Research and analysis

China: UK-China symposium week

Published 17 September 2014

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Summary

Baroness Neville-Rolfe leads senior delegation to tackle IP concerns that limit UK-China trade, investment and innovation collaboration. Commercial outcomes secured covering online counterfeiting and setting up revenue exchanges benefiting British authors, publishers and visual artists. The UK is now China’s leading international partner on IP reforms. Significant opportunities for further technical exchanges, including direct support in drafting judicial procedures for specialist courts in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

Detail

Between 1-5 September Baroness Neville-Rolfe spearheaded a weighty delegation for UK-China IP Symposium Week. A packed programme of activities across eight Chinese cities had the following highlights:

Ministerial Meetings

Baroness Neville-Rolfe’s meeting with State Councillor Wang Yong - in the Party leadership compound Zhongnanhai - was broadcast on state TV news, giving major publicity to our work on IP. This was the first time such a senior Chinese government figure has met an IP delegation from a foreign country.

In total Baroness Neville-Rolfe met 8 figures of Minister-rank or above during her visit, providing opportunities for high-level thought leadership on issues such as IP in international innovation cooperation and China’s engagement in international institutions.

Constructive, technical exchanges

Baroness Neville-Rolfe’s delegation included a high court IP judge, senior officials from the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and private-sector experts. The delegation visited 8 cities in 4 days holding exchanges on:

  • Bad-faith trade mark applications and passing off;
  • Patent system efficiency and quality control;
  • Copyright collective licensing and online copyright enforcement;
  • Joint operations against international IP crime networks; and
  • Reforms to civil judicial procedures covering discovery, admissibility of evidence, expert witnesses and enforcement of court judgements.

The inclusion of business experts in the Ministerial delegation allowed us to showcase world-leading UK private-sector expertise and to position our professional and legal services industry to win more business in China. A workshop as part of broader UK support for policy development in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone resulted in an offer to help draft judicial guidelines for a new specialist IP court. This progress was backed up with strong support from the vice-mayor of Shanghai.

Commercial outcomes

There were several immediate commercial outcomes for British companies and innovators. A landmark agreement signed between the China Britain Business Council (CBBC) and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba will help address the £10s millions lost to Chinese counterfeiting and piracy each year. A bilateral agreement between the UK Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) and their Chinese counterpart paves the way for an estimated £80 million annual remittance to British authors, publishers and visual artists.

Over 100 British businesses joined activities throughout the week, ranging from SME design companies to global household names Unilever, JLR, Burberry, Pentland, Chivas, Penguin, IHG, Rolls Royce, BT and Nottingham University. 11 business and right holders associations also participated in the 2nd UK-China IP Symposium, the launch of our latest business factsheet on IP & architecture in China and other policy workshops and business information events. Freshfields law firm played a leading role in the FTZ symposium.

Comment

This week’s activities clearly illustrated the strength of the UK and China’s partnership on IP and show how much the Chinese authorities value this cooperation. Agreements reached in the meetings will underpin future collaboration.

Disclaimer

The purpose of the FCO Country Update(s) for Business (”the Report”) prepared by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is to provide information and related comment to help recipients form their own judgments about making business decisions as to whether to invest or operate in a particular country. The Report’s contents were believed (at the time that the Report was prepared) to be reliable, but no representations or warranties, express or implied, are made or given by UKTI or its parent Departments (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)) as to the accuracy of the Report, its completeness or its suitability for any purpose. In particular, none of the Report’s contents should be construed as advice or solicitation to purchase or sell securities, commodities or any other form of financial instrument. No liability is accepted by UKTI, the FCO or BIS for any loss or damage (whether consequential or otherwise) which may arise out of or in connection with the Report.

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