After ten years of ongoing dialogue, the European Union and China have signed an agreement to strengthen their cooperation on the protection of intellectual property rights, last December. The collaboration extends to all fields of intellectual property through the implementation of twenty framework activities, with an overall budget of 10 million euros over the next three years.
The agreement provides for the adoption of relevant European and Chinese laws, in line with a close collaboration between authorities, the publication of intellectual property databases as well as an enhanced cooperation on customs matters. In an environment of digitization, the objective is to pool resources for the protection of innovations. The agreement also promotes economic and commercial development between the EU and China in the long-run.
The European Union and OHIM experts are already in Beijing, in order to implement the collaboration with China. OHIM President, António Campinos, stressed on “the importance of the EU-China cooperation in a globalized economy”.
This collaboration follows a previous agreement signed in 2009 between China and the European Union.