Chinese IP Law Expected July 2008

According to Peter Ollier writing for Managing Intellectual Property on January 14, 2008, final preparations are under way for the publication of China's National IP Strategy Law:

The amended Scientific and Technological Progress Law will apply from July 1,
2008. An official translation of the law is not available. But, according to an announcement on SIPO’s website, Article 7 contains general provisions that deal with IP. The law states that researchers involved in government-funded projects own any IP that the projects create. According to SIPO’s statement, this does not apply to research “involving national security, national interests or major public interests.”

In another attempt by the government to encourage innovation, the Regulations for the Implementation of Enterprise Income Tax Law came into force on January 1 this year. These allow new and high technology companies to pay a reduced tax rate of 15%. To qualify, companies must meet certain criteria, which include proving independent ownership of “core IP rights”. Many foreign companies in China prefer to register their IP rights abroad, so may not be able to benefit from this regulation.

Ollier has also noted that the new director-general of the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), Wang Mei-hua, has announced plans for a series of revisions to the country’s IP laws, along with a new IP Court that is scheduled to open on July 1.