Thank you. Hello again! Today I would like to discuss China’s most valuable asset – intellectual property. Zhang Yimou’s moviesHeroandHouse of Flying Daggers, musician Faye Wong, movie star Jackie Chan, state of the art electronics from Huawei, ZTE and Haire, Qingdao Beer … What do all these products have in common? They are all valuable Chinese intellectual property creators’ creations. Chinese creative and innovative industries – movies, music, high-quality electronics, products and services are becoming more and more popular all over the world. They bring new jobs, healthier and more productive lives and wider appreciation for China’s rich cultural heritage. They also generate intellectual property rights, such as copy rights, patents, and trade marks. Copy rights protect the creative works of authors, artists, film makers, singers and software designers. Patents protect the various inventions like industrial design, manufacturing processes, high-tech products, and molecular compounds. Trade marks identify the producer of the product as a guarantee of quality and to inform consumers where to seek resource if the product fails.

China has used many different forms of trade mark for many hundreds of years. In fact, bricks on the Great Wall were stamped with the producers’ marks so that emperors can be assured of the quality and accountability. In most countries, any means of intellectual property rights can be sold, licensed or inherited. Unfortunately, almost everywhere, it can also be stolen. Today, intellectual property piracy and counterfeiting are robbing and endangering Chinese artists, innovators, businesses and consumers. Intellectual property protection is not a luxury for the rich. It is what inspires technological advances, protects us form dangerous products and creates cultural and economic wealth around the world for countries at all levels of development. Each year, nearly 7% of world trade is in pirated and counterfeit products. Some of these counterfeit products can injure and even kill people. Fake automobile brakes, airplane parts, infant milk formula and medicine are sold by unscrupulous manufactures and dealers who profit from consumers’ lack of awareness and failure to understand the importance of buying legitimate products. Many of these criminals are not just local street venders, but also organized criminal groups. Some of these products can also destroy an entire industry. For example, Hong Kong’s legendary film studios have taken a beating as pirates continue to steal their movies and sell fake DVDs. The studios are left with little income to invest in new films and actors. The music industry is also affected. Illegal downloading from the Internet and counterfeit CDs are stealing the music and the livelihoods of these talented artists and preventing new artists from emerging.

Some world leaders have realized this crisis must be solved. The Chinese central government has committed to increase intellectual property protection enforcement and public awareness. Hong Kong’s government took strong and decisive action to break up the pirate and counterfeit networks that were undermining the business and cultural environment. The United States recently launched an initiative called the Strategic Targeting Organized Piracy, or STOP, which is aimed at fighting criminal networks that traffic counterfeits, stopping shipment of pirated or counterfeited goods from entering the United States and the global market place, and helping small businesses secure and enforce intellectual property protection for their creations and inventions. The United States is committed to working with other governments in this effort, both bilaterally and in multi-lateral forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum. At the July, 2005 joint convention on commerce and trade meetings, China’s announced comprehensive commitments to improve IPR enforcement. This includes increasing the transfer of administrative IPR cases for criminal prosecution, improving national police coordination of IPR investigation and prosecution, increasing the transfer of customs IPR cases for criminal prosecution, the extension of the State Council campaign against government use of pirate software to all government offices and to state-owned enterprises, broad implementation of anti-piracy enforcement against movies not yet released in China, appointment of an IPR attaché in China’s embassy in Washington and strengthen enforcement of foreign IPR at trade fairs including other companies. At the April, 2004 JACCT meetings, China stated its goal of significantly reducing nationwide IPR infringements. This central goal has arguably not been met. Among other commitments, China declared that it would significantly reduce IPR infringement levels, take steps to increase criminal penalties for IPR violations, crack down on IPR violators by conducting nationwide enforcement actions, and improve the protection of copy right by extending a ban on the use of pirated soft wares in government offices. China has also formally established a JACCT IPR working group to consult with the United States on IPR matters. Despite the marginal improvements on its legal system, China’s IPR enforcement efforts have not yet demonstrated critical deterrent impact. US companies in China continue to encounter significant challenges in protecting all forms of IPR. US and foreign seizures of IPR infringing product from China continue to increase. China’s accession to the World Intellectual Property Organization Internet Treaties is also proceeding at a very slow pace. New IPR challenges are also emerging in areas such as China’s anti-monopoly law, government software procurement, and standards setting. The American Chamber of Commerce reported that many companies have no confidence in China’s IPR enforcement because 75% of US businesses in China have been negatively impacted by poor and ineffective IPR enforcement. Despite the central government’s desire to improve IPR enforcement in China, there’s still a need for greater political determination to improve IPR enforcement at the provincial and local levels.

