China, U.S. hold cooperation conference on combating online infringing goods

BEIJING, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and U.S. officials have met in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, to discuss cooperation in tackling online sales of infringing goods, China's top market regulator said on Monday.

The conference, jointly organized by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), brought together over 200 representatives from law enforcement and judicial departments, industry associations, brand owners and e-commerce platforms from both countries, SAMR said in an online statement.

The meeting followed a memorandum of understanding on intellectual property (IP) cooperation signed between SAMR and USPTO in Beijing this April.

Discussions covered topics including IP policies and regulations, administrative enforcement practices, cooperation between e-commerce platforms and rights holders, and U.S. law enforcement experiences.

China has been stepping up IP protection amid efforts to create a more attractive environment for foreign investment and trade and pursue higher-level opening-up.

In August last year, SAMR issued guidelines emphasizing equal IP protection for domestic and foreign companies. This April, it launched a two-year special enforcement campaign on IP protection.