To standardize its intellectual property right (IPR) management system, CCB recently formulated the IPR Management Rules. The implementation of the Rules will help the bank strengthen IPR protection and utilization, encourage invention, stimulate innovation and hence raise core competitiveness.

According to a CCB official, the Rules mainly stipulate the principles and the responsibilities of IPR management and standardize the IPR ownership policy and such activities as IPR application, maintenance, approval and transfer. It is not only an important document for CCB but also the first of its kind in the Chinese banking industry, fully demonstrating CCB’s compliance efforts after IPO.

The same source says that the Rules set the important principle of “unified management”, i.e. major IPR management activities will be conducted under the leadership or in the name of the headquarters, including “unified IPR application, unified protection and unified award”, which effectively solves the old problem of distributed management. The bank also establishes the IPR award system, encouraging its employees to make inventions. To promote financial innovation and protect the IPRs generated in the process, the Rules especially define the IPR search & demonstration system, information & statistics system, file management system and confidentiality system governing the process of product and technology innovation in a bid to protect such IPRs as patents and trademarks in a timely manner. 

It is said that CCB formally started IPR management and protection in 2003. It actively fights against infringement and counterfeiting and closely monitors the use of important trademarks such as its name and logo as well as the Long Card-related trademarks. Up to now, CCB has filed more than 200 defensive trademark registrations to the State Trademark Bureau and registered its name, logo and Long Card trademarks in all the 45 categories of goods (services). Meanwhile, its trademark registration in 8 foreign countries and Hong Kong has been approved, marking that the bank has initially built the IPR protection system which is applicable in both domestic and international markets and covers various aspects including trademark application, monitoring and countermeasures to infringement.