And we understand that from the Chinese perspective, China’s IPR laws are quite good and China provides substantial and efficient IPR protection relative to its social and market development. From the Chinese perspective, China is a large, poor, and relatively uneducated country and needs time to raise the general level of IPR awareness and raise living standards so that the general public will be able to afford high-price foreign IPR products. Also from the Chinese perspective, China has limited historical experience with IPR protection and requires time to promote a cultural understanding of the value of protecting IPR. From the US perspective, we recognize and appreciate China’s efforts in IPR enforcement. However, China’s efforts, up until now, have been insufficient to combat China’s current high levels of counterfeiting and piracy. China’s criminal procedures and penalties fail to provide a deterrent impact on intentional counterfeiting and commercial piracy. To avoid possible WTO litigation on the deficiencies of its current IPR regime, China must implement specific actions to substantially increase IPR enforcement, reduce piracy rates, and increase market access for legitimate foreign IPR products.

Everyone can help to protect ideas, innovations and creativity. Governments can set high and deterrent criminal penalties for intellectual property debt, and criminalize the trafficking in pirated and counterfeit goods and machineries and materials used to make them. Businesses can develop anti-counterfeiting measures and work to keep this out of the market supply chain. Consumers can try to ensure they are buying legitimate products, and not potentially harmful medicines or other products. For example, consumers can support their modern day cultural icons like Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Waye Wong by buying a movie ticket or legitimate DVD or CD. Without these efforts, companies will stop producing the movies and music that showcase China’s incredible talent.

We urge the Chinese IPR enforcement agencies to revise and implement new guidelines for more efficient transfer of criminal cases from administrative agencies and implement planned mechanism to ensure the effective police co ordinations to IPR investigation and prosecution. In addition to China’s IPR enforcement efforts, we strongly encourage the reductions of market access restrictions in those sectors most affected by IPR infringements so that Chinese consumers do not have to rely on pirates and counterfeiters to meet growing market demand for these products. We applaud Vice-Premier Wu Yi’s leadership on this issue, and we are encouraged by some of the steps China took last year.

Despite this progress, the US government and the majorities of US companies invested in China believe the problem is still getting worse. Exports of IPR infringing products from China seized at US ports have increased substantially in each of the last 7 years. And for each of those years, China has been the number one source of IPR infringing products reaching to the United States as well as other countries and regions, such as the European Union. DVD and music, and software, CD piracy across all copy right industries continue to exceed 90%. Pressures are going to Washington for meaningful, measurable progress. If we are success, … if we can successfully manage this pressure, China must move from making policy to taking action in the manner that result in real, measurable and timely reduction of this problem. China’s problem is not in the lack of resources, but rather in the misallocation of resources, ineffective and non-deterrent enforcement issues. China currently has one of the most active trade mark offices in the world, the most rapidly growing patent office and one of the highest volumes of IPR litigation in the world. It is difficult to say that China today has limited understanding of intellectual property. In addition, the high level of IPR abuse occurring in China suggest that there are many individuals in China who understand the system very well and in fact are abusing it. The United States and China share values of hard work, cultural enrichment and constant striving for healthier and brighter future. We need to work together to ensure that intellectual property pirates and counterfeiters do not bore these aspirations. Thank you!

