2017 is the first year of the revitalization of China's real economy, but the real economy revitalization is not equal to the simple return of the real economy; besides, it needs innovation as the main driving force, the application of the Internet, digitization, sharing, artificial intelligence and other new technologies, ideas and new models to promote the real economy innovation, and to achieve the transformation as well as upgrade of the real economy.

 

Since it came into being, the patent system undertook the historical mission of protecting and encouraging innovation. Over the past 30 years, China's patent related laws and systems have played an important role in promoting China's economic development and technological progress, and have achieved remarkable achievements worldwide. But in the urgent new economic situation, how to adjust and implement the patent system so as to efficiently and effectively enhance the entity enterprises' innovative consciousness and motivation, international layout and ability and level, as well as patent management and operational efficiency, etc. have become the opportunities and challenges that intellectual property individuals must face.

 

The 2017 CPAC titled as Patent, Driving the Growth of Real Economy was held at the Beijing National Convention Center (CNCC) from September 5th to 6th. This year's CPAC included keynote speeches, seven thematic parallel sessions, several exhibitors' seminars and international patent services and product exhibitions. Over 100 elites and representatives from more than 80 prominent companies, international organizations, courts, government departments, agency services industry and academic research institutions attended the conference. They launched comprehensive and in depth exchanges and discussions on the innovation for the rise of the real economy, intellectual property rights issues in the traditional industry integration, management and protection in the era of artificial intelligence, the latest practice of patent licensing, the latest developments in patent transactions, patent finance, the status and trends of China's intellectual property protection, the latest progress and achievements in the use of patent information, how does artificial intelligence open the new future of patent information market , management and protection in the era of intellectual intelligence, institutions and enterprises cooperation along Belt and Road, the best practices in Asian patent information, patent quality improvement projects, patent agency training, and etc. Many industry elites "Gathering wisdom and intelligence", would surely contribute to the transformation and upgrading of China's real economy.

 

The opening ceremony and the plenary session were undoubtedly the most concerned sections at this CPAC. Two senior leaders at State Intellectual Property Office of the P.R.C (SIPO) Shen Changyu, director, and He Hua, deputy director , attended the opening ceremony and the plenary session, which fully reflected that SIPO attached great importance to CPAC. Prof. Wu Handong, a leading authority in intellectual property field, and former president of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, hosted the plenary session. Nine masters of intellectual property field at home and abroad delivered keynote speeches at the plenary session.

 

During the plenary session, Shen Changyu, director of SIPO, He Hua, deputy director at SIPO, Mr Luo Wen, vice minister of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of People's Republic of China, Mr Yoshiyuki Takagi, Assistant Director General of WIPO successively del i vered keynotes speeches on behalf of their respective departments or organizations. Speeches of representat i ves from government agencies and international organizations included both accurate industry data and established guidelines, and revealed more information about macroscopic trends and policy direction, which could be applied as a guide for practitioners to grasp industry dynamics and development trends.

 

The debut of Dong Mingzhu, the representative of China's innovative entrepreneurs, board chairman of Gree, created certain "turmoil". From the "Gree makes good airconditioning", "Gree, masters the core technology" to "Makes the world fall in love with things created in China". For more than 10 years, under the leadership of Dong Mingzhu, Gree continues to adjust the development strategy, and gradually completes the enterprise transformation from "manufacturing" to "intellectual creation". As one of the most influential domestic and international entrepreneurs, Dong Mingzhu's words and deeds have been highly concerned by the media. And in this annual meeting, she concisely shared her experience and stories of insisting on innovation-driven entities upgrading and transformation titled as Independent Innovation and Intellectual Property Protection of Manufacturing Enterprises. Mme DONG Mingzhu also made sharp criticism on some of the specific provisions of China's existing intellectual property system. As the first keynote speaker of Chinese entity economic entrepreneurs at the annual meeting, her voice was worth thinking for every participant.

 

Dolby Laboratories Inc. (Dolby Labs) is a leading company with intellectual property licensing as the company's core business model, with which many domestic companies have dealing. This year, Andy Sherman, executive vice president and general counsel of Dolby Labs attended the plenary session, and delivered a speech titled IP Strategy: 50 Years in the Marketing. He highlighted Dolby Labs' intellectual property licensing business model, and revealed the trend and future of global patent system from a new perspective.

