The Chinese Government is planning a way to help domestic academic and industrial researchers seek patent protections abroad.

The State Intellectual Protection Office (SIPO) said it will announce detailed measures soon.

"High-tech research findings in China that have huge potential on the world market must be protected," said SIPO commissioner Wang Jingchuan Tuesday.

Wang said the efforts will help cushion the challenges China faces now that it is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"It is helpful for China to improve international competitiveness of its high-tech products," said Wang in a work report presented on the opening day of a three-day National Patent Conference.

Chinese applicants delivered 1,026 applications for patent protections in foreign countries, almost three times the average of the prior 15 years, SIPO statistics indicate. The 2001 figure is expected to double from that.

"We have achieved a lot in the past two years, but we are still lagging behind, in comparison with developed countries," Wang said.

Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao sent a congratulatory letter to the conference Tuesday, calling on the nation to step up efforts to protect intellectual property rights.

"Intellectual property protection has become another focus of competition as the world is becoming globalized," Wen said in the letter.

Wang's office will work with central and local authorities to beef up intellectual property rights in China and abroad. Authorities of various industries and enterprises also will be involved, Wang said.

Wang said his office and other departments will select some key research projects in the industries which are of key importance to the State's economic development. Those will be the focus of special protection efforts.

He said China's new legislation on intellectual property rights meets the standards set in the WTO, so now the goal must be to beef up enforcement.

He called for more efforts to deepen awareness of technology innovation and patent protection.

Although the country has made significant progress in patent protection since it implemented the Patent Law in 1985, some companies and research institutes still ignore patent applications.

"To help domestic enterprises meet global competition, we must help them know how to combine intellectual property rights protection with technology development," he said.

(China Daily December 26, 2001)