VIOLATORS of intellectual property rights (IPR) will face a maximum fine of 5 million yuan (US$726,902), according to the draft regulations on IPR protection released by the General Office of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

The draft regulations issued June 28 have been submitted to the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress and will be deliberated at the end of the month.

According to statistics, Shenzhen has more than 20,000 patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), accounting for 43 percent of the total number in China. However, relative to the huge number of applications, IPR protection remains a top concern.

According to political adviser Zhang Bin, Shenzhen is not only an IPR innovation hub, but also a city where IPR infringement runs rampant. He attributes the frequency of offenses to the weak deterrents.

The difficulty of presenting evidence is also a key to the issue, according to political adviser Wang Lina. According to her, many enterprises have lost confidence in IPR protection because of the high costs in pursuing a legal remedy, the long period of time needed and the small amount of compensation.

The regulations, dubbed the toughest on IPR protection in China, will become the first comprehensive IPR regulations in the country if passed. However, experts also advise that the lawmaking process be handled from a balanced perspective.

Cui Jun, who is a political adviser and a lawyer, said it is of great significance to strike a balance between the monopoly of patented technology and the development of technological advancements as well as public applications.

Meanwhile, the contradiction between copyright protection and information sharing should also be settled and find a balance, said Cui.

Wang pointed out that while talking about protection, it is also important to prevent abuses of these rights. On the one hand, an IPR is exclusive to the patentee, while on the other hand, technology is also related to public interests, as it is used by the public.

Cui said the draft regulations have put forward solutions for problems like evidence presentation. “The draft regulations require the notary office to complete the notarization of IPR infringement within a limited period of time. I think it’s a very good rule that can improve the communication between the patentees and the notaries,” said Cui.

The regulations have also stipulated the lower limit of statutory compensation for IPR infringement. The minimum fine for infringing on patent rights, trademark rights or copyright is 100,000 yuan, 50,000 yuan, and 100,000 yuan, respectively.

(Zhang Yu)