【英语中国】中美称赞中国在知识产权问题上的进步

U.S. and Chinese officials touted recent progress in intellectual-property protection in China and called for continued efforts, even as U.S. and Chinese companies engage in high-profile battles over famous names such as iPad and Michael Jordan.

U.S. officials continued to complain that high piracy rates in China are cutting into profits for rights owners, despite recent efforts by the Chinese government to crack down on Internet and software piracy. On Thursday the U.S. called for greater cooperation by China with intellectual-property agencies in other countries as well as more consistent enforcement.

'China's IP system still makes it difficult for both foreign and Chinese companies to compete on a level playing field,' U.S. ambassador to China Gary Locke said at a roundtable in Beijing about intellectual-property protection in China.

Chinese officials at the event, part of which was open to reporters, asked critics to be 'objective' and to recognize the differences between the U.S. and China. 'Equality and respect…are the basis for cooperation,' said Chong Quan, assistant minister at China's Commerce Ministry. 'China and the U.S. have different cultural and historical traditions. We are in different stages of economic development.'

Still, officials and executives from both countries listed recent achievements in the government and private sectors. As one example, they cited an agreement last year by Chinese Internet-search company Baidu Inc. BIDU +3.53% to pay three major record labels for the rights to offer free, licensed downloading and streaming of their tracks. The companies had complained that Baidu was a significant source of pirated music.

Mr. Locke, who visited Baidu two weeks ago, cited it as an example of a Chinese company that 'sees the link between intellectual property and jobs.'

The roundtable came as companies and legal experts inside and outside China have said that IP protection is getting a new focus as China develops its own intellectual property. Chinese government statistics show that about 50,000 IP cases were litigated in 2010, most of which were disputes between Chinese companies.

'Ten to 15 years ago, most people saw intellectual-property protection as something only U.S. and foreign companies cared about,' Mr. Locke said.

But U.S. and Chinese companies increasingly are at loggerheads as foreign companies look to to tap China's developing consumer market. Apple Inc. AAPL -0.55% is battling in a Chinese court over the Chinese rights to the iPad trademark. Former basketball star Mr. Jordan in February sued Chinese sportswear chain Qiaodan Sports Co., saying the company improperly used the Chinese version of his name to sell its products.

Teresa Stanek Rea, deputy director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, said China can make a number of improvements in its system, such as examining patent and trademark filings more closely.

Representatives from Baidu, Microsoft Corp., MSFT +2.08% Qualcomm Inc., QCOM +3.18% the Motion Picture Association and Chinese Internet company Sohu.com Inc. SOHU +3.75% also attended the roundtable.

Mike Ellis, president and managing director, Asia-Pacific for the Motion Picture Association, said pirated DVDs and downloads also hurt the Chinese film industry. U.S. films get about 70% of their sales outside theaters, such as through DVD sales. But pirated copies, at least in part, mean Chinese films get only about 10% and have to rely more heavily on box-office sales. 'China and the U.S. are two nations that have a growing and shared stake in a healthy, legitimate market,' he said.

美国和中国官员称赞近来中国知识产权保护取得的进步，并呼吁继续努力。恰恰是在这个时候，中美企业之间针对“iPad”和“迈克尔•乔丹”(Michael Jordan)等商品名称的纠纷也引起了广泛的关注。

美国官员继续抱怨说，虽然中国政府最近采取行动打击互联网盗版和软件盗版，但中国盗版活动依然猖獗，损害了产权所有人的利润。美国周四呼吁中国加强执法行动的连续性，并加强与其他国家知识产权部门的合作。

ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images美国驻华大使骆家辉说，中国知识产权体制仍使中外企业难以在公平环境中竞争。美国驻华大使骆家辉(Gary Locke)在北京一场讨论中国知识产权保护的圆桌会议上说，中国知识产权体制仍使中外企业难以在公平环境中竞争。

在对媒体部分开放的会议上，中国官员要求批评者“客观”，并认识到中美之间的差异。商务部国际贸易谈判副代表崇泉说，平等、尊重是双方开展合作的基础；中美之间有着不同的文化历史传统，我们处在不同的经济发展阶段。

但两国政府官员和企业高管都列举了最近官方和民间取得的成就。他们所举的一个例子是，中国互联网搜索公司百度(Baidu Inc.)去年同意向三大唱片公司支付费用，获得供用户免费下载、免费在线播放授权音乐的权利。这几家公司曾抱怨百度是一个很大的盗版音乐来源地。

骆家辉两周前拜访百度公司，将它称为“看到知识产权与就业岗位关联”的中国公司的范例。

圆桌会议召开之前，中外企业和法律专家曾表示，在中国开发自有知识产权的过程中，知识产权保护获得了进一步的重视。中国政府统计资料显示，2010年发起的知识产权诉讼约为5万件，其中多数都是中国企业之间的纠纷。

骆家辉说，10到15年前，多数人都觉得只有美国和外国企业才关心知识产权保护。

但随着外企寻求利用中国不断发展的消费市场获利，中美企业之间分歧越来越大。苹果公司(Apple Inc.)正在中国法庭围绕“iPad”商标的中国使用权打官司。前美国篮球明星乔丹2月份起诉中国运动服装连锁企业乔丹体育股份有限公司(Qiaodan Sports Co.)，说该公司不当使用他的中文名字“乔丹”销售产品。

美国专利商标局(U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)副局长雷亚(Teresa Stanek Rea)说，中国可以在多个方面改进，比如更加仔细地检查专利和商标申请。

百度、微软(Microsoft Corp.)、高通(Qualcomm Inc.)、美国电影协会(Motion Picture Association)和中国互联网公司搜狐(Sohu.com Inc.)的代表也出席了圆桌会议。

美国电影协会亚太区总裁兼董事总经理艾利斯(Mike Ellis)说，盗版DVD和盗版下载也伤害了中国电影行业。美国电影约70%的销售收入都是通过DVD等影院以外渠道实现的。但盗版的存在至少在一定程度上导致中国电影只有10%的收入来自这些渠道，从而不得不更加严重地依赖于票房收入。他说，打造健康、合法的市场，关系到中美两国越来越大的共同利益。