EU and China Commit to Tackle Online Counterfeiting
PRESS RELEASE ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN UNION DELEGATION
EU and China commit to tackle online counterfeiting
On 2nd June, the EU and China held a conference addressing legal, operational and business solutions to tackle Intellectual Property infringements in e-commerce. The conference was organised by the European Commission and the Ministry of Commerce of China with technical support from IP Key, the EU's flagship cooperation programme for intellectual property rights in China. Speakers at the conference included Hans Dietmar Schweisgut, Ambassador of the European Union to China, and China’s Vice-Minister of Commerce, Mr. Fang Aiqing.
During the conference Ambassador Schweisgut said: "Legislative measures must be flanked with voluntary initiatives by stakeholders. I suspect that the most effective IP protection online will marry many of these approaches applied by business, which are largely complementary"
As two of the world’s leading economies, cooperation in the enforcement of protection for IP is an important aspect of bilateral relations between the EU and China, reaffirmed during the last EU-China Summit in Brussels. In light of the EU’s status as a leading producer of IP and China’s emergence as a market leader in e-commerce, this conference provided an important opportunity for sharing experiences, mutual benefit and enhanced cooperation.
China’s recently approved 13th Five-year Plan has also designated support for establishing a more innovative economy as a key priority. As robust protections for IP are essential to the ability of innovative private companies to successfully develop new technologies and products, as well the jobs that they create, this topic is also of direct relevance to China’s stated goals. The event gathered panellists from leading EU and Chinese rights holders and rights holders associations, e-commerce platforms and other intermediaries who discussed procedures for tackling counterfeits, prevention of counterfeiting, the role played by side services as well as building of partnerships between IP owners and e-platforms. Industry representatives engaged in productive discussions to find joint solutions to tackle the issue, which cost as much as 1.7 trillion USD and puts as many as 2.5 million legitimate jobs at risk.The event concluded with guests signing a "wall of fame" as a symbol of their commitment.
The conference was held back to back with a closed-door meeting between government representatives, which aimed at reaching a common understanding on IP policy cooperation affecting this issue. Short- and long-term goals were discussed with a commitment to deliver them through awareness and legal means. The EU and China will continue to draft concrete proposals which will further strengthen the commitment to solving this global issue.
The next EU-China summit will be held in July 2016 in Beijing.
Note to editors:
About the European Union
The EU is a unique political and economic partnership of 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent. Since its creation after the Second World War, he EU has built a single market for goods and services which allows 500 million citizens freedom to live and work anywhere in the EU. It is the largest single economy in the world as well as the largest donor of development and humanitarian aid in the world. Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality the rule of law and respect for human rights: these are the core and common values of the EU.
About IP Key
IP Key focuses on facilitating the development of an intellectual property rights framework in China that is increasingly effective, fair, transparent, and otherwise based up international best practices. It is a platform for cooperation and acts as a bridge between EU and Chinese agencies in order to create an IP landscape that benefits both Chinese and EU industry operating in China.
IP Key is co-financed by the European Union and the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) under the framework of the new EU- China cooperation. It is implemented by the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in partnership with the European Patent Office (EPO)
For more information contact info@ipkey.org