Joint Statement of the Intellectual Property Offices of China, the United States, Europe, Japan and Korea: Seriously Concerned About the Epidemic and Promoting Economic Recovery

　　(Fighting New Coronary Pneumonia) Joint Statement by the Intellectual Property Offices of China, the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea: Seriously Concerned About the Epidemic and Promoting Economic Recovery

　　China News Service, Beijing, July 22 (Reporter Sun Zifa) Directors of the five major intellectual property offices of the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the European Patent Office, the Japan Patent Office, the Korean Intellectual Property Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the 13th through a video conference on the evening of the 21st At the second meeting of the Directors of the Fifth Bureau, they issued a joint statement, expressing serious concerns about the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and emphasizing supporting innovators and the international intellectual property community to contribute to economic and social recovery.

　　The meeting was originally planned to be held in Chengdu, China in June, but due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, it was postponed and held in the form of a video conference. It was also the first meeting of directors held in the form of video conference in the history of cooperation between China, the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea. . The conference was hosted by the organizer, China National Intellectual Property Office Director Shen Changyu, European Patent Office Director Antonio Campnos, Japan Patent Office Director Zao Gu Minsu, Korea Patent Office Director Park Haraju, and United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Andre Young Library attended the meeting, and Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, attended the meeting as an observer.

　　At the meeting, the "2020 Joint Statement of the Directors of the Five Offices of China-US-Europe-Japan-Korea Intellectual Property Offices" was passed and issued. It pointed out that the new crown pneumonia pandemic posed a major threat to the life and health of the public and brought global economic development and growth. A huge challenge. The Directors of the Fifth Bureau reiterated the importance of protecting intellectual property rights in supporting research, innovation and creation, which are exactly what all walks of life now urgently need to deal with the new crown pneumonia epidemic. They emphasized that, especially in times of crisis, intellectual property plays a key role in promoting economic recovery and creating jobs.

　　The statement said that the Five Offices will continue to cooperate with the World Intellectual Property Organization and support its actions to promote and strengthen a balanced intellectual property system on a global scale.

　　The Directors of the Five Offices also reiterated their common commitment to “provide better services for users and the public to enhance the role of intellectual property in stimulating innovation and promoting social and economic development”, and confirmed that the Five Offices will continue to promote the two organizations during this critical period. Aspects of work:

　　The first is to take measures and share best practices in encouraging innovation to support innovators and the international intellectual property community to contribute to economic and social recovery. The second is to promote the cooperation projects of the Five Offices to promote cooperation in the field of emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, strengthen the coordination of procedures and practices, strengthen work sharing, improve the quality and efficiency of examination, and further enhance the accessibility of patent information.

　　It is understood that the cooperation of the Five Intellectual Property Offices of China, the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea began in 2007, and aims to jointly improve the quality and efficiency of intellectual property review. The latest statistics show that in 2019, the five offices handled about 85% of global patent applications and 93% of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) international patent applications. Since 2020, the Fifth Bureau has adopted a series of effective measures to ensure business operations, reduce the impact of the epidemic, and promptly notify the industries from the five countries and regions of relevant measures and work progress.

　　The JPO will host the next meeting of directors of the Five Offices Cooperation in 2021. (Finish)