Awareness of IPRs must Be Heightened

In an interview with the Intellectual Property Rights Bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, correspondents found that out of 37 key enterprises in the region, 19 have never lodged any patent application. Only few enterprises attached importance to legal protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) by combining the management of IPRs with technological management including invention and innovation whereas most enterprises were lack of the conscientiousness of promoting technological progress and inventions to add technical reserve by dint of patent.

This is revealed in the following two aspects: one is that the enterprises have made no study on the roles of IPRs in economic activities, thus not understanding how to use the patent system to improve technical innovation mechanism, product quality and high-tech contents for developing and protecting market. In addition, a complete and effective mechanism for protection of IPRs hasn't been formed within enterprises of weak patent consciousness, and the relevant reward policy not implemented. Therefore, the initiative and enthusiasm of technical personnel has so far not been brought into full play.

Of those key enterprises, only six have established technological information check system and corresponding managerial system. A series of products of an enterprise enjoy a big domestic market share and they are exported to several countries and so it has great confidence in its future but has never applied for patent. Recently, the Intellectual Property Rights Bureau checked and found many advanced technologies related to its products had already been applied for patent, particularly by foreign firms. This will undoubtedly pose great obstacle to the enterprise in providing effective protection for its ready market and in increasing and tapping new economic growth.

Experts point out that large-and-medium-sized state-owned enterprises own not only a big industrial basis but also a relative concentration of technical personnel of an absolute large number thus being very competitive in owning self-intellectual property rights. The intangible assets, the enterprise IPRs should constitute an indispensable part in the assessment of enterprise assets. A good management of it can preserve and increase the value of enterprise assets and bring to it a high economic return. SOEs should further enhance the sense of IPRs and use effectively the IPR management system. This includes the patent system based on market needs, incorporating the patent management work into technological innovation system as an indispensable part. At the same time, the work in its application, protection, use of information and personnel training in connection with the patent as well as the interest allocation of patent rights must be improved so as to bring the incentive mechanism of the patent into full play.



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