我们在4月26日庆祝世界知识产权日，这个一年一度的节日颂扬创新者和创造者，以及知识产权给我们的经济、社会和日常生活带来的益处。今年的主题是”知识产权和小企业：把创意推向市场”，该主题也时值在中国、美国以及世界各地，人们正依赖着中小企业来帮助应对疫情并恢复经济。这些中小企业反过来也要依赖知识产权和本地知识产权体系来培养顾客忠诚度并保护他们的创新。
疫情之前，全球所有企业中超过90%是中小企业，他们提供了大约三分之二的工作岗位。正因如此，这些小企业在全球经济中发挥着举足轻重的作用，所以他们在未来的数月和数年间对经济复苏十分关键。知识产权对许多小企业至关重要，不管他们是用商标将自己的品牌与竞争者区分开来，还是用专利保护突破性的创新——这些创新往往在更大的企业看来太前沿或太有风险，抑或是用版权确保自己的创意表达在充斥着数字山寨品的市场中保有价值。世界各地的政府既认识到中小企业的价值，也认识到知识产权体系对这些公司的重要性，并且量身定制知识产权法律或政策来支持较小的市场参与者。
中国和美国都实施了一些政策来帮助中小企业注册并实施其知识产权。例如，美国专利商标局（USPTO）将”小型”和”微型”实体为获得专利而需支付的某些费用分别降低了50%和75%。USPTO还定期为小企业提供培训和有针对性的外展服务，并推出了一个在线门户网站，提供资源让发明者和创业者了解他们可以获得哪些知识产权，以及如何保护知识产权和进行知识产权授权。中国同样也实施了一些政策，以在这个竞争激烈而富有挑战的市场为中国小企业提供支持，包括为小型实体降费，以及支持中小企业知识产权授权和商业化的项目。
我们可以，也应该做得更多。说到底，全球知识产权体系透明度和可预见性的提高有助于中小企业更高效地利用其知识产权。针对中小企业的特定支持机制既应透明又应以市场为基础，从而确保公平竞争。中国和美国的知识产权保护和执法机制都应为中小企业提供对其成功至关重要的透明度、公正性和可预见性。这一点非常关键。鉴于这些小企业将发挥至关重要的作用，驱动世界从疫情中复苏，我们必须从今天做起——没有一刻可浪费。

On April 26, we recognize World IP Day, an annual celebration of innovators and creators, and the benefits that intellectual property (IP) rights bring to our economies, our societies, and our daily lives. This year’s theme is Intellectual property and small businesses: Taking big ideas to market, and comes at a time when small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are being relied upon in China, in the United States, and around the world to assist with the pandemic as well as the economic recovery. These SMEs in turn rely upon IP rights and local IP systems to build customer loyalty and protect their innovations.
Prior to the pandemic, SMEs made up over 90% of all enterprises globally, and were responsible for approximately two-thirds of all employment. As such, these small businesses play an outsized role in the global economy – and are thus critical to economic recovery in the months and years ahead. IP rights are of vital importance to many small businesses, whether they use trademarks to distinguish their brands from competitors, or patents to protect ground-breaking innovations often deemed too cutting-edge or risky for larger corporations, or copyrights to secure value for their creative expressions in markets flooded by digital copycats. Governments around the world recognize both the value of SMEs as well as the importance of the IP system to these companies, and have tailored IP laws or policies to support smaller players.
Both China and the United States have implemented policies to help SMEs register and exercise their IP rights. For example, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) reduces certain fees for obtaining patents for “small” and “micro” entities by 50% and 75%, respectively. USPTO also regularly provides training and targeted outreach to small businesses, and launched an online portal with resources for inventors and entrepreneurs to learn about the IP rights available to them, as well as how to protect and license IP. China, too, has enacted policies to support smaller Chinese enterprises in this highly competitive and challenging market, including reduced fees for smaller entities, as well as programs that support SMEs to license and commercialize IP.
We can and should do more. Ultimately, greater transparency and predictability in global IP systems would help SMEs leverage their IP more efficiently. SME-specific support mechanisms should be both transparent and market-based to ensure fair competition. It is critical that the IP protection and enforcement mechanisms of both China and the United States provide SMEs with the transparency, impartiality, and predictability critical to their success. Given the critical role these small firms will play in driving the world’s recovery from the pandemic, we must begin today – there’s not a moment to waste.