The Ministry of Commerce recently set up an IPR Aid Center in order to provide intellectual property right (IPR) protection services for Chinese companies that have businesses abroad, aiming at assisting more Chinese companies in “going out”.
The establishment of the center will help reduce the disputes and risks Chinese companies may get involved in overseas intellectual property matters and further protect their legitimate rights in the international market.
The aid center will release pre-warning information on IPR, establish an IPR experts and law database, carry out investigation for IP competition and distribution among key industries and set up IPR dispute settlement mechanism through inter-governmental coordination for handling major cases, and try to improve Chinese companies' awareness and capabilities in IPR protection through training, seminars and publicity activities.
According to the Ministry of Commerce, Chinese companies have encountered an increasing number of overseas IPR disputes in recent years. These disputes have affected their competition in global markets and harmed the development of China's economic and trade relations with other countries.
The aid center will mobilize the resources from the government, industry associations, experts and scholars, to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industries, understand IP systems in foreign countries, and improve the capability of Chinese industries for IPR protection abroad.
