The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a special 301 report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights on the 26th Eastern Time, including 29 countries on the watch list and priority watch list, and China continues to be included in the priority watch list.

 

In addition, although Taiwan is not included in the watch list, the special 301 report names areas where "illegal Internet protocol television (IPTV)" is rampant, including Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Canada, and Brazil. The report also pointed out that Iraq is an important center for the production of satellite receivers pre-installed with pirated IPTV applications, while China is a manufacturing center for related equipment.

 

According to USTR's special 301 report, 29 countries have been included in the watch list and priority watch list. Compared with previous years, the only new country is Belarus. Seven countries, including China, India, Russia, Indonesia, and Argentina, continue to be on the priority watch list, and 22 trading partners, including Belarus, Bulgaria, and Thailand, are on the watch list.

 

The report pointed out that China still has many serious problems in the protection of intellectual property rights and law enforcement. Although China continued to promote amendments to the Patent Law, Copyright Law, and Criminal Law last year, the pace of intellectual property rights reform has slowed down. Copyright owners agree with some positive developments in China, but for technology transfer, business secrets, counterfeit trademarks, piracy, etc. We are still worried about long-standing problems and whether relevant improvement measures can be effectively implemented.

 

The report also emphasized that many Chinese official statements link intellectual property rights with the market, which makes the outside world feel inappropriate. China has previously emphasized that intellectual property rights are a strategic resource for its international competitiveness. In addition, Chinese President Xi Jinping and others have vigorously called for independent intellectual property rights and technology. Relevant remarks may make people worry about whether there will be forced technology transfers and other behaviors. Moreover, the president of the Supreme People's Court once described that the court should serve the CCP and its industrial policy goals.

 

Gan Lin, deputy director of China's State Administration for Market Regulation, emphasized on the 26th that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights of foreign-invested companies, and treats companies registered in China equally to improve the investment environment. By the end of last year, the number of effective foreign invention patents in China reached 861,000, an annual increase of 4.5%. (Source: chinatimes0428) ☺
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