On May 7, Liu Junchen, vice minister of SAIC met with the visiting director general for Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) of the European Commission, Mr. Jerzy Bogdan Plewa. Liu Junchen expressed that AIC authority would focus on its function, constantly strengthen trademark work, promote Sino-EU cooperation and communication in geographical indications and other areas, and facilitate bilateral economy and trade development.
Liu Junchen welcomed Mr. Plewa for his visit again to SAIC and introduced him China’s latest development in trademarks. He said that SAIC in recent year, serious implanted the regulations on examination and review time limits which were stipulated in new Trademark Law, actively promoted the convenience and facilitation for trademark registration, worked hard to improve efficiency, which greatly shortened the average time for trademark examinations and substantially increased the volume in trademark applications and valid trademark registrations. SAIC also dedicated to promote brand economic development, and to strengthen the cracking downs on infringements and counterfeits, which effectively protected worldwide trademark rights holders’ legitimate interests, and made active achievements for each work.
As to China and EU’s cooperation in the geographical indication, Liu Junchen indicated that since the initiation of geographical indication negotiation by leaders of both sides in 2009, wide consensus and active achievements had been made. SAIC encouraged and would like to see EU enterprises actively applying geographical indication protections, and would like to invite EU to provide more facilitations for China’s geographical indication products when entering EU market. SAIC highly valued the negotiations on Sino-EU geographical indication and would like to make serious research and active coordination within its obligations, to promote a greater development in negotiation and to provide wider and effective protections for bilateral geographical indication products.
Mr. Plewa thanked for the meeting opportunity with Mr. Liu Junchen and highly appreciated for the achievement that SAIC made in trademarks. He expressed on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationship between European Union and China, bilateral trade and business exchanged frequently, and the cooperation in trademark went widely and deeply. He mentioned that under bilateral good wills and joint efforts, the negotiation for geographical indication agreement between EU and China was making progress to a mutual benefit and win-win result. He hoped to strengthen the interactions and communications to promote a greater development for EU-China’s cooperation in geographical indications.
