The Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights agreed July 18 to jointly raise awareness of intellectual property (IP) after their meeting in Hong Kong.
At the meeting, the group’s seventh, officials reviewed the latest IP developments and concluded that many IP cooperation items in their regions had been successfully completed. These include an IP seminar in Shantou, joint production of an announcement in the public interest (API) on the “No Fakes Pledge” program, “Intellectual Capital Management” seminars, roundtable discussions for IP agents in Guangdong and Hong Kong, as well as the establishment of the Guangdong/Hong Kong IP Cooperation column on the two regions’ official Web sites.
The two sides also organized an exchange program for tertiary institutions and science and technological institutes. A detailed report has been posted on the Web site of the Intellectual Property Department. Law-enforcement authorities in both places have been working closely to strengthen the coordination mechanism for cross-boundary, IP-related cases.
The group also discussed projects for the second half of the year, including enhancing IP exploitation and management by enterprises in both places and an exchange program on the flow of business for IP professionals. In addition, “Guangdong/Hong Kong Seminars on Intellectual Property and the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises” will be organized in Guangdong.
Speaking at the meeting, Director of Intellectual Property Stephen Selby said raising public awareness about protecting IP is an important goal. In 2003, IP authorities jointly established the Intellectual Property Database for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, which enables the public to obtain the latest information on IP in the three regions. This one-stop database is also a handy tool for the international business community. For this reason, authorities there plan to produce an IP booklet to attract further investment to those areas.
Mr. Selby thanked IP professionals for their cooperation support in Guangdong and Hong Kong, whose efforts have been essential weapons in protecting IP rights. Both sides plan to organize exchange activities on the flow of business for IP intermediaries to enhance the standards of IP professional services there.
The leader of the Guangdong delegation, Director of Guangdong Provincial Intellectual Property Office Tao Kaiyuan, said she is deeply impressed by the depth and breadth of the cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong. “This meeting has been very fruitful in building cooperation of both sides, and we have agreed to deepen and perfect our cooperation. We also plan to invite officials from the State Intellectual Property Office to join some representative events to share the success of cooperation between the two places,” she said.
The Expert Group, set up after the Sixth Plenary of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Cooperation Joint Conference in August 2003, aims to enhance exchanges and cooperation on various IP aspects, including promotion and education, training, enforcement and information dissemination.
A summary of the cooperation items is posted on the Intellectual Property Department Web site at [www.ipd.gov.hk].
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