NPC Ponders Fishing QuotasThe draft amendment to China's 14-year-old Fishery Law, which was deliberated by top Chinese legislators Wednesday, introduces a quota system to ensure that the nation has an adequate supply of fish.Legislators attending the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress also discussed the amendments to the Patent Law. The draft amendment to the Fishery Law, which was proposed by the State Council to the session for first reading, seeks to have China's fishery resources management match international standards. The fishing quota in state jurisdictional waters will be fixed by the Ministry of Agriculture and approved by the State Council. The fishing quota in major rivers and lakes will be set by provincial governments. Following international practice, China will extend the fishing licensing system from landlocked and territorial waters to open seas, the draft states. The amendment requires the establishment of breeding resources protection zones in areas where there are baby fish that can command high prices on the market because of their physical characteristics. The draft amendment bans fishing in these protection zones. The ongoing session yesterday also held a second round of deliberations on the amendment to the Patent Law that is intended to better protect the rights of patent holders and simplify patent application procedures. The draft amendment stipulates that patent holders of industrial designs and refinements to the shape or structure of an existing product can go to court if they do not agree with the judgment of the patent re-examination board, which is the final arbiter under the current Patent Law. The proposal is in agreement with the stipulation of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). China must sign the TRIPS agreement after it enters the World Trade Organization. The draft amendment specifies that patent owners would be protected beginning on the day their patent applications are published. Under current law, patent owners are protected only after their patents are granted. |
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