 

With the development and expansion of the smart phone industry, Qualcomm's industry position has become increasingly prominent, and its chips have almost become smart phone "standard configuration", which ensures its long-term dominant position in standard essential patent (SEP) of global communications. Many technology companies follow the example of Qualcomm to be more specialized, focusing on chip development, display technology or power management research and development, rather than manufacturing the entire mobile phone. Mark Snyder, senior vice president of Qualcomm appeared at the plenary session and delivered a speech, indicating that Qualcomm is determined to win the Chinese market with full strength.

 

For outsiders, Noreen Krall might be unfamiliar, while for individuals in intellectual property field, especially for patent litigation lawyers, this is a legendary name. As vice president and chief litigation counsel for Apple Inc. (Apple), Krall helped Apple win 1 billion USD compensation for Apple's patent lawsuit against Samsung. The world's outstanding innovative company-Apple, female vice president, and chief litigation counsel, these keywords altogether made her keynote speech more eye catching. In addition, Apple and Qualcomm have been in ceaseless patent disputes with each other in recent years. Senior executives of these two companies attending the annual meeting on the same stage also made other participants expecting much.

 

Media is a Chinese company manufacturing household appliances which has gradually formed the industrial structure of industrial diversification, largescale development, professional operation, differential management and primarily equipped with the ability to adjust and use resources within the range of world. In this annual conference, Wei Xiangmin, the vice president of Media delivered a speech whose rich content provided much valuable concept and methods to entity entrepreneurs and IPers at home and abroad.

 

Enterprise is the main force of economic development, as well as the most important innovation subject. The development transformation and upgrading of real economy is indeed the transformation and upgrading, and healthy development of entity enterprises.

 

It is impossible to have a unified model for transformation and upgrading, and innovative development for entity enterprises. It is necessary to follow one's own road on the basis of times features, global trends, industry rules and own characteristics. In the IP strategic position and strategy implementation aspects, different enterprises enjoy their own characteristics. In recent years, Huawei came out top in global electronic communications field, Heng Rui Medicine sprung up in pharmaceutical field, Lenovo Group dominates in the personal computer industry… Through continuous innovation and intellectual property operation management improvement, these enterprises successfully realized their upgrading. Representatives of these outstanding enterprises---Song Liuping, Wu Yuxia, Chen Yuanqing, etc. attended the breakout session Patents Facilitate Transforming and Upgrading of Real Economy on September 5th. Through "high-end dialogues", they shared secrets of success of their own enterprises, displayed "Chinese power" of intellectual property and innovation management, and jointly "innovated for the rise of the real economy".

 

In the global AI field, the US and China are currently in the leading position. With the advantages of data, talents, policy support and ample capital support, China has the tendency to surpass the US in AI field. It is estimated that by 2030, the economic growth related to AI will contribute 8 trillion USD to China's GDP, accounting for almost half of the value of global artificial intelligence. Over the past few years, the number of patent applications filed by Chinese researchers on AI has increased by nearly 200%. At present, all the traditional areas have launched AI research and development, as well as application experiments, which yielded with fruitful results. Face recognition, voice recognition, translation, artistic creation and other aspects hit headlines for their phased achievements. In the patent field, intelligent translation, intelligent search, intelligent writing and other aspects are chasing and developing vigorously in application experiments, among which, WIPO intelligent translation robot had carried out experimental application last year.

 

In China, leading enterprises like Baidu the first enterprise to place its patent layout in AI, Tencent the enterprise with a huge amount of data support and AI laboratory, and DJI the enterprise exploring the new market of intelligent drive, have obtained stage results in their respective areas of AI research and development. At this annual meeting, representatives of the above-mentioned organizations and enterprises attended the conference, and carried out comprehensive and in-depth exchanges and discussions on integrated development of traditional industries and new technologies such as AI, the IP management of AI, the application future of AI in patent information and services, and privacy protection and ethical issues on AI applications. They jointly talked about "AI initiates the new future of patent information market".

