Joint Statement on the Ten-Year Vision for Intellectual Property Cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea

According to Xinhua News Agency on May 27, 2024, the leaders of the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea held the ninth China-Japan-ROK leaders' meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

Recalling that on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the trilateral intellectual property cooperation among the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the Japan Patent Office and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter referred to as the "three offices"), the heads of the three offices held a meeting in Busan on November 30, 2023 to review the trilateral cooperation and point out new directions to meet the needs of the new era;

Recalling that the three patent offices of China, Japan and Korea launched cooperation on intellectual property rights in 2001, aiming to promote the exchange and use of patent examination information, coordinate patent examination practices and establish international norms;

It is believed that over the past 23 years, based on geographical proximity and cultural similarities, the three offices of China, Japan and South Korea have continuously strengthened mutual trust, deepened cooperation in six areas including intellectual property automation, patents, designs, human resources development, reexamination and trademarks, and strengthened patent protection to ensure that patent holders fully enjoy exclusive rights based on their inventions and disclosures;

Recognizing that over the past 20 years, the proportion of patent applications received by the three offices of China, Japan and Korea has increased from 40% to over 60% of the world, and the proportion of trademark application activities in the world has increased from 20% to over 50%. This shows that the three offices of China, Japan and Korea play an important role in promoting technological progress and economic growth not only in Northeast Asia, but also globally;

It is agreed that the next decade will witness a deeper integration between different industries and technologies, as well as rapid development of science and technology;

Recognizing that technological progress and innovation are key to resolving global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and that intellectual property is a catalyst for achieving technological progress and innovation, the three countries should continue to cooperate to promote the creation and use of intellectual property by innovators and actively protect intellectual property;

Reiterate that the three IP offices of China, Japan and Korea should work together to share their accumulated IP experience with more countries and narrow the global IP gap;

We instruct that over the next ten years:

• 1. The three IP offices of China, Japan and Korea will establish an IP system that can accommodate and accept rapid technological changes. It is expected that universities, enterprises and research institutions in the three countries will develop and release innovative products, services and solutions in the fields of the fourth industrial revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. The three IP offices of China, Japan and Korea will work together to improve relevant rules, review practices and systems to ensure that such creations are granted appropriate types of IP rights in a timely manner and are properly protected by law.
• 2. The three offices of China, Japan and Korea work together to make patent information more accessible to the public and encourage the private sector to use patent information. The three offices of China, Japan and Korea recognize that patent information analysis can provide useful guidance to academia, research groups and industry in formulating the direction of R&D and investment activities and developing market access strategies. In this spirit, the three offices of China, Japan and Korea are committed to exchanging each other's patent information, disclosing shared information to the public free of charge, and supporting the private sector to make full use of public patent information, thereby supporting other countries to achieve technological development and innovation-driven growth.
• 3. To share the valuable achievements made by the three IP offices of China, Japan and Korea, the three IP offices of China, Japan and Korea strive to expand the IP cooperation among the three countries to other countries and regions and promote the "China, Japan and Korea + X" IP cooperation. When looking for IP partners, the three IP offices of China, Japan and Korea will focus on countries and regional organizations (such as ASEAN) that have the need for collaboration or can form synergy. The three IP offices of China, Japan and Korea believe that this is the first step towards balanced growth in the world by narrowing the global IP gap.