Pirated DVD copies of movies are displayed in a market at Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. (Photo : Reuters)
A memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation in intellectual property (IP) protection was signed on Wednesday, May 11, by China and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Xinhua News Agency reported.
China's Minister of State Administration for Industry and Commerce Zhang Mao and the director general of WIPO Francis Gurry both attended the signing of the agreement.
According to the report, the memorandum was based on a covenant signed by China and WIPO in 2010 and stresses the importance of the Madrid System, a one-stop solution for registering and managing trademarks worldwide.
The signing of the agreement came amid China's growing role in IP as it undertakes trademark law reforms and pushes efforts to streamline registration of trademarks in the country.
Nearly 2.9 trademark applications were recorded in China last year, an increase from 766,319 in 2006, according to statistics.
In terms of the number of applications filed under the Madrid System, China was sixth in the global rank in 2015, with 2,321 applications filed by Chinese applicants.
"There is a huge potential for more Chinese application filings with the Madrid System," Zhang said. "In the future, we'll continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to use trademarks in their 'Go Global' strategy, strengthen the promotion, training and consultancy of the Madrid System, and carry out universal education on international registration of trademarks."
The minister also wished businesses wanting to register international trademarks to take the Madrid System as an option. He also stressed the importance of encouraging Chinese brands in the global market to maintain China's status as the world's second largest economy.
"We believe that, in the next decade, trademark and brand strategies will be an important driver for economic development," the minister added.
While continuing with its market reforms, China will promote competition and push for innovation and development by allowing brands to play an active role in the market, Zhang said.
"We will enhance facilitation of trademark registration, crack down on trademark infringement and counterfeit, and protect the exclusive right of trademarks according to the law," Zhang said.
