China intellectual property (IP) system for the modernization of socialism

1. Conducting fundamental legal research on IP.
2. Integrating the specialized laws and regulations.
3. Enhancing the applicability and uniformity of laws and regulations.
4. Optimizing the management system.
5. Strengthening the authority of the central government in relation to the following aspects of IP protection: macro-management, regional coordination, and coordination of foreign-related matters.
6. Strengthening institutional infrastructure.
7. Improving management efficiency.
8. Adhering to the nation’s policy for strict IP protection.
9. Perfecting the mechanism for allocating IP rights and interests.
10. Completing the resource allocation system to increase knowledge value.
11. Promoting the realization of IP value.
12. Constructing a system that offers prompt response and reasonable protection for IP in the emerging fields and specific areas

Guideline on building an intellectual property protection system that supports an international first-class business environment

1. Establishing high-level IP adjudication institutions.
2. Improving the infrastructure for court proceedings, institutional mechanisms, and construction of technology courts.
3. Building administrative enforcement and supervision platform for IP rights.
4. Enhancing the modernization and technological level in IP enforcement and supervision.
5. Completing the testing and evidence appraisal systems for IP infringement disputes.
6. Utilizing the administrative adjudication system for IP infringement disputes.
7. Intensifying the enforcement of administrative adjudication.
8. Upholding the centralized and unified leadership under the Communist Party of China.
9. Implementing IP protection policy by government duly performing its duties, enforcement agencies being closed supervised, judicial organ administering justice impartially, trade associations self-governing, the social public having integrity and being law-abiding.

Guideline on building an intellectual property market operation mechanism that stimulates innovation and development

1. Reforming and improving the assessment and evaluation mechanism of intellectual property with quality and value as the standard.
2. Strengthening the cultivation of patent-intensive industries.
3. Establishing an investigation mechanism for patent-intensive industries.
4. Improving the level of intellectual property agency in various aspects including legal, information, and consulting services.
5. Supporting the development of value-added services such as intellectual property asset evaluation, trading, transformation, trusteeship, and investment and financing.

Guideline on building a public service system of intellectual property for the convenience and benefit of the people

1. Improving the national intellectual property data center and public service platform.
2. Expanding the depth and breadth of transparency for various types of basic intellectual property information.
3. Clarifying the matters and scope of IP public services.
4. Strengthening the formulation of IP data standards and the supply of IP data.

Guideline on building an environment that promotes the high-quality development of intellectual property

1. Developing national high-end intellectual property think tanks and those with special characteristics.
2. Deepening theoretical and policy research.
3. Strengthening international academic exchanges.
4. Implementing training programs for specialized talents in intellectual property.
5. Relying on the plans from the relevant universities for national IP talent bases.
6. Strengthening the construction of second-tier intellectual property institutes in relevant universities.

Guideline on increasing global intellectual property governance participation

1. Actively participating in the reform and construction of the global governance system of intellectual property.
2. Building a multilateral and bilateral coordination network for international cooperation.
3. Providing diversified services such as patent search, examination, and training to countries and regions under the One Belt One Road Initiatives.

The Guidelines established a target for 2025 in terms of numerical goals. By 2025, significant progress will have been made in the development of a powerful intellectual property nation; intellectual property protection will be more stringent; social satisfaction will have reached and remained at a relatively high level; the market value of the intellectual property will have been further emphasized; brand competitiveness will have improved significantly, and the added value of patent-intensive industries will have accounted for 13 percent of GDP.

The list of China IP Firms can be found here.