The General Office the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China the Chinese government have jointly issued a directive calling for intensified protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs). Titled “The Guideline on Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Protection,” the document aims to implement decisions and plans on IPR protection. “Strengthening IPR protection is the biggest incentive to boost China’s economic competitiveness,” reads the document. By 2022, China will strive to effectively curb IPR infringement, and largely overcome challenges including high costs, low compensation and difficulties in providing evidence for safeguarding intellectual property rights. By 2025, social satisfaction with IPR protection in China will reach a high level. Meanwhile, China will strengthen the punishment for infringements and counterfeiting, and improve the protection system for new business forms.

The document calls for speeding up the introduction of a punitive compensation system for infringements of patents and copyrights, and strengthening the protection of trade secrets, confidential business information and their source codes. China will also make greater efforts to step up international cooperation in IPR protection, facilitate communication between domestic and foreign rights holders, and provide support in overseas IPR disputes.

China has been working to improve the system of punitive damages for infringement, said Zhang Zhicheng, an official with the National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA). Meanwhile, China has raised the efficiency of its approval process for trademark patents. At present, the average approval cycle for invention patents is just under two years, and the time of approval for trademark registration averages less than five months, Zhang said, as reported by the Shanghai Daily.