China to further strengthen IP protection rules

China's intellectual property protection rules will be further strengthened in an effort to stimulate development and innovation in various areas, an official of the country's top IP regulator said.

While continuing to help formulate a law on geographic indications, IP protection rules concerning new fields and emerging industries, including big data, artificial intelligence and gene technology, have also been put on the nation's agenda, according to Shen Changyu, commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration.

He revealed the plan on Tuesday while delivering an opening address at the 12th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference, which is being held in Jinan, capital of Shandong province.

He said that the administration will accelerate the revisions of specific rules to efficiently implement the Patent Law, the Trademark Law and the layout design of integrated circuits.

Highlighting the principle of giving equal IP protection to every entity, he added that IP-related public services will also be optimized to help create a sound business and innovation environment, and international cooperation will be increased to serve high-level opening-up efforts.

Themed "Intellectual Property Supporting All-Around Innovation", the two-day conference has attracted hundreds of guests from home and abroad, including those from IP government agencies, technology enterprises and academies.

The guests will exchange ideas on hot topics related to IP protection and creativity during the event, including how to better protect IP rights in the era of generative AI and what measures should be taken to facilitate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements.