Eleven central government agencies including State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, State Ethnics Administration Commission, Ministry of Health, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Personnel and SIPO released the Guidance on Strengthening Ethnic Medical IPR Protection.

The Guidance brings forward eight main points including the guideline of ethnic medical development, the development ideas and objectives of ethnic medical cause, enhancing capacity building of the ethnic medical service, exploration, inheriting and research on ethnic medicine.

The Guidance provides for specific measures in strengthening IPR protection of ethnic medicines and protection and use of pharmaceutical resources, including establishing IPR protection mechanism for publication of ethnic medicine documents, international academic communication and cooperation, improving protective measures, avoiding improper leak or distribution of traditional knowledge of ethnic medicine, clarifying right entitlement of IPRs of ethnic medicine, studying list and database for relevant IPRs, regulating development and use of ethnic medicines and preventing them from usurpation and misappropriation.

(China IP News)

2007-12-26