Enforcement remains the most troublesome intellectual property issue in China, according to a nationwide survey released in Beijing on Friday.

The annual Social Satisfaction Towards IP Protection report showed people were most dissatisfied with the severity of infringements and delayed and inadequate compensation for damages.

Respondents also cited a lack of enforcement resources, delays and inconvenience in accessing help, and litigation costs and inefficiency as items they were dissatisfied with.

Co-initiated by the national trade associations of patents, trademarks and copyrights along with China Mainland Marketing Research Co, the annual survey asks respondents to evaluate legislation and policy protection, enforcement, management and services and publicity and training.

Satisfaction with IP protection enforcement was rated 65.81 of a maximum of 100 in 2014, the lowest among the four areas but the first time it surpassed a benchmark score of 60 since the survey was launched in 2012, Xiao Luqing, secretary-general of the Patent Protection Association of China, said at a news conference on Friday.

This indicates a positive response to a series of crackdowns on counterfeits, which started at the end of 2010. At the same time, the opening of three IP-dedicated courts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in 2014 and planning for an IP appeal court also boosted confidence in enforcement, according to the report.

The report said people have different expectations of administrative enforcement and judicial protection.

A primary concern for respondents is to increase action against infringements and offer easy access to relief in the case of administrative enforcement. Thus people are more sensitive to enforcement continuity and the adequacy of enforcement resources.

In comparison, increasing compensation for infringement damages and reducing litigation costs are major concerns for rightful owners in legal actions, since prolonged litigation periods partially due to the rigorous design of legal procedures are considered the norm.

The report also called for diversified non-litigation resolution channels, including arbitration, to give more options for dealing with IP disputes.

Overall social satisfaction of IP protection in China was rated in the survey as 69.43 in 2014, up from the 64.96 result in 2013.

It is the third time the annual survey has been released. For the latest edition, questionnaires were sent to IP professionals, rights owners and ordinary people across the country, of whom more than 12,700 responded.

Tibet, Qinghai, Ningxia and Hainan received an inadequate number of responses so were excluded but 27 other municipalities, provinces and autonomous regions ranked all scored above 60.

Jiangxi replaced Tianjin to top the list, and the latter ranked third after Shandong.

Together with those three locales, Shaanxi, Chongqing and Jiangsu were also above the nation's average IP satisfaction rating.

Beijing rose to 11th position in the ranking from 25th in 2013, and Shanghai took 12th place, a marked increase from 21st the previous year.

In contrast, Guangdong, another site where an IP court opened, ranked among the bottom three in satisfaction last year.

More economically developed regions have higher demands for IP and lower tolerance of infringements, according to the report.

Wang Guoqing, executive vice-president of the Copyright Society of China, said, "Higher expectations and the desire for better IP protection is likely to reduce satisfaction."

The report also found that younger people with more education tended to show less satisfaction of IP protection.

Xiao said the research painted a picture of IP developments across the country and provided a crucial reference for policymakers.

 

wangxin@chinadaily.com.cn