"IP violations must have tangible consequences for the infringer," Beate Schmidt, President of the German Federal Patent Court, stressed the importance of IP protection in an interview with China Intellectual Property News recently.
"Since the People's Republic of China started to establish its own system of industrial property protection in the 1980s, there has been a very rapid development indeed," said Schmidt. In her eyes, today, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has become the largest IP Office in the world, ranking among the top destinations for IP applications. With such pace, the growth will be expected over the next few years.
"In recent years, China has made great and successful efforts to improve IP protection by revising and updating its legislation. The existing legal provisions follow international standards and they cover all relevant areas of Intellectual Property to the extent necessary," said Schmidt. In her view, legislation alone cannot guarantee effective protection of IPRs. Without a functioning system to enforce those rights successfully against infringers, there is no real protection. There has to be an adequate compensation for the losses and disadvantages caused by an infringement. At the same time, the infringer has to be prevented from keeping his illegally obtained profits.
"In recent years, China has made great and successful efforts to improve IP protection. These efforts were flanked by the reorganization of the National Intellectual Property Administration and by the establishment of specialised IP courts – with the establishment of the IP Court within the Supreme People's Court in 2019 as a climax. I know from many conversations with judges, that these courts deal with an overwhelming number of cases," said Schmidt.
"No other country embraced the idea of IP protection and its importance for economic development so quickly and consequently as China did. Of course, it takes time and effort to implement such a new concept and raise awareness for it across the country," added Schmidt.
"Although China in recent years has intensified its fight against product piracy and counterfeit goods, the challenge to stop IP infringements remains a constant challenge in future," said Schmidt. She thought that IP management and enforcement are keys to protect IP and crack down upon on infringements. In parallel, reasonably calculated punitive damages might be a feasible solution as well, especially when it is necessary to deal with a great number of cases with a short notice.(by Liu Peng)
(The interview only reflects the personal views of the interviewee, not necessarily suggesting they are the views of the German Federal Patent Court)
PROFILE
Since 5/2011 President of the Federal Patent Court
8/2006 - 4/2011 Director at the Office of Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM, now EUIPO), initially in the Trade Mark and Cancellation Department, then in the Cancellation and Litigation Department, responsible for the defense of rulings by the Boards of Appeal before the European Court of Justice and the General Court in Luxembourg
2/2000 - 7/2006 German Patent and Trade Mark Office, Head of Directorate General 3 (Trade Marks, Utility Models and Designs); 5/1997 - 1/2000 German Patent and Trade Mark Office, Head of Division 4.1 (personnel, budget); 12/1994 - 4/1997 Judge on the 32nd Board of Appeal for Trade Marks at the Federal Patent Court; 1/1991 - 12/1994 Private secretary to the state secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice; 8/1986 - 12/1990 Legal officer in division IIIB3 (copyright law), from 1989 legal officer in the personnel division of the Federal Ministry of Justice; 11/1982 – 8/1986 Judge in criminal and civil matters at Aschaffenburg Regional and Local Courts, public prosecutor at Aschaffenburg Regional Court,1982 Second State Examination in Law; 10/1974 - 12/1979 Law studies at Maximilians University Würzburg, First State Examination in Law
(Editor Dou YiKe)
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