Joint statement of the directors of the five intellectual property bureaux of China, the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea in 2020

July 21, 2020

The director of the five intellectual property bureaus (IP5) of China National Intellectual Property Office (cnipa), European Patent Office (EPO), Japan licensing office (JPO), Korea licensing office (KIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) held the 13th IP5 director meeting through video conference for the first time on July 21, 2020. Novel coronavirus pneumonia was originally planned for June in Chengdu, China, but was postponed and videoconference held by the new crown pneumonia epidemic. The meeting was chaired by shenchangyu, director of cnipa, and attended by WIPO as an observer.
The novel coronavirus pneumonia is seriously concerned by the five bureau chief, which poses a major threat to the public's life and health and poses a great challenge to the global economic development and growth. Recognizing that IP has novel coronavirus pneumonia and has made significant contributions to human health and social and economic development worldwide, the Secretary reiterated the importance of protecting intellectual property rights in supporting research, innovation and creativity. These studies, innovations and innovations are urgently needed by all industries to cope with the new crown pneumonia epidemic. They stressed that intellectual property played a key role in promoting economic recovery and employment creation, especially in crisis times.
Novel coronavirus pneumonia has also been summarized by the five bureau to reduce the adverse effects of the new crown pneumonia outbreak on the applicant and to promote innovation related to the fight against the epidemic. These include assistance and relief for all parties affected by the epidemic, and the convenience of obtaining patent information, which contains rich technical knowledge related to detection, prevention and treatment of new crown viruses. The directors stressed that, through all these measures, the five bureaux will continue to provide high-quality intellectual property rights to inventors and researchers in countries to help them attract investment, expand new markets and promote technology transfer.
The five bureaux will continue to work with WIPO and support its actions to promote and enhance a balanced intellectual property system globally.
The director of the five Bureau reiterated the importance of stakeholder participation for the cooperation of the five bureaux. The fifth Bureau has been closely linked with the industry of the fifth bureau to let them know timely the measures taken by the bureaus to cope with the epidemic and the progress made by the cooperation projects of the five bureaus. The directors welcomed the active cooperation between the industry and the five bureaux and provided suggestions for the current and future five Bureau projects.
Recognizing the importance of further strengthening cooperation between the five bureaux and the need for predictability, quality and timeliness of users of the patent system, the directors reiterated their common commitment to "better services for users and the public in order to enhance the role of intellectual property in stimulating innovation and promoting socio-economic development". To this end, they confirm that the five bureaux will continue during this critical period:
1. take measures and share best practices in stimulating innovation in order to support innovators and the international intellectual property community in contributing to economic and social recovery.
2. promote the cooperation projects of the five bureaux to promote cooperation in emerging technologies and artificial intelligence fields, strengthen the coordination of procedures and practices, strengthen work sharing, improve the quality and efficiency of review, and further improve the accessibility of patent information.