Companies will have a sound intellectual property "immune system" if they follow national enterprise IP management guidelines, said Zhang Chunping, deputy chief of the Jiangsu Intellectual Property Office, at a news conference in August.

To promote a document issued on June 30 by eight national agencies that aims to better implement the national guidelines, the national IP authority organized several news conferences in Jiangsu province.

The guidelines issued on Feb 7, 2013, guide companies through planning, implementing, examining and improving IP management systems to better manage IP and become more competitive.

The system helps companies manage and control IP in every segment, including the purchase of raw materials and sales, just as they do for product quality, said Zhang.

He said they used to encourage local companies to set up patent systems, but later found it was not enough as there were many other IP issues to deal with, such as trademarks, business secrets and software copyrights.

Many companies would not value IP management until they were involved in patent disputes, Zhang said.

He said a management system will enable companies to effectively prevent IP-related troubles and manage IP in a systematic, all-around and sustainable way.

Implementation of the national guidelines helps companies in Jiangsu better protect IP, local IP officials said.

Guo Hua, IP management director at Nanjing Auto Electric Co, said they have taken measures to better protect IP since the company began to follow the national standard in 2013.

Nanjing Auto has defined its business secrets and set up a system to better protect them. Staff at the company now have to apply to copy secret documents at its office automation management platform and get approval from different levels. They need to get the general manager's signature before sending technological secrets to clients.

Guo said they did not protect business secrets in such a standardized way in the past.

The company has publicized its implementation of the national standard among its employees and encouraged them to participate, as suggested by the guidelines.

Guo said now his colleagues have a much stronger sense of IP protection and creation.

Implementation of the national standard has also promoted IP creativity of many companies in Jiangsu. The guidelines require companies to inspire and reward IP creation.

Li Bing, IP director at Gold East Paper (Jiangsu) Co in Zhenjiang, said her company applied for fewer than 10 patents annually from 2003 to 2010.

The number of the paper maker's annual patent applications increased to more than 50 in recent years as it followed national guidelines and realized the significance of IP creation for innovation.

Zhang said, "In the past, IP management within many companies was fragmented and unordered."

Implementation of the national guidelines in Jiangsu enabled companies to manage IP-related work in a "standardized and systematical" way, he said.

Companies including Nanjing Auto have full-time IP management personnel, have written an IP management handbook and worked out an IP plan for the next few years, as required by the national guideline.

Xu Junfeng, a company management director at the State Intellectual Property Office, said the guidelines are like a ruler and all companies can use them to measure their IP management.

"The companies can find what they did not do and improve," Xu said.

Nari Technology Co in Nanjing has amended and improved its mechanisms of IP risk control, warning and emergencies according to the national guidelines.

It also launched a management system for business secrets to define classified information and better protect secrets.

Although the national guideline has helped many companies manage IP, Xu said the guides are still like a "child".

"The guidelines are still in an early stage of development and related policies are not mature enough," he said.

He added that he hopes the implementation of the guidelines could be provided within a loose environment for better growth.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn

Gold East Paper (Jiangsu) Co has improved its imported papermaking equipment to increase efficiency and save water.Provided To China Daily

(China Daily 09/02/2015 page17)