"Intellectual property is a flexible tool, and the more people use the technology, the bigger the market. Most countries have their own IPR protection systems, but in the age of informationization and digitalization, IPR is internationalized and exists in the global value chain. This is not a bad thing, as countries can more easily work together to solve some of the challenges and make the various links in the value chain more effective." Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and an expert on the Creative Economy Issues Group of the Global Agenda Council, said.
In the view of Shen Changyu, director general of China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), the information age has both challenged and energized intellectual property. "After the development of e-commerce led to a blowout of transactions, it brought more infringement problems, and intellectual property rights are increasingly characterized by the combination of online and offline, which is a new challenge. However, China's top ranking in patent applications in the information field for many years in a row has provided a new platform for IPR business and shortened the approval time, which is another source of vitality."
"In the information age, many business models are established by third-party platforms, in which case it is difficult to define whether the value of the IP belongs to the founder or the third party. For example, every reposting of an original photo posted on social media involves intellectual property protection, which is a complex issue and a challenge for everyone." Liu Jiren, chairman and chief executive officer of Neusoft Corporation, holds this view.
Is the protection of intellectual property more challenging for SMEs in the information age?
Gonzalez Raya, who is executive director of the International Trade Center, believes the world is in the midst of continuous innovation, a process that has no end. "Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 70 to 80 percent of the total number of businesses globally, and these businesses also have to access more capital and better markets through Internet-based innovation. Therefore, the relevant authorities have to help them reduce the cost of IPR protection and simplify the application process, especially in the cross-border e-commerce model."
A member of the audience mentioned the case of a WeChat platform that can track the use of original works. Shen Changyu said this is a means of IPR protection that is in line with the characteristics of the information age. "Infringement incidents on the Internet are characterized by rapid occurrence, disappearance and expansion, and it is difficult to define who is the infringer. This also requires that we must study the balance of interests for protection in the Internet environment, and must strengthen international cooperation and study new technologies. At the same time, in addition to strengthening judicial protection, we must also pay attention to administrative protection, and give full play to its convenient, efficient and low-cost advantages."
Of course, this is an era of information, and even more so an era of big data. In response to a reporter from the Economic Daily News about how big data can help protect intellectual property, Shen Changyu said that in 2014, the State Intellectual Property Office*** accepted 928,000 applications for invention patents, which involves a vast amount of data, and in order to find useful information and potential points of development from them, it is necessary to utilize big data to excavate, process, and integrate. Similarly, the government can use big data to make decisions on major scientific and technological economic activities, enterprises can use big data to lay out the market and guide product research and development, and colleges and universities can use big data to determine the direction of scientific research and improve the efficiency of scientific research. "Protection and utilization is the 'driving wheel' of the car of intellectual property development, big data can also make this car run faster.