China's accession to the
World Trade
Organization (WTO) brings a sense of urgency for Chinese to
improve their understanding about intellectual property rights and
patents, said Tian Lipu, deputy director of State Intellectual
Property Office at the Eighth China Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech
Fair early November in northwest China's
Shaanxi Province.
A
lot of foreign-funded companies will apply for patent registration
and open more business in China's post-WTO market, which will
challenge Chinese enterprises since their awareness of patent
application is so weak, he said.
Statistics show that from 1994 to 1998, foreign patent applications
accounted for a large proportion in China's high-tech industries,
including 70 percent in computer industry, over 70 percent in
pharmacy making industry, 87.3 percent in biological industry, 92.4
percent in telecommunications, and 90 percent in semiconductor
industry.
In
fact, China is not lacking in high-tech technologies. The problem
is that owners of the technologies have no awareness of patent
application.
Chinese scientists always value dissertations as a proof of their
high level research but do not aware that dissertations also
divulge their technological secrets which contain their hard work
and wisdom.
Meanwhile, few Chinese enterprises applied for patents in other
countries. During past 15 years, the enterprises from the Chinese
mainland applied less than 200 patents in the country.
The patent amount of China in United States is merely equal to that
of Liechtenstein, a small European country with a population of
30,000.
( November 14, 2001)