Thursday, January 10, 2019

SIPO and SAIC are Now CNIPA


State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) is now known as China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) since 28 Aug 2018. State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC), formerly a separate registrar of trademarks has merged with CNIPA.

In Chinese, CNIPA is known as 国家 知识产权局 (guojia zhisi chan quan ju) which literally means national intellectual property rights administration. The word 局(ju) also means office, a Chinese noun for post office, police station or education bureau. It is believed the abbreviation CNIPA was chosen so that it is distinctive over Canadian IP Office (CIPO).

Xi Jinping pointed out that protection of property rights (chan quan), especially intellectual property rights, is important to create a favorable business environment.

In his address on 29 Aug 2018, CNIPA Commissioner Shen Changyu, the former SIPO Commisioner declared that a number of core technologies with independent IP rights were developed in fields such as telecommunication, aviation, railway and nuclear energy.

In 2017, the number of patent applications is 1,382,000, representing a growth of 14.2%, said Shen. Shen added that there are 67,000 patent enforcement cases, a growth of 36.3%. The number of patent firms reached 1,824 and patent agents reached 16,367.

"IP administration program was successfully carried out in 6 cities namely Xiamen, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Changsha, Suzhou and Shanghai. The program provides a one stop centre for express examination, rights affirmation and financing to support development in key industries," added Shen.

E-Commerce Patent Enforcement and Right Assertion Coordination Center, Zhejiang was setup to enhance IP protection in e-commerce. He proudly declared that Cambodia become the first country in the world to recognize the grant of Chinese patent. CNIPA has signed PPH cooperation with 23 countries, including Malaysia.

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