白宫前官员约翰·博尔顿表示，如果由中国支持的候选人成为世界知识产权组织（WIPO）的新任总干事，“保护知识产权的能力将受到严重威胁”。

去年9月辞去唐纳德·特朗普总统的美国国家安全顾问职务的博尔顿在Twitter上发表了声明，并补充说：“中国已经因窃取我们的知识产权而对美国造成了巨大损失”。

他还赞同保守派智囊团“传统基金会”（Heritage Foundation）发表的一份报告，该报告称，中国支持的王彬颖竞选WIPO总干事代表了“对知识产权的威胁”。

王彬颖目前担任WIPO副总干事，负责品牌和外观设计部门。她于1993年首次加入WIPO国际局，此前曾担任中国商标局常务局长。

中国外交部长王毅提议她担任WIPO领导职务。

“传统基金会”报告说，如果王彬颖当选为WIPO负责人，美国应退出PCT，同时应鼓励美国企业和发明家抵制WIPO的专利制度。

该智囊团的明确目标是帮助特朗普总统“摆脱困境”。该智囊团表示，王彬颖对WIPO的领导将导致中国对全球知识产权制度施加不当影响。

中国长期以来一直否认美国对其知识产权保护体系薄弱的指控。在就一项新贸易协定进行紧张的谈判的背景下，中国政府在过去一年中进行了几项改革，旨在增强其在知识产权方面的国际声誉。

WIPR以前曾报道过知识产权在很大程度上代表了世界上两个最大经济体之间的地缘政治竞争。一些专家认为，强迫美国公司进行技术转让的指控被夸大了，这些公司试图进入中国市场。

但是美国官员仍然坚持认为中国在知识产权保护方面还不够强大。

此前有四名国会议员写信给特朗普，表达他们对中国WIPO总干事的担忧。由参议员汤姆·科顿（Tom Cotton）领导的国会议员对特朗普说：“我们不能让这个政权攀升成为全球知识产权政策的领导者，因为该政权由于未能确保开放市场或尊重知识产权而公然破坏了遵守规则的制度。”

王彬颖只是争夺接替弗朗西斯·加利（Francis Gurry）担任WIPO总干事的竞选的七名候选人之一，其中三名已经撤回其候选人资格。

其他人包括日本的WIPO PCT法律和国际事务部负责人Kenshiro Natsume和新加坡知识产权局首席执行官Darren Tang。

哥伦比亚的MarcoMatíasAlemán和秘鲁的Ivo Gagliuffi Piercechi都希望成为拉丁美洲地区的第一任总干事。

Alemán目前是WIPO专利法部门的主管，而Piercechi则是秘鲁知识产权局INDECOPI的负责人。

另外两名候选人是哈萨克斯坦的欧亚专利组织主席Saule Tlevlessova和来自加纳的WIPO法律顾问Edward Kwakwa。

WIPO协调委员会将在3月4日至5日举行的特别会议上提名某人担任该职位。

然后，该委员会的提名将在5月发送给WIPO大会进行最终批准。

Former White House official John Bolton has said the “ability to protect IP is gravely threatened” if a Chinese-backed candidate becomes the new director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Bolton, who resigned as US national security advisor to President Donald Trump in September last year, made the statement on Twitter, adding that “China has already done enormous damage to the US stealing our IP”.

He also endorsed a report published by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, which said that China-backed Wang Binying’s candidacy for WIPO general director represents a “threat to IP”.

Wang currently serves as WIPO deputy director general for brands and designs. She first joined WIPO’s international bureau in 1993, having previously served as managing director of the China Trademark Service.

Her candidacy for WIPO leadership was proposed by Wang Yi, Chinese minister for foreign affairs.

The Heritage report said that, should Wang be elected as WIPO chief, the US should withdraw from the PCT, while US businesses and inventors should be encouraged to boycott WIPO’s patent system.

The think tank, whose stated aim is to help President Trump “drain the swamp”, said that Wang’s leadership of WIPO would allow undue Chinese influence over the global IP system.

China has long denied US allegations about the weakness of its IP protection system. Against the backdrop of tense negotiations over a new trade deal, the Chinese government has enacted several reforms over the past year aimed at strengthening its international reputation on IP.

WIPR has previously covered the extent to which IP has become a proxy in the geopolitical rivalrybetween the world’s two biggest economies. Some experts consider allegations of forced technology transfer from US companies looking to access the Chinese market to be overblown.

But US officials remain adamant that China is not strong enough on IP protection.

Four members of Congress had previously written to Trump expressing their concerns over a Chinese WIPO director general. The congressmen, led by senator Tom Cotton, told Trump: “We cannot let a regime, which continues to blatantly undermine the rules-based system by failing to ensure open markets or respect for IP rights, ascend as the leader of global IP policy.”

Wang is just one of seven candidates contesting the race to succeed Francis Gurry as WIPO director general, with three having already withdrawn their candidacy.

The others include Japan’s Kenichiro Natsume, who heads WIPO’s PCT legal and international affairs department, and Intellectual Property Office of Singapore chief executive Darren Tang.

Colombia’s Marco Matías Alemán and Peru’s Ivo Gagliuffi Piercechi are both looking to become the first director general from the Latin American region.

Alemán is currently director of WIPO’s patent law division, while Piercechi serves as head of the Peruvian IP office INDECOPI.

The other two candidates are Kazakhstan’s Saule Tlevlessova, president of the Eurasian Patent Organization, and Edward Kwakwa from Ghana, legal counsel at WIPO.

WIPO’s Coordination Committee will nominate someone for the post at an extraordinary session held on March 4 and 5.

The committee’s nomination will then be sent to the WIPO General Assembly in May for final approval.

来源：大岭IP