Source: KIPO
Date: 2011. 11. 14

□ In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the first Korea-China intellectual property (IP) heads meeting in November 1992, cooperation on IP between the two countries will be largely expanded.

o (Patent Prosecution Highway)
Commissioner Lee Soo-won of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Commissioner TIAN Lipu of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China (SIPO) at the 17th Korea-China heads meeting held in Beijing on November 2 (Wed) to open a Korea-China Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and Patent Cooperation Treaty - Patent Prosecution Highway (PCT-PPH) starting 1 March 2012.

- Commissioner Lee said, “There were 390,000 patent applications filed in China in 2010 (about 340,000 more than Japan) ranking it second in the world among patent filing countries. As such, the Chinese market has become increasingly important in terms of IP rights. The PPH established between the two countries will make it easier and quicker for Korean companies to register patents in China.”

o (Expanded cooperation between the IP offices of Korea and China)
At the heads meeting, both sides agreed to continue to manage a consultative body of experts on patent examination, informatization, training and designs in order to harmonize the IP systems of both countries. Both sides also agreed to expand and enhance cooperation and exchanges between the two countries such as mutually dispatching IP experts.

- In particular, both IP offices agreed to pursue joint research in order to practice the “civil cooperation of national IP strategies” agreed upon during the summit meeting in May 2010 for the effective implementation of national IP strategies.

o (Fostering IP personnel with Renmin University of China)
During his visit to China, Commissioner Lee also signed an MOU on November 3 (Thurs) with President Ji Baocheng of Renmin University, which is leading the amendment of Chinese laws related to IP rights, to commence exchanges between the academia and governments of Korea and China, perform joint research on IP rights between the two organizations and increase cooperation on education and training.

o Commissioner Lee also gave a special lecture on “Korea’s IP rights systems and economic development” to students of law at Renmin University leading the legalization and development of Chinese IP rights.

- During the lecture, Commissioner Lee introduced Korea’s IP systems and policies and emphasized how policies valuing IP rights have largely contributed to Korea’s economic development. He emphasized in particular that IP rights are critical to driving national economic development and raising corporate competitiveness in today’s global knowledge-based economy. Furthermore, he stated the necessity for the two countries to enhance exchanges and cooperation of IP rights to advance the sustainable economic development of Korea and China.

o (Cooperation with China’s judiciary body)
To expand exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese judiciary body, Commissioner Lee met with Vice-President Xi Xiaoming responsible for IP rights at the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China, China’s highest court, and exchanged views on the protection trends of foreign IP companies in China and difficulties faced by Korean companies.