The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to establish an efficient comprehensive management system for intellectual property rights. Protecting intellectual property is protecting innovation. Intellectual property is not only the core achievement pursued by business entities in innovation, but also a fundamental element in improving international competitiveness, and a strategic resource for national economic transformation and development. In the process of promoting the construction of high-quality development, the rule of law plays an important role in consolidating the foundation, stabilizing expectations, and benefiting the long run. Strengthening the legal protection of intellectual property rights is an important guarantee for realizing the construction of a new development pattern driven by technological innovation.
The significance of comprehensively strengthening intellectual property protection
Firstly, comprehensively strengthening intellectual property protection is the fundamental driving force for the construction of an innovative country. Property rights drive innovation, innovation drives development, and protecting intellectual property is protecting innovation. Today, the essence of competition among major countries in the world is the competition of technological innovation represented by intelligence. The intellectual property system has the functions of protecting innovation, stimulating innovation, and promoting innovation, and is an important institutional foundation for driving high-quality, high-efficiency, and sustainable innovation development. To comprehensively strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights is an inevitable choice to support the construction of Chinese path to modernization, and is also the fundamental driving force to accelerate the construction of a scientific and technological power and realize the development driven by scientific and technological innovation.
Secondly, comprehensively strengthening intellectual property protection is an important guarantee for achieving high-quality development. China has entered a stage of high-quality development, and we need to continuously optimize the economic structure, transform the driving force of development, start from the supply side, and make every effort to improve total factor productivity. The exclusive nature of intellectual property rights allows enterprises to enhance product added value and competitiveness through innovation. Protecting intellectual property rights can promote survival of the fittest, improve overall supply quality, and ultimately drive high-quality development.
Once again, comprehensively strengthening intellectual property protection is an inevitable requirement for coordinating the development of domestic and international dual circulation. The core of building a new development pattern is to establish a complete and independently controllable supply chain, innovation chain, and industrial chain, build a unified high standard market internally, and expand and deepen opening up externally. In recent years, more and more Chinese companies have participated in international competition, and their demand for intellectual property represented by patents and trademarks has become stronger. The importance of intellectual property protection has become increasingly prominent.
Fourthly, comprehensively strengthening intellectual property protection is a key means to gain new advantages in international competition. In the context of intensified global competition, strengthening the layout and protection of intellectual property rights is an important part of safeguarding national security and a crucial means of promoting industries to climb up the value chain. Strict protection of intellectual property rights is not only the internal requirement for China to promote high-quality economic development, but also the practical need for building a higher level of Chinese path to modernization. In international cooperation and struggle, the field of intellectual property protection should also play an important role in stabilizing the overall international relations and promoting win-win cooperation. Only by keeping up with the international trend of strengthening intellectual property protection can we lead the times and take strategic initiative.
Enhance the level of rule of law in intellectual property protection
Promote technological innovation driven development
Firstly, improve intellectual property laws and regulations, and accelerate the legislation of intellectual property rights in new fields and formats.
Accelerate the improvement of intellectual property related laws and regulations, and enhance the coordination between laws. On the basis of implementing the Civil Code and other relevant laws on intellectual property protection, comprehensively review the laws and regulations related to intellectual property protection, strengthen system coordination, eliminate conflicts between laws and regulations, and enhance the operability of legal rules. Timely strengthen legislation on the protection of key areas of intellectual property rights, improve and innovate legal rules related to the protection of intellectual property rights such as geographical indications and trade secrets.
Keep up with the pace of the times and do a good job in legislation for new industries. Adapt to the different development requirements of new industries and formats, and enhance the systematic governance capabilities of the entire industry chain, including intellectual property creation, utilization, protection, management, and service. Accelerate the legislation of intellectual property rights in new industries and formats such as cloud data and artificial intelligence, improve the top-level design of intellectual property protection in new industries, comprehensively strengthen intellectual property protection work, stimulate the innovation vitality of the whole society, and promote the innovation and improvement of China's intellectual property legal system.
Actively carry out high-level international cooperation on global intellectual property rights. Deeply participate in global intellectual property governance under the framework of the World Intellectual Property Organization, and promote the improvement of international rules and standards related to intellectual property, international trade, and international investment. Pay attention to international legal expression, improve the voice in the formulation of international intellectual property protection rules, promote the development of global intellectual property governance system towards a more fair and reasonable direction, and provide legal system support for the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".
Secondly, improve the administrative law enforcement system and mechanism, and optimize the effectiveness of intellectual property law enforcement.
Accelerate the establishment of a normalized joint law enforcement mechanism for intellectual property rights. Continuously exploring the normalized joint law enforcement mechanism of administrative law enforcement agencies, standardizing law enforcement and case handling procedures, effectively improving the quality of law enforcement and case handling, continuing to promote the reform of the foreign investment management system, reducing restrictions on foreign investment access, strengthening intellectual property protection, creating an open, transparent, efficient and equal market environment, and increasing the punishment for intellectual property infringement and illegal activities. Mobilize the enthusiasm and initiative of natural and legal persons who possess intellectual property rights, enhance their awareness of property rights, and consciously use legal weapons to protect their rights in accordance with the law.
Improve the mechanism for rapid rights protection and assistance, and build a comprehensive protection framework. Strengthen the full chain protection of intellectual property rights, with a focus on addressing the issues of frequent infringement, easy infringement, and difficult rights protection in the field of intellectual property. Explore and promote the administrative ban mechanism for intellectual property rights, encourage the establishment of a self regulatory mechanism for intellectual property protection, and promote the construction of an integrity system. Fully leverage the advantages of efficient and convenient administrative law enforcement to assist rights holders in safeguarding their rights in a timely and efficient manner. Improve the intellectual property protection system, strengthen collaboration and cooperation, and build a comprehensive protection work pattern.
Thirdly, we will continue to strengthen judicial trials for intellectual property protection and create a rule of law business environment conducive to innovation.
According to the development of the economy and society, we will further promote the "four in one" trial mode, innovate and improve the comprehensive trial system and mechanism for intellectual property, and effectively connect the administrative, civil, and criminal trial and execution procedures for intellectual property. The establishment of intellectual property courts and intellectual property tribunals will be an important lever for the specialization and professionalization of the judicial system, focusing on solving institutional problems that constrain judicial innovation, such as inconsistent standards of intellectual property judgments, complex litigation procedures, and unprofessional enforcement measures.
Innovate and improve the intellectual property trial and litigation system, optimize the connection mechanism between law enforcement and judiciary. Improve the judicial system for punitive damages, standardize judgment standards and scales, and enhance the standardization, normalization, and institutionalization of trials. Explore the application of new trial procedures to reduce the burden of proof for rights holders, shorten the trial period, improve the quality and efficiency of trials, reduce the cost of rights protection, and comprehensively enhance the overall effectiveness of intellectual property judicial protection.
Guided by technological informatization and intelligence, comprehensively enhance the efficiency of intellectual property trials. We will combine the power of science and technology with the power of people, focus on the construction of informatization, intelligence and blockchain, and focus on comprehensively promoting Internet trials. We will adhere to the high standards, strict requirements, and expandability of informatization and intelligence construction, and promote the convenience and economy of litigation.  
(Li Hongwei, author, is a researcher at the Institute of Law, Henan Academy of Social Sciences; this article is a phased achievement of the 2024 Henan Provincial Government Decision Research Tendering Project "Legal and Policy Research on Building a New Model of Real Estate Development in Henan")