In June 2012, after mediation, repeated consultations and active coordination, 154 members of the World Intellectual Property Organization and representatives of 48 international organizations formally signed the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances in Beijing. Today, this treaty came into effect nearly eight years after it was signed. This is not only a manifestation of China’s continuous strengthening of international cooperation in intellectual property rights, but also a promotion of China’s continuous deepening of international cooperation in intellectual property rights.
The Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances came into effect on April 28th. This is the first international intellectual property treaty concluded in China and named after our city since the founding of New China. What does it mean for such a landmark treaty to come into force? What efforts have all parties made behind the scenes?
The birth of the treaty
"On January 28, 2020, Indonesia submitted its instrument of ratification to the World Intellectual Property Organization, becoming the 30th key member of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. According to the entry into force clause of the treaty, it will take effect three months after 30 qualified parties deposit their instruments of ratification or accession. " Yu Cike, director of Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Copyright Administration, explained that the treaty came into effect on April 28th.
According to public information, this treaty is not easy from conception to conclusion. In 1996, the World Intellectual Property Organization began to formulate a treaty for the protection of audio-visual performances. In the meantime, due to serious differences in relevant provisions among some member countries, it was once stranded. It was not until June 2011 that all parties reached an agreement and decided to hold a diplomatic conference on the protection of audio-visual performances in 2012. At that time, China took an active position to host the conference, and the members of the World Intellectual Property Organization finally agreed to hold it in Beijing.
From June 20 to 26, 2012, the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audio-visual Performances was held in Beijing. After seven days of discussion and consultation, 721 representatives from 202 delegations from 154 WIPO member countries and 48 international organizations formally signed the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. The purpose of this treaty is to protect the moral and economic rights of performers for their recorded or unrecorded performances.
Yu Cike used three words when introducing the conclusion process: multi-party mediation, repeated consultation and active coordination.
On April 24th, 2014, the Eighth Session of the 12th the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) approved the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. On July 10th of the same year, Cai Chuchao, then director of the National Copyright Administration, submitted a government statement on the ratification of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances to the World Intellectual Property Organization on behalf of the China government.
"After the conclusion of the treaty, the National Copyright Administration actively promoted the early entry into force of the treaty." For example, Yu Cike said that the National Copyright Administration and the World Intellectual Property Organization have hosted many international copyright forums to discuss the protection of performers’ rights and promote a consensus; Actively carry out bilateral cooperation on copyright, and focus on issues such as strengthening the protection of performers’ rights.
Beijing gives the world a "wonderful"
The conclusion of this treaty is considered to fill the blank of international treaties on comprehensive copyright protection in the field of audio-visual performances, and it is as famous as the Singapore Treaty, Madrid System and Berne Union.
"The world gives Beijing a chance, and Beijing gives the world a wonderful one." The media wrote such comments at that time. Some commentators also bluntly said that the conclusion of the treaty undoubtedly won China the right to speak in the formulation of international rules.
In fact, WIPO chose to hold the meeting in Beijing in 2012, not only because of China’s positive attitude, but also because of its recognition of China’s achievements and status in protecting intellectual property rights.
Four years before that meeting, in 2008, China promulgated the Outline of National Intellectual Property Strategy, which upgraded the intellectual property strategy to a national strategy for the first time, and established five strategic priorities: perfecting the intellectual property system, promoting the creation and application of intellectual property rights, strengthening intellectual property protection, preventing intellectual property abuse, and cultivating intellectual property culture.
By 2011, China’s intellectual property planning system has basically taken shape, and for the first time, patent statistical indicators have been written into the five-year plan for national economic and social development, and the goal of increasing the number of invention patents per 10,000 population to 3.3 has been put forward. In that year, the number of effective invention patents in China reached 697,000, of which the number of domestic patents was 351,000, surpassing the number of foreign patents for the first time. Also in that year, the State Council issued "Opinions on Further Doing a Good Job in Combating Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights and Making and Selling Fake and Inferior Commodities", and established the the State Council Leading Group for Combating Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights and Making and Selling Fake and Inferior Commodities, and established and improved a long-term mechanism for intellectual property protection.
International cooperation in intellectual property rights has been deepening.
The greater significance of the treaty from its conclusion to its formal entry into force is that it is not only a manifestation of China’s continuous strengthening of international cooperation in the field of intellectual property rights, but also will promote the continuous deepening of international cooperation in intellectual property rights in China. The diplomatic conference in 2012 embodies the "Beijing spirit" of "understanding, support, tolerance and cooperation", which will continue to promote international intellectual property cooperation.
According to reports, in recent years, China has strengthened international cooperation in intellectual property protection with greater efforts. Deepen the cooperative relationship with the World Intellectual Property Organization and actively participate in the global governance of intellectual property rights. In addition to the formal entry into force of the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, China is also actively promoting the preparations for joining The Hague Agreement on Industrial Designs. At the same time, actively participate in regional comprehensive economic partnership agreements, China-Japan-ROK free trade agreements and other negotiations to promote mutual recognition and protection of geographical indications between China and Thailand. We will also strengthen small multilateral cooperation and actively participate in intellectual property cooperation between China, the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea, the BRICS countries, China, Mongolia and Russia. In addition, the cooperation in completing the negotiation of China-EU cooperation agreement on the protection of geographical indications involves mutual recognition and mutual protection of 275 geographical indication products from both sides.
"Generally speaking, we should accelerate the construction of multilateral, peripheral, small multilateral and bilateral ‘ Four-sided linkage and coordinated promotion ’ A new pattern of international cooperation in intellectual property rights. " China National Intellectual Property Administration director Shen Changyu said.
It is worth mentioning that in China’s international cooperation in intellectual property rights, the "Belt and Road" intellectual property cooperation is the top priority. More and more "China Wisdom" and "China Plan" have been affirmed and supported by all countries. Shen Changyu said that in 2019, the number of patent applications filed by countries building the Belt and Road Initiative in China increased by 9.7%, and the number of patent applications filed by countries building the Belt and Road Initiative in China increased by 8.5%. (Beijing, April 27 th)
Du Xin
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