China has, in an all-round way and by various means, stepped up its exchanges and cooperation in the field of IPR with relevant international organizations such as WIPO, UPOV and APEC. Here are some examples for the last few years. The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) cooperated with WIPO to organize & quot;Asia-Pacific Symposium on the Impact of the WCT and WPPT on the Copyright Industry & quot; in Guangzhou from Mar. 27 to 29, 2001. From June 10-16, 2001, State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) cooperated with WIPO to jointly organize Intellectual Property Enforcement Training Seminar in Beijing and Shanghai, and over 250 participants were at the seminar. From July 23-26, 2001, Asia Technology Coordination Meeting for Protection of Plant Varieties was held in Beijing, which was sponsored by UPOV and organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, State Administration for Forestry, and SIPO. From May 21 to 25, 2002, SIPO together with State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) and NCAC, cooperated with WIPO, sponsored in Beijing the China-Africa Forum on IP, the Forum on Innovative Power and Invention. During the period of the forums, China and WIPO signed the framework agreement of cooperation. From 20 to 28 November, the NCAC and the WIPO jointly held the Symposium on the "Right of Disseminating to Public" mentioned in WCT and WPPT of WIPO. And in April 2004, the Ministry of Commerce and APEC jointly convened in Beijing the APEC 18th Conference of Intellectual Property Experts Group as well as the Symposium on Patent Protection and Access to medicine. These events have not only offered opportunities for countries to exchange experiences and opinions, but also are of great significance for the improvement of intellectual property protection in China as well as the other countries.

2. China¡¯s Exchanges and Cooperation with Other Countries or Regions Regarding IPR

China has also conducted active exchanges and cooperation with other countries or regions regarding IPR. Let¡¯s take the United States as an example. China and the US signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People¡¯s Republic of China and the Government of the United States of America on the Protection of Intellectual Property in 1992 and established in 2000 a framework for regular consultation mechanism on IP. On the basis of annual consultation, a roundtable discussion on the same issue, jointly sponsored by the two sides, took place in 2003. And in 2004, the Intellectual Property Protection Working Group of Joint Commission of Commerce and Trade (JCCT) of China and US was set up. Another example is the EU. China and EU signed the Minutes of Discussion on Intellectual Property Protection on Jun. 30, 1992. On Oct. 30, 2003, the two sides signed an agreement on establishing China-EU Dialogue on Intellectual Property which was viewed as a new platform for China and EU to conduct exchanges regarding IPR, and the first session of dialogue between the two sides was successfully carried out from Oct. 21 to 22, 2004. The EU-China IP Cooperation Program started in 1996 and lasted for six years. In addition, activities related to the China-EU Mixed Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation at Minister-Level also include discussions about IP issues. The trademark organs of China and France regularly hold the China-France Trademark Mixed-workgroup Meetings and on Sep. 24, 1998, China and France signed Cooperation Agreement on Intellectual Property between the Government of the People¡¯s Republic of China and the French Government. China has also established bilateral or triangular dialogues and cooperation mechanisms on IP with Japan and South Korea. And since 2001, the Third Trilateral Policy Dialogue Meetings among the Commissioners of the SIPO, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) were held annually. The copyright administrations of China and Japan meet regularly, and in 2003, the Chinese National Copyright Administration and Japanese Ministry of Culture signed the Cooperative Agreement on Copyright and Neighboring Rights. In 1996 the Trademark Bureau of Chinese State Administration for Industry and Commerce and JPO created a mechanism that leaders from both sides should meet irregularly, and currently, the said Chinese organ and South Korean offices are negotiating to foster a close business cooperation relationship between the two sides. Moreover, the joint meetings of bilateral economy and trade between China and Japan as well as between China and South Korea also concern the subject of IPR, so do the Director General Consultation Meeting among China, Japan and South Korea. The Chinese government has also conducted fruitful exchanges and cooperation on IPR protection with other countries or regions like Brazil, Mexico and so on.

Furthermore, under these frameworks of dialogues and cooperation, China has, in conjunction with other countries, held many seminars over the issue of IPR. For example, from September 4-6, NCAC and European Union Intellectual Property Office (EPO) co-organized the training seminar on the copyright collective management in Beijing. During the late Aug. 2003, the NCAC and Japanese Ministry of Culture jointly convened the First Sino-Japan Copyright Seminar in Beijing. From 23 to 24 October 2003, under the framework of the EU-China IP Cooperation Program, the SIPO and the EPO co-organized the Symposium on Partnership in the Protection of Intellectual Property between China and Europe- Past, Present and Future in Beijing. And in Oct. 2004, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Delegation of EU in China and Japanese Embassy in China jointly convened the IPR Seminar of China, EU and Japan. Through these effective communications and dialogues, China and other countries or regions have deepened their understanding of each other, benefited from each other¡¯s strengths and jointly contributed to the improvement of the protection of¡¡IPR.

£¨Source:Department of Treaty and Law of MOFCOM£©