 

China's exploration to improve the environment of intellectual property protection 

Legal system is an important guarantee for the market economy order. No fair and just judicature or law enforcement, no sustainable and healthy development of the market economy environment. Similarly, no good intellectual property judicature or law enforcement environment , no sustainable enterprise innovation. In recent years, China's intellectual property legal protection continues to be strengthened, which resulted in great improvement of protection effect. For example, before 2014, the average companstation amount of patent infringement in China is less than 100,000 Yuan; by 2015, the average companstation amount of patent infringement affirmed by Beijing Intellectual Property Court is 450,000 Yuan; while in 2016, Beijing Intellectual Property Court further strengthened the protection of first instance patent infringement cases, and the average amount of compensation reached 1.38 million Yuan. In Watchdata vs. Hengbao case, Beijing Intellectual Property Court gave a verdict of compensation for economic losses of 49 million Yuan and counsel fee of 1 million Yuan, which is the highest compensation amount pronounced by the court, and it is also the ever first time to clearly support the lawyer's timing charge. In recent years, China's patent administrative law enforcement is continuously reinforced, which establishes a high pressure for the patent infringement, and greatly enhances the effect of intellectual property protection. In 2016, the nationwide intellectual property systems processed 48,916 patent administrative enforcement cases, with a year-on-year growth of 36. 5 % . China Customs i s also enhancing the protection of intellectual property. From November 15th to December 31th, 2016, the General Administration of Customs promoted the "purifying" action organizing local Customs to carry out a special action on patent protection of exported electric self balancing scooters. During the action, relevant customs seized a total of 28 cases of suspected infringement, checked and detained 12,666 electric self-balancing scooters, worthing 13 million Yuan.

 

Since the judicial reform, how is the condition about cases acceptance of local intellectual property courts? How could ob ligees protect rights in a more efficient and convenient way under the increasingly improved intellectual property legal environment? And how to effectively apply the interlocutory injunction? On the afternoon of September 5th, the 3rd breakout session of the annual meeting Intellectual Property Protection in China was held at Room 310 of China National Convention Center. Guests discussed and answered the above questions. At the same time, this breakout session also focused on intellectual property comprehensive management reform. The intellectual property comprehensive management reform has been carried out for many years with a variety of ceaseless exploration and pilot projects, which aroused wide concerns among the general public. What kind of intellectual property management system could effectively improve the administrative services efficiency, and optimize the effect of intellectual property protection? Guests at this breakout session expressed their perspectives, pointed out the importance of improving intellectual property management system, and put forward relevant suggestions.

 

Since the Belt and Road initiative put forward in 2013, China has invested more than 900 billion USD along Belt and Road countries. Many Chinese enterprises, local enterprises along Belt and Road countries, and Western multinational corporations have benefited a lot from it, which fully embodies goal and purpose of win-win cooperation about Belt and Road. Represented by (Sichuan) Kelun Group and CRRC Co., Ltd (CRRC), many enterprises have achieved remarkable results in the process of enterprises internationalization. The development of Belt and Road has achieved initial success, which provides more opportunities to open up overseas markets for Chinese companies, and points out the direction and path for Chinese enterprises internationalization. Enterprises internationalization not only emphasizes on competition, but also practices multi-dimensional analysis and layout in cooperation and win-win level. In fact, no matter it is Belt and Road or Entering into Europe and the US Market, Chinese enterprises must adhere to cooperation and win-win thinking pattern and model. Therefore, how could enterprises cooperate with each other and achieve win-win results in enterprises internationalization? Actually, this is not an issue for enterprises' sole thinking, but a topic worth pooling the wisdom and efforts of government, service agencies, industry associations as well as alliances.

 

Inter-government albilateral and multilateral agreements are primary means to guarantee that enterprises would face less institutional and cultural barriers in internationalization development. Only with a good, unified market environment, could enterprises enjoy sustainable, rapid and healthy development. Under Belt and Road initiative, governments along Belt and Road are actively conducting cooperation, and carrying out judicial, especially intellectual property system coordination and matching. This year's patent annual meeting has set up a breakout session on the theme of Win-Win Silk Road: Strengthening Intellectual Property Cooperation along Belt and Road, which discussed how to achieve win-win results in the internationalization process from two perspectives including cooperation between governments and organizations, and cooperation between enterprises.

 

This year's CPAC enjoyed various forms, rich content, and masters assemble, among which too many cutting-edge topics are worthy of attention. In addition to several breakout sessions mentioned above, organizers also set up many more breakout sessions and several exhibitor seminars including International Patent Operation Market Frontier Trends, PIUG-CPAC Asia Session, and Patent Value Promotion. The rich agenda has fully covered various important aspects of the theme Patent, Driving the Growth of Real Economy. Participants have benefited a lot from this annual meeting. They received much more effective information, appreciated the chrisma of experts, got to know more partners, and placed great expectations on next year's CPAC.