China as an innovator, not just an imitator

Résumé du document

A large number of patents are granted to China in various fields (green energy, space program, 3G mobiles?) underlining the fact that the country that invented paper, gunpowder and the compass many years ago is making a come-back among the international technology inventors. China has many advantages that help it to develop its innovative capacities in the domains of its natural resources. Among these are its high population density and its rapid urbanization. Moreover, China has adopted several international and internal laws that protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and encourage people to complete research and apply for patents. Given these advantages, one would think it was easy for China to make such great technological progress. However, it is necessary to bear in mind that China still needs important reforms to become the innovator it dreams to be. These reforms must be in IPR, its educational system. However, Chinese judicial courts still lack effectiveness and actually, almost half of the patents granted are foreign patents.

Extraits

[...] People challenging patents have to show that the invention is theirs. SIPO is supposed to made investigation but in reality full investigations are not always made, creating an unfair advantage to those who improperly obtain patents. Furthermore it dissuades people from applying for patents, preventing China to improve the quality of the patents granted. Conclusion To conclude, the entry of China to the WTO has strengthened its IPR legal framework, increasing the number of patents granted. Nevertheless most of these patents are foreign, highlighting the fact that China ought to take advantage of its size, its human base by improving its educational system and its laws, and by reinforcing its IPR. [...]

[...] Since its accession to the WTO in 2001, China had to pay over US$1 billion to foreign companies in economic compensation because of IPR. This highlights that China has to innovate more to produce its own patents and so to pay less fees. “Creativity is a renewable energy resource, mostly untapped; every citizen had some of it, the cost of extraction is minimal and it would never run out”[xii] : China has to promote creative talents and the need to catch up educational reforms is urgent. [...]

[...] They have abroad more incentives to innovate, incentives which are lacking in China. Their returns could also offset the Chinese lack of experience in patent applications, which was restraining China's ambition of becoming a country of innovations; between 1998 and of Chinese firms didn't apply for a single patent. Improving the standards of Chinese education could allow Chinese patents not to be restricted only to utility model and design patents, which are relatively modest adaptations of existing technologies Strengthen the IPR a. [...]

[...] Websites - European Patent Office, Asian Patent Information, Grant Procedure (China): www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/east- asian/helpdesk/china/grant.html (May 10, 2009). - European Patent Office, Asian Patent Information, Facts and figures (China): http://www.epo.org/patents/patent-information/east- asian/helpdesk/china/facts-figures.html (May 10, 2009). - “Protecting your intellectual property rights (IPR) in China”, A practical guide for U.S. companies, China gateway homepage: http://www.mac.doc.gov/China/Docs/BusinessGuides/IntellectualPropertyRi ghts.htm (May 10, 2009). - WTO News, successfully concludes negotiations on China's entry” Press releases, Press/243, September 17, 2001: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres01_e/pr243_e.htm (May 10, 2009). [...]

[...] The protection of IPR is diffused throughout several government agencies and offices but the difficulty is to determine which agency will have jurisdiction over an act of infringement. Although agencies are responsible for one specific area of intellectual property-related law, geographical limits often disappear since piracy and counterfeiting also occur in other regions. Those problems show that China has to improve its judicial system and the effectiveness of its laws to become the innovative country it dreams to be. b. Make the Court system efficient Enacting laws protecting IPR was not sufficient in China to fight IPR violation. [...]