International Activities
Reports from the PJ on Corporate Cooperation between Japan & China
In connection with the Japan-China Corporate Cooperation Project, we held a Conference for Japan-China Corporate Cooperation in Beijing on March 15 and in Shanghai on March 17.
This Conference has been held in Beijing and Shanghai on an annual basis since April 2005, in which the Japan-China Intellectual Property Forum was held in Shanghai for the first time. The purpose of the Conference is to build close relationships among the JIPA and its member companies, the Patent Protection Association of China (PPAC)) (Beijing) and its member companies, and the Shanghai Intellectual Property Service Center (SIPSC) and its affiliated companies. Each annual meeting of the Conference consists of a presentation session and a discussion session on practical issues that many companies face in their IP-related activities so that attendants can learn from one another.
In the Conference held in this fiscal year, two issues were addressed in presentation and discussion sessions. These issues, “Evaluation of and remuneration for employee inventions” and “Exploitation of intellectual property rights,” have been drawing increasing attention from both the Japanese and Chinese sides in recent years.
Report from the 5th Beijing Conference
In response to a request from the Chinese side, we introduced a new system to the Conference held in this fiscal year. We held a presentation session and a discussion session on “Evaluation of and remuneration for employee inventions” before noon and on “Exploitation of intellectual property rights” in the afternoon in the same conference room. Since we permitted nonmember observers to attend the Conference and participate in a discussion session, as many as 120 people attended the Conference in total.
At the beginning of the Conference, Chairman Wang of the Patent Protection Association of China (PPAC), who played an important role in establishing the Association (former Commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office of the P.R.C. (SIPO)), extended greetings. He talked about China’s recent great progress in the field of intellectual property and offered sincere condolences and warm encouragement to the victims of the recent Great East Japan Earthquake.
Although the Chinese side had large companies such as ZTE and Huawei give presentations for the Conference until last year, the presentations for this year’s Conference were made by midsize companies. All of those midsize companies showed great interest in intellectual property and had already taken substantive measures to protect their intellectual properties. We had to limit the discussion time because so many discussions followed each presentation.
At the end of the Conference, PPAC Deputy Chairman Zheng (Tianjin Tasly Co., Ltd.) made a comment. Then, Mr. Suzuki, who was leaving the post as the leader of the Japanese side after three years of service, bid farewell and cited an ancient Chinese proverb “Peaches and Plums Do Not Have to Talk, Yet the World Beats a Path to Them” as his last message to his coworkers. (This proverb has its origin in a Chinese ancient history book, "Shiki.” The meaning of the proverb is that peach trees and plum trees do not talk, yet the world beats a path to them because those trees bear flowers and fruits, metaphorically indicating that people with virtue are naturally respected by others. More specifically, it means that people with virtue do not have to solicit followers because virtuous people’s strict self-control and integrity will attract many people and consequently form a large group of followers.)
Report from the 6th Shanghai Conference
Most of the Chinese companies participating in the Conference held in Shanghai were local small/midsize companies, many of which file a rather small number of patent applications but file a large number of design applications. Three foreign companies from Western countries attended the Conference this year for the first time.
At the beginning of the Conference, Deputy Director Cai of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration (SIPA), who doubles as an official of Service Center of Shanghai Intellectual Property (SSIP), extended greetings. He talked about SIPA’s intellectual property policies and IP activities conducted by local companies and extended heartfelt condolences and warm encouragement to the victims of the recent Great East Japan Earthquake.
In the Conference held in Shanghai, in response to a request from the Chinese side, two keynote lectures were given before noon, one lecture entitled “Lawsuits on Employee Inventions,” given by Shanghai Electric Center Academe, and the other entitled “Lawsuits,” given by General Manager Miyauchi of Toshiba (Managing Directors of JIPA), both of which raised many issues to be addressed in the subsequent discussion session.
In the afternoon, the attendants were divided into two groups, one for the topic “Evaluation of and remuneration for employee inventions” and the other for “Exploitation of intellectual property rights.” In each group, a presentation session and a discussion session were held as usual. Due in part to the greatly enhanced IP awareness and IP practices of Chinese attendants, discussions became so heated that it was hard to manage discussion time.
At the end of the Conference, Chairman Chen of Shanghai Intellectual Property Society gave a comment. Then, Mr. Suzuki, the leader of the Japanese side, cited an ancient Chinese proverb as he did in Beijing.
