Commentary: Respecting Knowledge, Creating Future

As the human society has just marched into the 21st century, on April 26 we welcomed in the first "World Intellectual Property Day" (WIPD). The main theme of this year's WIPD is as follows: "future is created today". The proposal for establishing the WIPD was jointly set forth by China and Algeria and had been unanimously adopted by the 35th Congress of WIPO member states.

The establishment of WIPD is aimed at establishing a worldwide awareness of respecting knowledge, advocating science and protecting intellectual property rights, constructing a lawful environment for encouraging knowledge innovation and protecting intellectual property rights. This is of positive and far-reaching significance to the development of the cause of intellectual property rights in China and various other countries around the world.

Along with the arrival of the age of the knowledge economy, human knowledge achievements under the protection of intellectual property rights have played an increasingly outstanding role in scientific, technological and economic development. In the knowledge economic epoch, the possession of the quantity and quality of independent intellectual property has become one of the important indexes that determines a country's scientific, technological and economic strength and comprehensive competitive capability. In other words, Any one who grasps more independent intellectual property rights in the high and new technological field occupies the commanding height in international competition and achieves advantageous development space.

As the process of economic globalization is being continually accelerated today, respecting knowledge and its intellectual property right is one of the premises for participation in economic globalization by each country and nation. According to the TRIPS agreement stipulated by the WTO, intellectual property, which is equally important as barter trade and service trade, has become one of the three pillars of the WTO. The introduction of the unified dispute-solution mechanism by the TRIPS agreement into the intellectual property field has helped comprehensively raise the level of intellectual property protection. Judged from the current international situation, strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights has become the mainstream and trend of the development of the international intellectual property system for a period of time to come.

The establishment of WIPD marks a new beginning. On the one hand, respecting and protecting intellectual property rights helps stimulate and encourage the innovative spirit of the whole nation and facilitates the introduction of advanced foreign technology and the maintenance of China's socialist market economic order; on the other hand, respecting and protecting intellectual property rights is our persistent stand. Since we are to join the WTO and to follow the road of economic globalization, we must conscientiously study, observe and apply this international rule.

Challenges invariably exist side by side with opportunities. With the arrival of the era of a knowledge economy, a nation or a country cannot do without large amounts of knowledge achievements and their application with independent intellectual property rights if it wants to become prosperous and powerful. Let's rally closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Jiang Zemin at the core, seize the opportunity, adopt active and effective measures, encourage invention and creation by the whole society, strive to form and control more independent intellectual property rights, create a favorable atmosphere for the protection of intellectual property rights, make full use of the intellectual property system to promote the protection and application of knowledge fruits, so as to make positive contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.



This article, written by Our Commentator to greet the first World Intellectual Property Day, was carried on Page 4 of People's Daily on April 26


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