On Intellectual Property as a “Strategic Resource for National Development”

Intellectual property, as a strategic resource for national development, implies that it is a resource that plays a comprehensive role in the advancement of the country’s economy, political civilization, reform and opening up, social civilization, ecological civilization, people’s welfare, and governance efficiency. The function of intellectual property determines its potential to become a strategic resource for national development. The construction of an effective market, proactive government, and useful society is the basic conditions, fundamental guarantees, and essential supports for intellectual property to become a strategic resource for national development. The proposal and validation of this new concept are of significant value to the study of intellectual property law: it helps to move beyond the debates among intellectual property scholars regarding the essential attributes of intellectual property, viewing it from a more abstract and macro perspective; it aids in comprehensively understanding the essence of intellectual property law, its regulatory subjects, and other fundamental issues, thereby promoting research into the distinct characteristics of Chinese autonomous intellectual property law. It also poses new requirements for the construction of the rule of law in intellectual property: it necessitates the reasonable positioning of government functions from a positive perspective, increasing the provision of administrative law in the field of intellectual property, enacting more intellectual property laws that express national and social public interests, and formulating foundational intellectual property laws in the context of public law.