National Strategies and Policies for Innovation: A View from China and India

• Author: Philippe Baechtold/Tomoko Miyamoto
• Position: Patent Law Section, WIPO

On July 2, WIPO held the fifth in a series of public Patent Colloquia, on the theme of "National Strategies and Policies for Innovation." Speakers from two rapidly expanding economies, China and India, outlined how the national intellectual property (IP) system could be integrated into national innovation strategies and policies in order to help develop a country's resources, infrastructure and capacity for economic development. While expressing differences in their approaches, both speakers agreed that the IP system was an important, if not indispensable, factor for economic development.

National IP systems and, in particular, the patent system, are widely recognized as a tool for boosting innovation and technological development. But what is the best way of using this tool in order to maximize the potential benefits it offers? There is no clear-cut answer to the question, not least because any national IP strategy has to take into account that country's unique situation, requirements and priorities. As a starting point, however, it is useful to learn from the national policies and experiences of other countries in order to reach a better understanding of the role that the patent system may play as one piece within the broader range of development policy measures.

Two invited government officials, Mr. Liu Jian, Division Director, International Cooperation Department, State Intellectual Property Office of the Peoples' Republic of China (SIPO), and Mr. T. C. James, Director of the Intellectual Property Division, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India, presented the intellectual property policies of their respective government.

Increasing indigenous innovation

Mr. Liu presented the national innovation strategies detailed in China's Outline of National Medium- and Long-Term Science and Technology Development (2006-2020). The main goal, he said, was to upgrade the country's industrial structure in order to make China an innovation-driven economy by 2020. To this end, Mr. Liu emphasized the importance for China of building its capacity for indigenous innovation.

"Core technology cannot be bought. Only by strong capacity of science and technological innovation, and by obtaining our own IP rights, can we promote [China's] competitiveness and ...win respect in the international society." - Premier Wen Jiabao.

Despite the patenting boom in China, with over 210,000...