284. China would like to thank the co-sponsors for their continued attention and efforts in the field of IP and innovation. The discussion on this topic would contribute to extensive exchanges among Members and hence help promote good practices. We would like to share our practices as follows.
285. The first is about patent open licensing. In IP licensing, under agreed terms and conditions, the IPR holders grant licensees use of patent for specific purposes within prescribed region and time. IP licensing could generally be categorized as general licensing, exclusive licensing, and sole licensing. In 2020, China carried out the fourth revision on the patent law, adding patent open licensing system, which has been implemented since June 2021. The system is designed to facilitate relevant market players to obtain patent licensing and reduce transaction costs by solving the problem of information asymmetry between suppliers and demanders of patented technologies. In patent open licensing, a patent holder could voluntarily declare to competent authority in writing that he is willing to license any entity or individual to implement his patent and publish the announcement, then any entity or individual could gain the patent license by paying license fee according to the patentee's requirement. To date, China has carried out pilot projects in several provinces. 3,165 cases of patent open licensing from 72 universities and enterprises have been registered and then accurately matched with 18,631 small and medium-sized enterprises. Among them, the province of Zhejiang has achieved 118 licensing transformation projects, with a total of 306 small and medium-sized enterprises registered so far. Moreover, we will revise the implementing regulations of patent law to ensure effective implementation of patent open licensing system.
286. The second is about patent dispute settlement mechanism. In order to ensure the implementation of patent licensing system, China has established relevant dispute settlement mechanisms. For example, in July 2021, China established an early resolution mechanism for pharmaceutical patent disputes. This mechanism deals with patent dispute regarding drugs in the process of premarket review and approval, so as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of drug patent holders and reduce the risk of patent infringement after generic drugs enter the market.
287. The third is about trademark licensing. According to the trademark law, a trademark holder could allow another person to use his registered trademark by signing a trademark licensing contract. Where a registered trademark is used with permission, the name of the licensee and the origin of the goods must be indicated on the products. In order to standardize the relevant procedures, the competent authorities also issued guidelines, stipulating detailed provisions on trademark license filing procedures. China attaches great importance to IP protection and is on the way to implementing the intellectual property power strategy. We would like to from other Members so as to further the discussion in the future.
