Int'l laws applied in local IPR cases

By Xie Chuanjiao Updated: 2007-01-19 07:28 WUXI, Jiangsu Province: International intellectual property rights laws will take precedence whenever they are applied in domestic trials even if they differ from domestic laws, a senior judicial figure told a national conference on IPR-related trials. Chinese IPR laws are typically in tune with international IPR laws, so equal protection is accorded to both overseas and domestic IPR owners, Cao Jianming, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, said yesterday. To further allay foreign concerns on IPR protection, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature, recently approved China's entry into the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. "IPR protection has become a constant strategic topic in China's external affairs," Cao said. "It is impossible to solve in a short time contradictions between China's economic and technical shortcomings as a developing country and the high IPR protection standards proposed by developed countries," Cao said.