The 2nd Beijing International Pharmaceutical and Chemical IP Forum Attracts Worldwide Attention

Click here to read the PDF file     2009 BeiJing IP Forum Online Album

(Oversea speakers and conference organizers)

The Tri‐State Chinese‐American Chemical Society (CACS), together with the American Chemical Society's Division of Chemistry and Law (ACS‐CHAL) and the China Intellectual Property Society (CIPS), successfully held the Second International Pharmaceutical and Chemical IP Forum in Beijing from August 5th to 8th, 2009. The 2nd Beijing IP Forum attracted an international audience of over 300 participants from all over the world and provided the international community an overview of China’s rapidly developing IP system. Particular focus was put on the details of the third amendment to China’s Patent Law that will come into effect on October 1, 2009. It also gave IP experts from US and Europe the opportunity to present and explain IP laws that affect pharmaceutical and chemical industries outside of China.

The 2nd Beijing IP Forum was chaired by the Commissioner, Mr. TIAN Lipu, and Deputy Commissioners, Mr. HE Hua and Mr. GAN Shaoning, of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO). The SIPO Commissioner, Mr. TIAN Lipu, presided over the Dinner Reception on August 5 and SIPO Deputy Commissioner Mr. GAN Shaoning presided over the Opening Ceremony on the first day of the Forum. SIPO Deputy Commissioner Mr. HE Hua gave an important plenary speech at the IP Forum, talking about the Chinese government’s efforts to perfect its IP systems and to manage the rapidly increasing patent applications and court cases involving patent disputes. In both cases, the annual growth rate over the last 5 years has been over 20%. The participation of three SIPO commissioners at the Forum signaled the interest of the Chinese government to intellectual property protection and their realization of the importance of intellectual property to further economic development in China. Following Mr. He’s speech, the director general of SIPO, the director general of the State Food and Drug Administration of China (SFDA) presented on the latest amendments to Chinese patent law and discussed the relationship between patent enforcement and drug approval under the newly revised patent law. Other officials from SIPO in charge of Reexamination, Pharmaceutical & Biotech Examination, and Chemistry Examination, etc. also gave their insightful presentations at the Forum.

IP Executives from leading international pharmaceutical companies such as sanofi‐aventis, Amgen, and Eli Lilly gave speeches to packed audiences at the Forum. They all emphasized the importance of IP protection in encouraging innovation and maintaining the high rate of inventiveness in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. They also elaborated on the effect of government policies, such as the Hatch‐Waxman Act, on the innovative vs. generic drug processes. In a unique position from other industries, the pharmaceutical industry provides novel solutions to cure diseases and improve lives by providing new, innovative medicines for the various emerging and re‐emerging diseases and solve challenging health problems of our aging population. To develop these new medications, the pharmaceutical industry needs to invest precious resources in protracted, risky, and expensive drug research and development processes. A strong IP system is necessary to incentivize the pharmaceutical industry to make investments to develop new medicines.

The Chinese economy is in the process of transitioning from a manufacturing economy to a high‐tech economy over just a short twenty‐year period. Research efforts in China are also catching up with those of “developed” countries, especially over the last few years. This is shown by the large increase in research funding year after year, the continuous strengthening of research and development capabilities, and the establishment of new technology development areas and business incubators in cities across China. Many cities in China are envisioning a new future built on innovations in science and technology, knowledge and talent; every one of them wants to be a new cultural center radiating positive influences over their surrounding areas. The transition to a high tech economy is also evidenced by the dramatic increase in patent applications in China and from China.

Speakers at the 2nd Beijing IP Forum also included IP experts from such law firms as Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP; Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto; Scully Scott Murphy & Presser PC; Birtch Stewart Kolasch Birth LLC; Bird & Bird LLP; CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office; China Patent Agent (HK) Ltd.; NTD Patent & Trademark Agency Ltd.; Liu Shen & Associates; and China Science Patent and Trademark Agent Ltd. They presented a variety of topics on patent prosecution and enforcement, including patent enforcement in China, special issues for Chinese patent applications in pharmaceutical and chemical field, pharmaceutical patent protection and regulation from a global perspective, optimizing the protection of pharmaceuticals, the biosimilar debates, and an update on patent development of the life science field in China. Outstanding talks were also given by speakers from universities and professional organizations, such as the University of Virginia, ISIS of Oxford University, Beijing University, and BIO.

The Tri‐State CACS president and Head of Patent Search Group, US Patent at sanofi‐aventis, Ms. Sunny Wang, was one of the main organizers of the 2nd Beijing IP Forum and served as the Chair of the US Organizing Committee. In her address at the Dinner Reception and her opening remarks at the Forum, she indicated that Chinese‐American Chemical Society (CACS) is a non‐profit organization made up of volunteers. For about three decades, CACS has been striving towards building bridges between the US and China in areas of interest to chemical professionals and chemical enterprises, towards building bridges to other communities and organizations so that the collective voices are heard and the mutual interests are advanced, and towards building bridges among Chinese, American, and Chinese‐American chemical professionals to help their effort to excel in the wonderful world of chemical transformation. It is very much in keeping with the role of bridge building and in good understanding of the importance of establishing strong IP systems in this age of global competition and rapid technological innovation that CACS initiated and organized the 1st Beijing Pharmaceutical and Chemical IP Forum three years ago and now the 2nd Beijing IP Forum.

(Conference venue)



(SIPO commissioner Mr. Tian Lipu and some organizers)

Forum Announcement

We are pleased to announce that the Second Beijing International Pharmaceutical & Chemical Intellectual Property Forum will be held on August 5-8, 2009, in Beijing, China. The Forum is jointly organized by the China Intellectual Property Society (CIPS), the Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS), and the Division of Chemistry and the Law of the American Chemical Society (ACS-CHAL), and is endorsed by the National Bureau of Intellectual Property of China.(Read all )

The Forum Information in Chinese at SIPO site:
http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/ztzl/hylt/yyyhggflt