Forum for Internet IP Protection Experts Held on July 31st in Beijing

July 31, 2003

Forum for Internet IP Protection Experts Held on July 31st in Beijing
On July 31st, 2003, the Forum for IP Protection Experts, hosted by the Institute of Intellectual Property Right of China, was formally launched. The State Intellectual Property Office, the National Copyright Administration, the Information Office of the State Council, the Supreme Court, and the Chinese Software Association all participated in the forum. Representatives of the organizations partook in various discussions pertaining to issues such as IP protection on the Internet, IP controversy that has occurred over the Internet, and copyright protection on the Internet.

The experts at the forum were unanimously aware of the fact that both the development of science and technology and the rapid growth of Internet business indicate the coming of “Internet era,” an era that is bound to greatly challenge China’s current IP system. The challenges discussed touched upon many areas of intellectual property rights including copyrights, patents, trademarks, software, and unfair competition. In addition, many questions related to domain names and web addresses were raised at the Forum. Experts at the forum said that Internet security and the realization of intellectual property protection have become a focal point for the global business world. The forum was indicative of China’s awareness that it must pursue and adopt effective measures for IP protection over the Internet, in efforts to meet international standards and to instill confidence in the Chinese business sector.