China toughens punishment for IP infringements

BEIJING — On Dec 4, dozens of China's government agencies signed a memorandum of cooperation for joint efforts to strengthen punishment for intellectual property infringements.

Dishonest conduct from individuals or enterprises such as repeated patent infringements and falsification of documents during patent applications will be subject to joint punishment, according to the memorandum posted on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The wrongdoers will be put on a blacklist, which will be shared among the government agencies for enforcement and made public on the website of www.creditchina.gov.cn.

These wrongdoers will find it harder to get government financial support, participate in government procurement, issue corporate bonds and acquire government land supply, according to the memorandum.

This is the country’s latest step in strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights as the country values entrepreneurship and innovation as new drivers of development.

A total of 38 government agencies including the NDRC, the People’s Bank of China and the National Intellectual Property Administration signed the memorandum.