Key platform for expansion of international exchanges

The rich and wide-ranging cooperation between China and other countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative is in the spotlight once again with Beijing hosting the third Belt and Road High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property from Sept 11 to 13.

The World Intellectual Property Organization was one of the first batch of international organizations to sign an agreement on Belt and Road cooperation, underscoring China's commitment to bolstering IP cooperation.

The Belt and Road High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property, held in collaboration with WIPO, exemplifies China's dedication to promoting international IP cooperation.

At the inaugural China-Central Asia Heads of Intellectual Property Office Meeting held in Urumqi of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in 2023, a joint statement was released. This statement emphasized the collective intent to establish an IP cooperation mechanism and foster pragmatic collaborations among the involved parties.

The scope of IP exchanges has continued to deepen through multilateral and minilateral cooperation frameworks involving China and various countries and regions, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the BRICS grouping, Africa, Latin America, and the collaboration among China, Mongolia and Russia.

Government data reveal that China has forged IP cooperation agreements with 57 Belt and Road countries and regions to date.

These international agreements have laid a robust foundation and provided substantial support for IP cooperation across diverse areas, including policy communication, personnel training, IP application processing, and IP protection and utilization.

Extensive collaborations

Since 2013, the CNIPA has also conducted more than 50 training sessions tailored for Belt and Road countries. These training sessions have benefited more than 1,300 IP officials and practitioners. Additionally, more than 230 students from over 50 countries have been enrolled in CNIPA-supported master's degree programs on IP law in Belt and Road countries and regions.

Meanwhile, more than 30 experts have been dispatched from China to over 10 countries and international organizations to support IP training.

Moreover, China has actively engaged in Patent Prosecution Highway cooperation with 18 Belt and Road partners, facilitating streamlined patent processes. The 18 partners include Russia, Singapore, Poland, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Eurasian Patent Office and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization.

Notably, China's involvement as an international searching authority and international preliminary examining authority for patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty in 10 Belt and Road countries — including Angola, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Thailand — underscores its commitment to fostering global IP cooperation.

Conducive environment

This collaborative approach not only strengthens IP capacities but also fosters a conducive environment for global innovation and competition.

Currently, invention patents granted in China can be directly registered as effective in Cambodia, and Laos recognizes the results of invention patent examination by CNIPA staff.

In addition, a mutual recognition and mutual protection program for geographical indications between China and Thailand is also progressing steadily.

Statistics from the CNIPA demonstrate marked growth in patent filings by both China and other Belt and Road countries from 2013 to 2023, underscoring the mutual benefits derived from international IP cooperation.

Rights owners from 122 Belt and Road countries have filed patents in China, with the number of patent applications reaching 285,000 and the inventory of patents granted reaching 153,000 over the past decade. Their annual growth rates are 3.3 and 4.1 percentage points higher than those of overall foreign filings in China during the same period.

Meanwhile, Chinese applicants filed a cumulative 70,000 patent applications in 52 Belt and Road countries during the same period, with an average annual growth rate of 21.3 percent. The cumulative number of Chinese patents granted in these countries is 35,000, an annual growth rate of some 20 percent.

The Belt and Road High-Level Conference on Intellectual Property is a shining example of China's efforts to promote international IP cooperation.

In cooperation with WIPO, the CNIPA held the first conference in 2016 and the second in 2018. Both conferences attracted representatives from more than 50 countries, as well as international and regional IP organizations.

The two meetings endorsed the joint initiative to intensify IP cooperation among Belt and Road countries and the Joint Statement on Pragmatic Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property Among Countries Along the Belt and Road, establishing a mechanism for regular IP cooperation within the framework of the BRI.