Simon appointed as special senior adviser to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Denis Simon was recently appointed as a special senior adviser to the United States Patent and Trademark Office under the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Simon, ASU Vice-Provost for International Strategic Initiatives and an internationally recognized expert on China’s science and technology systems, was selected to assist the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in enhancing cooperation and collaboration with the People’s Republic of China, specifically concerning innovation and intellectual property rights. 

Simon also serves as a member of the American expert’s team as part of the U.S.-China Innovation Dialogue that is sponsored by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

As a long-time observer of China’s efforts to enhance domestic innovation and research and development, Simon will interact with a variety of Chinese counterparts from government, business and academic circles. He’ll assist in negotiations and discussions with Chinese officials to reduce violations of patents, trademarks and copyrights.

“While there have been recent significant enhancements in terms of intellectual property rights enforcement in China, there still are problems facing foreign companies that may serve as a deterrent to expanded technology transfer ties between the U.S. and China,” Simon said.

However, technological entrepreneurs in China have begun to express concerns about the poor state of intellectual rights enforcement in their country, since they are increasingly involved in commercializing their own products and services, he said.

“Now that China has more players involved in research and development, just like in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea before, we are likely to see a growing interest among Chinese government officials working in science and technology fields in making sure that sufficient attention is paid to intellectual property rights protection,” Simon said.

“If the Chinese cannot create an improved environment for intellectual property rights protection, the government’s stated goal of making China into a more innovative nation will be hard to realize in the coming years. Moreover, since more and more commercially relevant research and development involves collaborative ventures, it will become more difficult for Chinese researchers and entrepreneurs to find worthwhile partners willing to cooperate with them,” he added.