(Westlaw Business) Though only the world’s second-largest economy, China reportedly surged past the U.S. last year in trademark registrations, ranking first globally with 4.6 million registered trademarks in 2010. Spurned by awareness of the importance of intellectual property protection, the jump in trademark registrations reflects growing confidence in China’s judicial enforcement of intellectual property laws.
Set to close at the end of this quarter, China’s six month Intellectual Property Rights Campaign has focused on education as well as enforcement. Cracking down on pirated computer software, designer goods, pharmaceutical products and other acts of counterfeiting, the Chinese government previously announced that it had uncovered approximately 700 IP violations amounting to US$125 million since the campaign began last year.
Motivated by the prospect of boosting the economy, encouraging companies to implement trademark strategies have rung a bell with local level governments in certain Chinese cities. As incentive, authorities in Hebei province previously announced a bonus of RMB300,000 (US$45,300) would be granted to companies that had achieved the status of a well known trademark under PRC law. In 2010, well known trademarks owned by Chinese companies were far and few between, with the most recognized marks belonging to foreign household names such as Sony, Apple and Total.
Joining the IP blitz, Chongqing and cities in China’s Shandong province have also enacted training programs and tougher enforcement against counterfeiting in recent months. In particular, internet piracy and technology-related disputes have emerged as hot areas for enforcement actions.
By the way of background, PRC trademark registration is vital part of any company’s IP protection strategy, as foreign registrations are generally not recognized under PRC law. As a result, domestic and foreign companies alike are often advised to register their trademarks and intellectual property as early as possible in order to mitigate the risk of IP theft.
