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What are "intellectual property rights"?
(03/24/2008)

"Intellectual property rights" are, also termed as intellectual property, the rights enjoyed by a person, either natural or legal, to products of the imagination and intellect created in his/her/its activities of the mind in scientific, technological, cultural, art and/or other fields.

Intellectual property rights in a broad sense include, but are not limited to, the rights of authorship, neighboring rights, trademark rights, rights of the business name, rights of trade secrets, rights of the mark of origin, patent rights, and rights of IC layout design. The intellectual property rights in a narrow sense mainly include, but are not limited to, the rights of authorship, neighboring rights, patent rights, and trademark rights.

According to the applied provisions in the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People¡¯s Republic of China, Chinese Citizens shall benefit from intellectual property rights, including but not limited to, the rights of authorship (copyright), patent rights, rights to the exclusive use of trademarks, rights of discovery, and rights of inventions.