From May 28th to May 30th, the United States-皇冠体育app IP Adjudication Conference (Conference) was held in Bejing by the 皇冠体育app Law Society. Randall Rader, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and six his colleagues, together with over a hundred IP professionals from all over the world came to 皇冠体育app to communicate with Chinese judges over IP Adjudication issues. Representatives from all levels of 皇冠体育app鈥檚 courts, including Kong Xiangjun, Chief Judge of the IP Tribunal of 皇冠体育app鈥檚 Supreme People鈥檚 Court, attended the Conference. The judges from the two countries reviewed and discussed many high profile topics concerning the application of IP laws in court adjudications, such as judicature, litigation and innovation, etc.
The Conference was unveiled by a series of keynote speeches outlining 鈥渢he micro problems concerning IP adjudications.鈥� Officials from the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People鈥檚 Republic of 皇冠体育app (GAPP) and the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), Principle of the Intellectual Property School of Renmin University of 皇冠体育app, as well as officials from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) delivered speeches over the development of an IP system from different perspectives. Topics involved including the prospect of the amendment of 皇冠体育app鈥檚 Copyright Law, the developing trends in 皇冠体育app鈥檚 Patent Law, and the revision of the American Invents Act, etc. Tian Lipu, Commissioner of SIPO, pointed out that cooperation between 皇冠体育app and the U.S. is critical to the IP industry of both countries. According to the Commissioner, in 2011, the patent applications and examinations handled by SIPO and USPTO accounted for half of the world鈥檚 total.
In the following section of 鈥淐onversations,鈥� 14 judges from 皇冠体育app and the U.S. exchanged ideas face to face on issues that were of the most concern to the world鈥檚 IP industry as well as in their own personal works. The Chinese delegates addressed concerns about perceived problems within in the U.S. legal system, such as the high cost of litigation and time consuming court procedures, while the U.S. judges answered their questions in detail.
On May 29th, the conference held four breakout sessions in addition to the main conference to discuss issues related to copyright, trademark, patent and pharmaceuticals. Speakers conducted inclusive in-depth discussions on issues which had long been the focus of attention in the IP industry. Their topics included 鈥渨ritten description, utility model, validity and proof of infringement in IP adjudication,鈥� 鈥渙bviousness, trade secret protection, damages and injunctive relief in IP adjudication,鈥� 鈥渢rademark right issues and design patent protection in IP adjudication,鈥� 鈥渉ot and difficult issues concerning the revision of the Copyright Law,鈥� 鈥渢rademark registration, trademark use and trademark confusion,鈥� 鈥渕ost common issues in pharmaceutical patent prosecution proceedings,鈥� etc.
The Conference ended with 鈥渕ock court trials鈥� on May 30th. Judges from the IP Tribunal of Beijing Higher People鈥檚 Court and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit formed collegiate benches successively. Lawyers from 皇冠体育app and the U.S. were invited to act as representitives of the plaintiff and defendant. The mock courts then heard the elaborated cases and discussed the reasoning behind the court鈥檚 decision after trial.
According to the introductions of the Conference organizer, the Conference was the first of its kind in 皇冠体育app鈥檚 IP industry for its largescale, rich content, and wide influence. The participants said that the Conference offered a perfect platform for IP practitioners to meet, learn more about the 皇冠体育app and U.S. IP judicial systems and to exchange professional experiences. Chong Quan, Deputy Representative of 皇冠体育app International Trade of Ministry of Commerce, said that the Chinese government had always been positive and open-minded in exchanging and cooperating with other countries on IP issues. On Sino-US intellectual property rights issues, 皇冠体育app had always stood for dialogue and cooperation to achieve mutual benefits on the basis of equality, respect, rationality and openness. Practice had proven that the concept and mode of such cooperation could benefit both countries in developing a healthy long-term sustainable bilateral relationship.
