General

Wang Wenbin, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said recently that China is deeply involved in international cooperation in intellectual property while strengthening its own intellectual property construction. The internationalization of intellectual property strongly supports the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". In 2022, 37.9% of Chinese enterprises that have transferred or licensed patents overseas have licensed or transferred patents to countries or regions jointly building the "the Belt and Road".

Experts interviewed said that intellectual property cooperation is one of the important aspects of promoting the high-quality development of the "the Belt and Road". At the same time, it will also effectively improve the level of industrial and technological development of relevant countries, truly achieve common prosperity, strengthen the development of international trade, and jointly build a road of innovation.

Positive progress has been made in two-way strengthening of layout

Last year, the State Intellectual Property Office released a patent statistical briefing on China and countries along the the Belt and Road in 2021. The results show that the distribution of intellectual property rights between China and countries along the "the Belt and Road" has been strengthened in both directions. In 2021, the number of patent applications published and authorized by Chinese enterprises in countries along the route increased by 29.4% and 15.3% respectively year on year. The application and authorization of invention patents in China by countries along the line increased by 7.7% and 18.1% respectively year on year. Among them, the member countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) are the main countries for Chinese enterprises to arrange patents along the "the Belt and Road". In 2021, Chinese enterprises accounted for 85.1% of the patent applications of the countries along the route, up 23.0% year on year; In the number of patents granted by Chinese enterprises in the countries along the route, the proportion of patents granted in the RCEP member countries reached 67.0%, up 24.8% year on year.

  International trade cooperation in intellectual property rights is one of the important aspects of promoting the high-quality development of the the Belt and Road.

Li Jun, director of the International Service Trade Research Institute of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said that intellectual property cooperation is an important form of technology trade. The expanding scale of intellectual property cooperation shows that China and the "the Belt and Road" countries have made positive progress in cooperation in technology and innovation, which is also an important driving force for high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".

Li Jun also said that while carrying out intellectual property transfer and licensing cooperation, Chinese technology-based enterprises have also increased the distribution of intellectual property rights in countries along the "the Belt and Road" and actively applied for international patents. From the data of intellectual property royalties, although China is still a large deficit of intellectual property royalties in general, that is, China mainly pays intellectual property royalties to developed countries, in recent years, China's intellectual property expenditure and income have increased rapidly, especially the growth of intellectual property income. This is mainly due to the acceleration of China's intellectual property export to economies including the "the Belt and Road" countries. "It can be predicted that with the promotion of China's high-quality joint construction of the the Belt and Road, China's intellectual property cooperation towards the the Belt and Road will continue to maintain a rapid growth momentum, and the position of China's substantial deficit in intellectual property trade will gradually change," said Li Jun.

Integrate technical advantages to improve cooperation quality

As for how to deepen the intellectual property cooperation of the "the Belt and Road" in the next step, Li Jun said that in recent years, the cooperation between China and the "the Belt and Road" countries in industries, infrastructure, energy, trade, investment and other fields has developed rapidly, driving the cooperation in technology and science and technology. Compared with countries and regions along the "the Belt and Road", China has comparative advantages in technology in related industries, especially in advanced manufacturing, digital economy, new infrastructure and other intellectual property intensive fields. "Through intellectual property cooperation in related fields, China's technological leadership can be transformed into a powerful driving force for the joint construction of the the Belt and Road, further improving the quality and level of cooperation. At the same time, it will also effectively improve the level of industrial and technological development of relevant countries, truly realize common prosperity, and jointly build the road of innovation."

Qi Xin said that in the past, the protection of intellectual property rights was often mentioned from a domestic perspective, and the legitimate intellectual property rights of international trade enterprises were protected according to law. With the deepening of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and the gradual improvement of the international development capacity of Chinese enterprises, intellectual property has become the "standard configuration" for international trade. Therefore, we should continue to promote the "the Belt and Road" intellectual property cooperation. On the one hand, it is beneficial for Chinese enterprises to grasp the opportunities brought by the new round of global scientific and technological revolution and carry out international development and global layout; On the other hand, it is conducive to the effective protection of China's intellectual property rights in foreign countries, improving China's voice, influence and dispute response ability in international intellectual property affairs, and thus deeply participating in global intellectual property governance.

Qi Xin suggested that based on the surrounding areas, strengthen the intellectual property exchange with Africa and Latin America, enhance the voice of intellectual property cooperation by relying on bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements such as the Free Trade Agreement, and explore the construction of a new pattern of intellectual property international cooperation featuring "steady development in the surrounding areas, coordinated regional promotion, and sustained multilateral voice"; Continue to promote the "the Belt and Road" intellectual property practical cooperation project, expand the international influence of geographical indication products in China, especially in poor areas, promote the "going global" of geographical indication products, and vigorously promote intellectual property policy research and international trade cooperation in agricultural seed industry, digital economy, low-carbon environmental protection and other fields; Actively carry out international exchange and cooperation and overseas training on combating infringement and counterfeiting, and hold a theme forum on combating infringement and counterfeiting based on various exhibition platforms to publicize China's achievements in intellectual property protection and tell a good story of China's intellectual property rights.