8th Meeting of the Japan-China Joint IP Working Group Held

METI has held the 8th Meeting of the Japan-China Joint IP WG, based on the Memorandum of Understanding on Exchanges and Cooperation for the Protection of Intellectual Property (IP) Rights agreed to between the METI Minister and China's Minister of Commerce (MOFCOM) in June 2009.

In particular, the two parties exchanged information on the recent trends regarding measures against counterfeiting and piracy and the enforcement situation, and also resolved to continue strengthening enforcement regarding intellectual property rights protection on the Internet.

This IP WG meeting was co-chaired by Yasuji Komiyama, Director-General of the Policy Planning and Coordination Department, Japan Patent Office, and Mr. Chen Yusong, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Treaty, MOFCOM. The participants included representatives from a broad range of Japanese and Chinese government organizations. They used the meeting as an opportunity to exchange views on a variety of relevant issues in order to address the increasing complexity and sophistication of the issues related to protecting intellectual property, of which the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated content on the Internet is a representative example.

In the course of exchanging views, in addition to confirming matters regarding Japan’s and China's strategies on intellectual property, the participants exchanged information on the overall picture of the reforms of the legal systems regarding intellectual property seen in recent years, and on trends regarding revision of the Copyright Law and the Unfair Competition Prevention  Law. They also exchanged views on practices and operations related to patent examinations in Japan and China, on the two nation's regulations and operations aimed at preventing the malicious filing of applications for trademarks, and on their systems for protecting labeling which indicates geographic information.

The participants agreed to hold the IP WG's next meeting (its 9th) next fiscal year.

Deepening mutually beneficial exchanges and cooperative relations between Japan and China in the field of intellectual property through continual holding of IP WG meetings is expected to lead to further progress in the development of an environment that is suitable for protecting intellectual property and cooperation through efforts by the two countries.

Participating organizations from Japan and China

Japanese side

METI (Economic and Industrial Policy Bureau; Commerce and Information Policy Bureau; Japan Patent Office); Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, Cabinet Office; National Police Agency; Ministry of Finance (Customs and Tariff Bureau; National Tax Agency), Agency for Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

(Observers: Supreme Court of Japan; Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO))

Chinese side

MOFCOM (Department of Treaty and Law; Department of Asian Affairs); Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Ministry of Public Security; General Administration of Customs; State Administration for Market Regulation (Price Monitoring and Anti Unfair Competition Bureau; Operation Inspection Bureau); China National Intellectual Property Administration

(Observers: National Copyright Administration, Supreme People's Court; China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT))

Division in Charge

International Cooperation Division, Policy Planning and Coordination Department, Japan Patent Office