High-level Workshop on Intellectual Property Rights and Economic Development in China:
Meeting Challenges and Opportunites Following WTO Entry
AGENDA
DAY I: Tuesday 20 April 2004
9.00-9:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks
Chair: Mr. LI Yuiguang, Vice Commissioner of SIPO
9:30-10:30 Keynote Speeches: IPR and Social and Economic Development
Chair: Ms. SUN Lanlan, Director-General, Department of International Affairs, DRC
10:30-10:45 Tea and Coffee break
10:45 SESSION 1: IPR Policies, Technology Innovation and Economic Growth: Trends and New Directions for Policy
IPR regimes play a key role in the way private firms and research institutions develop, acquire and manage their knowledge assets. Through their influence on the pace, patterns and diffusion of technological progress, as well as on competition, they have a strong impact on innovative capacity and economic performance of both advanced and less developed countries. In many OECD and non-member countries the transition to a knowledge-based economy characterised by the increasing importance of technology-intensive sectors and the efficient management of intellectual assets has given rise to changes in governments’ IPR policies and firm’s strategies concerning IPR management. This session will focus on highlighting the evolving relationships between IPR, technological innovation and economic performance, and the implications for changes in IPR regimes and business IPR strategies.
Chair: CHEN Zhonghua, Secretary General, SIPO, China
12:25 Discussion
12:55- 14:15 Lunch hosted by DRC and SIPO
14:15 SESSION 2: Antitrust policy and IPR protection
The interface between IPRs and antitrust raises important economic and legal issues. For many years, it was thought that the two systems were inherently in conflict. More recently, it generally has been recognized that the two systems are complements and that both seek to promote innovation and the development of new technologies and products. Determining the line where one system should end and the other one should start, however, is not always easy. This session will focus on questions of competition policy and competition law enforcement in connection with IPRs, including a discussion of a recent U.S. FTC report on IP policy and competition, competition issues raised in connection with bilateral and multilateral license agreements, and the tensions between IP and antitrust when firms with significant market power refuse to grant competitors access to its IPRs.
Chair: Andreas REINDL, Administrator, Directorate for Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs, OECD
15:45-16:00 Tea and Coffee break
16:40 Discussion
17:00-18:00 Panel Discussion
Chair: Dominique GUELLEC, Chief Economist, European Patent Office
Panellists
18:15 Reception hosted by DRC and SIPO
DAY II: Wednesday 21 April 2004
09:00 SESSION 3: Policy Coherence and Institutional Design of Modern IPR Regimes
IPR regimes differ among countries, notably as a result of different institutional settings but also because they are a component of a broader policy mix, including science and technology, competition and trade policies that have a direct or an indirect influence on their design, implementation and enforcement. This session aims to exchange views and experience on what core policy components are required to form a modern IPR system, how governments can improve the coherence of IPR policies and other relevant policies, and on how governments can improve the institutional design to enhance the functioning of an IPR regime. Experience of some OECD countries, such as Japan and Korea, in adjusting their policies and institutional setup to enhance the protection of IPR in the process of their transition to knowledge intensive and globalised economies will also be explored in the context of the China’s integration into the world economy following the accession to WTO.
Chair: Daniel MALKIN, Head of Science and Technology Policy Division, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD
11:15-11:30 Tea and Coffee break
11:30 SESSION 4: Enhancing IPR Protection: Special Challenges for Developing Countries
China's Membership in the WTO will undoubtedly pose serious challenges to China's IPR regime, which needs to be gradually brought in line with the TRIPS. Yet, like for other developing countries, the design of China’s IPR policy needs to manage a balance between the need to protect IPRs, to promote technological diffusion, and to develop the domestic industry. This session will explore what strategies may be most appropriate for China to adopt in reforming its IPR regime, taking into consideration of China’s level of economic development, in particular, its need to build domestic industry and innovation capability.
Chair: John BARTON, Chair of the UK Commission on Intellectual Property Rights
12:50 Discussion
13:15-14:45 Lunch hosted by DRC and SIPO
14:45 SESSION 5: Improving Enforcement of IPRs following China’s WTO entry
In China, improving enforcement of IPR protection is as important as improving IPR legislation. Furthermore, improving enforcement requires not only an effort by the government, but also an improvement of the business sector’s understanding of IPR protection, and changes in business strategy and market behaviour. This session will focus on 1) reviewing the changes that have occurred, or are under way, in China to enhance the enforcement of IPR protection, and 2) discussing changes in IPR strategies adopted by Chinese ,as well as foreign enterprises in China, in response to the challenges and opportunities for better IPR protection following China’s WTO entry.
Chair: Jayashree WATAL, Counsellor in the Intellectual Property Division, WTO
16:05 Discussion
16:30– 16:45 Tea and coffee break
16:45-18:00 Concluding Panel
Chair: Geoffrey YU, Deputy Director General, WIPO
18:00-18:30 CLOSING REMARKS
Chair: Mr. CHEN Zhonghua, Secretary General, SIPO, China
18:30 ADJOURNMENT
Click here for the workshop proceedings.
Also available here is the STI Working Paper "An Emerging Knowledge-Based Economy in China? Indicators from OECD Databases"
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