On April 16, the Information Office of the State Council organized a news conference on China’s IP Development in 2014. Liu Junchen, vice minister of SAIC was participated in the conference and answered questions on China’s trademark developments and relevant works. Liu Junchen indicated to seriously implement new Trademark Law and to create a good market environment for China’s brand economy development.
Liu Junchen indicated that the commercial reform had greatly incented market vitality. The great increase in market entity numbers at the same time promoted the impressive increase in trademark applications. For the past year, the annual trademark applications were 2.285 million, a historical high with a 21.5% increase, which ranked world top for 13 consecutive years. By the end of this March, there were accumulatively 16 million trademark applications, 10 million registrations, nearly 9 million registrations still in effect. Chinese applicants had applied for more than 2140 Madrid international registrations ranked number 7 in the system for the past year. China had also received more than 20 thousand international applications, which remained number 1 in the system.
Liu Junchen stressed that, SAIC for the past year, for seriously implementing the regulations of new Trademark Law, had taken several methods to tackle the rapid growth in trademark applications, which proved effective. First were the reform for current system and the improvement for work efficiency, which safeguarded the examination period in accordance with the Law. Second was the establishment of a more convenient trademark registration examination procedure. Third was the improvement of trademark registration and relevant service levels on the basis of information construction. At the mean time, SAIC comprehensively strengthened its power on cracking down infringements and counterfeits. There were nearly 70 thousand illegal cases involving 500 million RMB investigated by the whole system.
Liu Junchen expressed that on March 20, Premier Li Keqiang visited SAIC for an investigation, where Premier clearly required AIC authority to resolutely crack down the manufacture and marketing of IP infringements and counterfeits, therefore to incent enterprises for more goods and services with high qualities, and to promote the public confidence on China Made products. For the following work, AIC authority would in accordance with Premier’s requirement, seriously implement new Trademark Law, well promote the convenience for trademark registration, well protect trademark exclusive rights, and foster a good market environment for China’s brand economy development.
At the conference, Liu Junchen also answered questions such as the prohibition on IP rights abusement to eliminate and limit competition behaviors, the antimonopoly and anti unfair competition.
