China will promote IP intermediary agencies in the next five years to play their full role in the fields of training, public activities, academic exchanges or cooperation and industrial self-discipline.

Relevant regulations and administration methods will be completed so as to regulate and normalize services.

In the next five years, SIPO will pay more attention to industrial associations and intermediary agencies, which will be encouraged to develop extensive IP information services, academic exchanges and cooperation, IP asset evaluation as well as transferable business, and to function better in serving the public.

Industrial associations and IPR intermediary organizations are expected to do well in self-discipline and protecting their own rights, dealing with IPR disputes through effective means; SIPO will support them to expand their business in a legal way and improve their services. Chinese patent agencies are expected to grow to 800 or 1,000 in the next five years from the current level of 600, and at least 100 will be able to deal with electronic patent applications.

A high-level intermediary team will be set up good at hi-tech, advanced in science and technology, law, foreign languages and international practice in the IP field. SIPO will pay special attention to training at least 2,000 patent agents with advanced knowledge in computers, bio-engineering, mobile communications as well as other advanced technologies, and lead them to switch their attention to serving China's hi-tech projects.

The patent agency sector will be promoted to a much higher position in both China and abroad in the 11th Five-Year Plan as a result of big progress in management levels, more self-discipline and more regulation. Meanwhile, more patent agents will become patent lawyers by the end of 2010.

For realizing the aforementioned purposes, relevant policies encouraging and aiding intermediary agencies will be developed, concrete provisions about IP intermediary agencies and consultancies will be promulgated so as to regulate intermediary services and their market, upgrade their service quality and make the rights and responsibilities of agents clear.

(SIPO.gov.cn April 21, 2007)