Senior Chinese officials from the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) have this week completed a four-month training programme led by Professor Duncan Matthews, Director of Queen Mary’s Intellectual Property Research Institute.
The cohort of 15 CNIPA officials is the second group this year to complete their studies at Queen Mary University of London. Five CNIPA officials returned to China in January after having successfully undergone specialist training on key aspects of UK and European law and practice in patents, trademarks, designs and copyright.
The training programme included visits to the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the offices of two leading firms specialising in patents and trademarks, Kilburn and Strode and J A Kemp.
Each member of the group also completed study projects related to their workplace specialism under the supervision of Professor Matthews on topics related to patent examination procedures and how best IP offices can support businesses.
The programme will contribute to a greater understanding of UK and European intellectual property law and practice so that the CNIPA officials can work more efficiently in their respective fields.
After congratulating the CNIPA officials on completing their training, Professor Matthews said: “This is a win-win situation. It is the fourth year of the Queen Mary training programme and our continuing relationship with the CNIPA will lead to benefits for the Chinese IP system as well as giving reassurance to UK and European IP rights holders operating there.”
Ying Yuan, Deputy Director and Patent Examiner at CNIPA, said: “The training programme has been a very successful and valuable experience. It has provided many different perspectives and the course overall has been terrific. It has deepened our professional understanding and widened our horizons.”
Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute
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