China, EU discuss intellectual property cooperation
( 2003-10-23 21:23) (Xinhua)
China and the European Union (EU) discussed their cooperation in intellectual
property rights (IPR) protection at a jointly-organized symposium in Beijing
Thursday.
The two-day symposium, "Partnership in Protection of Intellectual Property:
China and Europe, Past, Present and Future, " is actually a summary of the
EU-China IPR Cooperation Program, which has been in place for five years and
cost 45 million euros.
At the opening ceremony of the symposium, Wang Jingchuan, commissioner of the
State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), said the program, which is planned to
end in 2004, is a fine example of IPR cooperation between China and the rest of
the world.
The program helped China to better its IPR legal system and trained many
Chinese experts in the field, Wang noted.
"The program is all about cooperating, in a spirit of partnership, for the
economic benefit of the citizens of China and Europe," said Ingo Kober,
president of the European Patent Office (EPO), which supervises the program from
the EU.
"It has also triggered an institutional dialogue which itself plays a
valuable supporting role by giving further economic impetus to both regions,"
Kober said, citing that the next step for the EPO will be closer partnership
between the EU and China.
More than 200 Chinese and European participants are scheduled to discuss
China's entry into the World Trade Organization and its impact on IPR
protection, patent mechanism, copyright protection, brand name protection, IPR
legal enforcement, genetic resources protection, knowledge heritage and folklore
culture and art protection.
|