(Full text of the remarks by Dyan Lee, Economic Consul of the US Consulate-General in Guangzhou at the Sino-US IPR Forum on October 14, 2005, as transcribed)

参考译文：

谢谢，大家好！今天，我要谈谈中国最宝贵的财富——知识产权。张艺谋的电影《英雄》和《十面埋伏》、歌星王菲、影星成龙、华为，中兴和海尔的先进电子产品、青岛啤酒……这些产品有什么共同点？这些都是中国知识产权创造者的宝贵创造。中国的创意和创新产业，像电影、音乐、高品质电子产品和服务在全球正变得越来越流行。它们创造了新的工作，使得人们的生活更加健康而充实，也让中国丰富的文化遗产更加广泛传播。随之而生的还有知识产权，包括版权、专利和商标。版权保护作家、艺术家、电影人、歌手和软件设计者的创造性劳动。专利保护各种各样的发明，比如工业外观设计、制作过程、高科技产品和分子化合物。商标阐明了产品的制造者，可以保证产品品质，并且告知消费者，当产品出现问题的时候如何处理。

中国使用过形形色色的商标，已经有几百年的商标历史了。事实上，长城的砖头上面就烙刻了生产者的标志，以便皇帝对产品质量更放心。在大部分国家，任何种类的知识产权都可以出售、注册或者继承。不幸的是，在几乎每个地方，知识产权会遭到盗窃。今天，知识产权的盗版和伪造正在掠夺和危及中国的艺术家、创意者、企业以及消费者。保护知识产权不是富人的奢侈，而是鼓励创新的动力，可以让人免于遭到危险产品的伤害，创造文化和经济财富，使得全球不同发展水平的国家受益。每年，世界上7%的贸易都是盗版和冒牌产品。有一些假冒品会伤及人类，甚至致人于死地。假冒的汽车刹车、飞机零件、婴儿奶粉和药品都有一些毫无良知的制造商和代理商在销售。他们得益于人们的保护意识不强，没能认识到买正品的重要性。这些罪犯中的很多人不仅仅是街上的小贩，而是有组织的犯罪团伙。有些假冒产品甚至会毁掉整个行业。举例来说，香港传奇式的电影工业遭到了盗版的打击，因为盗版DVD不断猖獗。电影公司没有什么收入来投资新的影片和演员。音乐产业也收到了波及，从网上的非法下载以及盗版CD盗窃了音乐人的劳动成果，让他们无以为继，毁掉了才华横溢的艺术家的生活，也制止了新人的出现。

一些世界领导人已经意识到这个危机迫在眉睫。中国政府承诺了加强知识产权的保护、执法以及提高大众的保护意识。香港政府采取了强硬和果断的行动以打击危害企业和文化环境的盗版和假冒网络。美国最近开展了一项称为“战略打击有组织盗版”的运动。这一运动旨在打击贩卖仿冒产品的犯罪团伙，阻止运送盗版及仿冒货物的船只进入美国以及全球市场，帮助小企业保护其发明创造。美国承诺和其他政府一起努力，参与双边以及多边论坛，比如说亚太经济合作组织。在2005年七月的商务及贸易联合公约会议上，中国宣布改善知识产权保护执行工作的全面承诺，包括增加转化海关知识产权保护案件为刑事诉讼，增加全国公安在调查和检举知识产权保护案件方面的协作，扩大国务院反对在政府办公室和国有企业内使用盗版软件的运动，委派中国驻华盛顿大使馆的知识产权特派员，以及加强在交易会上知识产权保护执法的力度。在2004年四月的商务及贸易联合公约会议上，中国提出了大量减少全国知识产权侵犯的目标。这个中心目标可能没有实现。中国也宣布了很多其它承诺，包括大量减少知识产权侵犯的层次，逐步增加追究违反知识产权者的刑事责任，开展全国范围内的执法行动来打击知识产权保护侵权者，通过扩大禁止政府部门使用盗版软件加强版权的保护。中国也正式成立了商务及贸易联合公约知识产权工作组，在知识产权保护的事物上与美国交流磋商。尽管中国的司法系统有了一定改观，但是知识产权保护的执行工作还未产生关键的威慑影响。在华投资的美国公司依然面临各种形式的知识产权保护的巨大挑战。美国和其他国家罚没的由来自中国的盗版产品依然在增加。中国加入世界知识产权组织内部协定的努力进展缓慢。新的知识产权保护挑战层出不穷，不论是在反垄断法方面，还是政府软件采购和标准制定方面。美国商务部报告，很多公司对中国的知识产权保护执行没有信心因为75％的在华美国企业都受到了低效知识产权保护执法的消极影响。虽然中央政府大力倡导知识产权保护执法工作的加强，但是仍然需要更坚决的政治决心，特别是在省级和地方政府。

