Editor's note:

We are now by the door of WTO, what must we do? From this day on, People's Daily Online is going to open a special column, "What Must We Do Before Entry into WTO?" Apart from delving into the various opportunities and challenges offered, a much more important thing for us to do is to call on all concerned departments and people immediately to go about all possible preparations demanded.

Following an expert view, China has already been at the door of WTO, with one leg in and the other one still outside. Though there are as yet some days to go for China to have its two legs in, intellectual rights protection as an important part to a multitude of rules and stipulations found within is a stark fact we must accept. We must familiarize ourselves within a shortest time with all ready rules, principles and norms set and see to it that all stipulations from WTO accord will be well mastered and used to further the interest of our own. This is a required course we must attend to.

Legislation with respect to intellectual rights protection has started from a high vantage in China. It has already been set on an "expressway" and aboard an "express". But things are still not so satisfactory as they should have been.

Intellectual rights protection involves a multiplicity of fields with regard to international trade, services, industries, administration of justice, etc., not merely something to be undertaken by a few departments. Professor Tao Xinliang of Shanghai University Intellectual Rights Institute put it aptly: in terms of legislation, intellectual rights legislation and amendment have already been placed at a high starting point to have met the standards entitling China's accession to the WTO. WTO standards on intellectual rights protection originate for the most part in the Uruguay TRIPS accord of the GATT. Though China had not been a member in that round of talks yet it had been a party to the talks throughout. A Chinese delegation had then applied its signature to a package of the accord.

In the past dozen or so years, China has, to make new advances on its own, within a multilateral international atmosphere, Sino-US bilateral talks on intellectual rights protection, China has greatly accelerated its pace in intellectual rights legislation, thereby winning the fame of getting on an "expressway", aboard an "express".

By now, China has basically a well-formulated intellectual rights protection system. By its existing laws it gives protection not only to patents, commodity brands, copyrights and other traditional intellectual rights but also protection to computer software, commercial secrets, spiritual rights to sci-tech achievements and fights against illegal competition. The protection standards have basically been in, similar to, or up to those of the TRIPS accord for international intellectual rights protection.

A thing we must admit is that some legal readjustments are needed for our intellectual rights protection law when taking legislation into account. "Take super-nationality treatment for example", Professor Tao said, by "super-nationality treatment" is meant the scope and intensity of protection provided by Chinese intellectual rights law for those of foreign patent owners. Meanwhile such a protection must be in the way it is beyond the scope of protection provided for intellectual rights of Chinese nationals. Examples in case are artifacts and databank in use: Those in the type of foreigners instead of those home will be in a position to be put under complete protection. This is especially so with CP software. An article stipulates a one-time 50 years' protection for those of foreigners. As to those by Chinese at home, they must be registered with first before they are given the right to extend a complaint and apply for right to protection by administrative department. Though the Supreme Court already has had relevant legal documents for coordination in making judgements yet this point has still not been solved in a legal sense. The experts remind us that "when opening our door to the outside world we must take care not to let our hands and feet be bound by our own".

Meanwhile, a fact to be noted is that the country's enterprise intellectual rights management and operation are still not at a creditable level. Managerial personnel employed by Chinese enterprises put together to that end are even not in a number not so large as those employed by a single IBM.

In contrast with legislation, low-quality intellectual rights management is still practiced in government departments and institutional units and this has become an urgent problem to be solved. In today's world, transnational companies have shown an increased penetrating capability in world economy. Vigorously developed is a knowledge economy throughout the world. As represented by an ever-expanding online network in drawing closer various parts of the world, it has shown its might in upgrading the value and quantity of intellectual rights. The transnational and international hi-tech companies we are now facing and are going to face boast a high level in intellectual rights management. They often use intellectual rights protection as an important part of the strategy to seek new developments and also as an important means in advance business interest and cooperate operation.

An example in case is that Software has clearly stated that its wealth fountain lies in the copyrights of its software. In a sense, Software sells not its products but its copyrights. Under Software is an employment force of over 30,000. Of these, 50 per cent goes in for developments of software, 10,000 for sale, and a major part of the remaining 5,000 as lawyers under a Law Department well matched to a large specialized lawyers' company. What is more, for its important role it carries out independent operation and has been held responsible only for the president of Software.

As for our part, it nearly makes no exception for all Chinese enterprises to suffer from a lack of sufficient understanding, knowledge and awareness about intellectual rights management and operation. Statistics show that in all government departments and state units of China there are not so many managerial personnel as those having been employed by a single IBM for intellectual rights management. Owing to the fact transnational companies are in an advantageous position to go in for intellectual rights protection and management, it can be predicted, within a fairly long period before and after we enter the WTO, these enterprises will occupy various vantages of intellectual rights.

A fact we must know is that intellectual rights are no longer a thing negligent for various types of our enterprises big or small in China. We must give serious thought to things of others available and those of our own to be used and how these are to be used or protected from a positive stand. There is no time to lose in our legislation to that end. Necessary institutional units and organizations should be set up to provide necessary management over the matter. Intellectual rights should be made a component to enterprise development in China, especially bio-medicinal production, CP related fields and audio-visual publication.

Objective demands have been placed on Chinese administrative departments and government units of justice. Against various overlapping disputes of intellectual rights, a general of the country's overall level in implementing law and the law level of our judges as a whole are expected, with administration of justice, and the enforcement of law included. In the past few years, though China has not entered the WTO yet there has been seen an increase in the number of disputes over intellectual rights. Shanghai is one. In the three years from 1991 to 1993, it had heard and passed judgement on over 500 cases. Last year, these had even increased to over 2000. A speedily rising number of these will be inevitable following our entry into the WTO. Such a situation has placed a high demand on our administrative and judicial departments. Being found amidst a flurry of contradictions and disputes, new rules and standards may be worked out in a minute particularized form. New intellectual rights disputes will be all the more in an overlapped sci-tech form. Our judges will by their number and professional level have direct bearing to the result of the country's law work in the future. (By People's Daily Staff Reporter Xie Weiqun)