China would support domestic enterprises to build more world-renowned brands and to increase the added value of their trademarks, said a senior official on Saturday.

Fu Shuangjian, deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), said the country encourages domestic companies to file more international trademark applications to better participate in global competition and protect its trademark privilege.

China has filed 1,444 international trademark applications last year through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)-administered Madrid System, ranking eighth in the world for the fourth consecutive year, official figures showed.

The SAIC said it would step up efforts for protecting trademark privilege at home and to combat trademark infringement attempts. The industry watchdog is scheduled to rectify and better regulate the domestic retail market.

The SAIC has authorized 1,234 domestic trademarks as famous ones, including 427 ones since the beginning of 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2008)