How do I protect intellectual property in China?
At Amazon Sellers Lawyer, we believe it is becoming increasingly more important for Amazon sellers to protect their intellectual property rights overseas.
When you file for copyright, patent, and/or trademark protection, your rights are only protected in the countries that you file your application with. When you file for protection in other countries, it allows you to bring a law suit in that jurisdiction which avoids the problem of trying to get an overseas infringer to come to the United States.
Updates on Protecting IP Rights in China
Recently, Francis Gurry, Director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said that he expects China to become the world’s second highest international patent applicant within the next two years. This is good news for Amazon sellers who may experience infringement overseas. China is becoming more and more compliant with WIPO and the law, and issues with corruption are beginning to fade out, especially in prominent jurisdictions there.
Why China is Increasing its Protection of IP Rights
According to General Director Gurry, “China is arising into intellectual property and technological power …,” recognizing how the nation has expanded its laws to try and keep up with the growing e-commerce industry and its associated intellectual property issues. He added that China ranked third in terms of internationally patent applications filed in 2015, and noted that the number should double sometime in 2018. A sign of the growing trend of e-commerce entrepreneurs who are using Chinese manufacturers for their products more and more.
Easy Use of WIPO by Amazon Sellers to Protect to Intellectual Property Rights
Directory Gurry also discussed new technology that WIPO unveiled which allows a machine to translate Patent documents into English. WIPO’s new technology can translate Chinese, Japanese, and Korean patent documents into English. At Amazon Sellers Lawyer, we have seen instances in which seller’s accounts or listings are suspended due to pending international intellectual property applications and a baseless complaint. Hopefully for sellers, this new translation technology will help expedite the application process while allowing for more clarity among rights owners simultaneously.
WIPO has already rolled out a trial version of the Chinese to English translation utility on a public beta test platform. In addition, they are planning to build upon the translation service to accommodate the French language, with other languages to follow.
Amazon sellers need to be as proactive as possible to protect their intellectual property rights.
Hopefully these improvements and predictions from WIPO are a sign of an international trend towards cooperation in enforcing intellectual property rights.
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