Attention zeroes in on safeguarding exponentially expanding intellectual property in the age of the internet 

Political advisers to the Chinese government called for increased protection of intellectual property, at a biweekly meeting of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on Monday. 

The meeting, chaired by top political adviser Wang Yang, discussed how to improve IP protection in the era of the internet. 

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, noted the significance of learning about the rules and characteristics of IP creation, protection and use in the cyber space. 

He called for comprehensive improvement of IP protection, to provide strong support for building China into an innovative country and promoting its high-quality growth. 

At the meeting, CPPCC members provided suggestions on IP protection-related efforts such as legal protection, corporate responsibility, development of professional pools and international cooperation. 

Of them, Tao Kaiyuan, who also serves as a vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, put an emphasis on legislation. She suggested creating special litigation procedures specially for IP cases. 

"That will help to address common (procedural) problems in different types of IP cases and tackle thorny issues closely related to the internet, such as jurisdiction, rules of evidence, trial procedures and judicial methods," said Tao from the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee. 

If it comes into effect, the legislation can also facilitate rights owners' fights against infringements and provide the legal grounds for establishing and improving professional judicial organizations, she added. 

Another member of the national committee, Zhou Qunfei from the business sector, waved the flag for enacting a law concerning trade secrets. 

She also called for government departments to play a bigger role in helping companies manage and protect their trade secrets. 

"Training, lectures and on-site instructions offered by administrators will increase companies' awareness of trade secret protection," Zhou said, adding that administrative enforcement is also a key part of the efforts by the owners of rights to fight infringements. 

Research showed that roughly 42 percent of IP disputes in China has involved the internet over the past three years, according to He Zhimin, deputy commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration. He is also a member of the standing committee. 

Compared with judicial protection, administrative enforcement is more responsive, costs less and is popular with small and microbusinesses, he said. 

Pony Ma, chairman of internet giant Tencent and a deputy to the National People's Congress, also attended the meeting as an industry expert. 

IP protection does not just involve the government, or one or two companies. It requires the general consensus of the entire industry, Ma said. 

He suggested employing more new technologies in IP protection and promoting technical applications and standards online. 

Zhu Xinli from the national committee encouraged online platforms to establish an industrial self-discipline mechanism and play a more active part in IP protection. 

Tao Kaiyuan called on internet businesses to make full use of their core competitiveness, leverage the resources of government, industry and trade associations, and gain a stronger foothold in international competition. 

Lyu Zhongmei, a member of the standing committee, told the meeting that because the internet information industry was highly knowledge-intensive, IP protection was crucial to the sector's survival and growth. 

"The combining of IP protection and international common practice with China's governance system will advance the country's integration into economic globalization and provide the Chinese solution for the global IP management system," Lyu added.