China's efforts in IPR protection should be recognized: experts

China's efforts in improving intellectual property rights (IPR) protection should be recognized, said experts at a China-U.S. intellectual property cooperation dialogue & Chinese brands going global forum here on Monday.

China's IPR protection status should not eclipse the country's non-stopping efforts to build a better IPR regulation system, said Helen Cheng, partner of Zhong Lun Law Firm, a multinational law firm headquartered in Beijing.

China's determination to better IPR protection is undoubted, Cheng said.

China's Patent Law was enacted in 1984 and has been revised four times. Patent infringement can lead to fines of up to 5 million yuan (781,760 U.S. dollars), according to a draft amendment released in late 2015.

The number of China's IPR cases climbed to 133,863 in 2014, 19.52 percent more than the year before, according to China's 2014 judicial IPR white paper.

China established specialized IPR courts for the first time in 2014 in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, a significant improvement in IPR regulation.

China's efforts to promote IPR protection is also reflected in its enterprises.

Jiao Jiao, head of the Legal Department of China's e-commerce giant JD.com, said her company has witnessed China's improvement in IPR protection and is following the steps of the Chinese government to enhance IPR protection.

As a B2C (Business to Customer) online retailer, JD.com has set up a strict auditing system to bring companies to its platform and involved a third party to assess its products on sale on a regular basis.

Besides, the company has set up a cooperation mechanism with the municipal IPR authority of Beijing to solve related problems.

"China is still at the primary stage of intellectual property protection, but the United States has much more experience in this field. An enhanced cooperation will bring Chinese companies great opportunities to learn from their U.S. counterparts," Zhang Xiangchen, China's deputy international trade representative, said.

Zhang called for intensified cooperation and exchanges between the two countries to enhance IPR protection and raise public awareness.

Official data show that China received 2 million patent applications in 2015, which included 1 million invention patents, the largest in the world.

Innovation is key to China's economic transition in its 13th Five-Year Plan, and therefore, the Chinese government strives to improve IPR policies and is committed to creating a more transparent business environment to protect IPR, said Chinese Consul General in New York Zhang Qiyue. Endi