SIPO Briefs on IP5+ID5 Collaboration Projects in Beijing & Shenzhen

On 15 August 2017, the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) hosted in Beijing a briefing to share with industry practitioners on IP5 and ID5 collaborations. IP5 represents the world's five largest intellectual property offices comprising the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), SIPO, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), whereas ID5 are the world's five leading industrial design offices comprising the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), JPO, KIPO, SIPO, and USPTO.

During the meeting, officials from the SIPO divisions in charge of the IP5 and ID5 collaboration projects gave an overview of IP5 collaboration in terms of its origin, vision, landmark events, and status quo; briefed on IP5's collaborative efforts in projects such as harmonisation of patent examination practices, IP5 statistics, Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), collaborative search and examination under the PCT (CS&E), and common access to search results; and elaborated on the progress and outcomes of SIPO-led projects as related to common rules for examination practice, examination quality management, and common statistical parameter system for examination.

Also covered in the meeting were ID5 projects including compilation of industrial design statistics, examination practices of priority rights, design classification conventions, view and drawing requirements, and protection for emerging designs.

The meeting was SIPO's first-of-its-kind stakeholder outreach event on IP5 and ID5 collaborations, which was followed by similar activity in Shenzhen on 17 August 2017. The two meetings altogether attracted an attendance of about 300, including representatives from IP-related industries, patent firms, as well as foreign embassies and consulates in China.