我们可以理解，中国认为，相对于中国的社会和市场发展现状而言，中国提供了实质性的，高效的知识产权保护保护；从中国的立场来看，中国是个大国，穷国，教育水平相对比较低，需要时间来提高公众对知识产权的认识，提高生活水平，这样老百姓才买的起昂贵的正价外国货；还是从中国的立场来看，中国在知识产权方面的历史经验不足，需要时间来提高对保护知识产权价值的文化认识。从美国的立场来看，我们认可也欣赏中国在保护知识产权实施方面的努力。但是，中国的努力，迄今为止，还有所不足，不能应对中国高水平的仿冒和盗版现象。中国的刑事程序和惩罚不能够提供威慑力量，来阻止故意造假和商业盗版。为了避免WTO对现行知识产权保护体制的控诉，中国必须实行具体的行动来实质性地加强知识产权保护执法，减少盗版率，增加外国正版有知识产权产品的市场准入。

每人都可以为保护创意、创新和创造出力。政府可以制定较高的有威慑力的刑罚，来阻止侵权，让贩卖盗版及仿冒产品以及制造盗版的机器和材料者负上刑事责任。企业可以制定反仿冒措施，努力将其排除在供应链之外。消费者也可以保证他们买到的是正货，而不是有害的药物或其他产品。比如说，消费者可以通过购买电影票或正版DVD，或CD来支持他们的现代偶像成龙，李连杰和王菲。没有这些努力，公司都无法制作电影和音乐来显示中国的才华横溢的人才。

我们敦促中国知识产权保护管理者修改以及实施新的指导政策，以便更有效地转化为刑事案件，而不只是行政案件，计划一个体制以确保有效的警力协作，来调查以及起诉知识产权保护侵权。除了中国的知识产权保护执行，我们强烈鼓励减少市场准入的限制，特别是那些被侵权影响最严重的产业。这样，中国的消费者就不再需要依赖盗版以及仿冒产品来满足日益增长的需要。我们赞赏吴仪副总理在这个方面的英明领导，我们也为中国去年采取的措施而深受鼓舞。

中国虽然取得了一些进步，但是美国政府和大多数美国在华投资的企业认为问题还是在不断严重。中国制造的侵权产品出口到美国的港口在过去七年中逐年增多。每年，中国都是这些产品的第一出产国，这些产品都卖到了美国和世界各地，像是欧盟地区。DVD，音乐和软件光盘的盗版量占了整个产业的90％以上。华盛顿等各方都施加了压力，要求取得实质性的进展。如果我们要能够成功地处理这些压力，中国必须行动，从制定政策转化到采取行动，而且要有切实、可见和及时的成效。中国的问题不是缺少资源，而是资源的配置不够优化，执法也不够有效，有威慑力。中国目前是世界上商标注册最活跃的国家，也是专利增长最快，知识产权保护起诉案件最多的国家。不能说中国对知识产权保护的理解不足。中国侵权事件的高发率恰恰说明了中国有些人对知识产权的理解非常到位，却正在滥用。美国与中国有相近的价值观，都崇尚勤劳的美德、丰富的文化和为更加健康美好的未来。我们应该携手合作，保证知识产权保护盗版和仿冒产品不会危害我们这些美好愿望。谢谢！

（2005年10月14日，美国驻广州总领事馆经济领事戴恩李在中美知识产权论坛上的讲话，全文，根据录音材料整理）