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2 September 2014Copyright

Baroness leads UK’s first IP trip to China

An IP-focused ministerial delegation has embarked on a trip from the UK to China for the first time, aiming to boost trading links between the countries.

The five-day trip, which began yesterday (September 1), is being led by the UK’s IP minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe. She is accompanied by representatives from British businesses and IP-intensive industries.

To kick off the trip, the UK and China’s  IP offices jointly hosted a symposium in Beijing, where businesses from both countries spoke to government officials about the challenges of managing and protecting their IP in China.

The delegation is set to visit Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing and Hong Kong.

Neville-Rolfe said she wants to build on the existing strong trading relationships between the UK and China.

“That is why I am determined we do all we can to make life as easy as possible for our businesses by improving our bilateral relationships with China on IP matters.”

The trip is intended to help UK businesses feel more confident about exporting their IP to China and better understand where they should turn for assistance.

But the visit has other aims too. One is to work more closely with the Chinese authorities to tackle IP crime and reduce the amount of counterfeit goods exported from the country. According to the UK government, 70% of fakes seized at EU borders come from China.

Additionally, the delegation wants to discuss the practical support available to UK businesses to help them avoid problems with bad-faith trademark applications, and help licensing societies collect fees efficiently on behalf of British creative industries in China.

Stephen Phillips, chief executive of China-Britain Business Council (CBBC), which assists British companies working in China, said: “CBBC’s member companies are keen to do more business with China, but they want to be sure that their world-class innovation and knowledge is properly protected.”

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