Exploring the Criminal Justice Cooperation in IP Matters Rights in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area under the New Circumstances

Liu Chun Liao Zhuoyue

Abstract： Under the national strategy of developing the Great Bay Area， Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao share the common goal of building an international science and technology innovation center with global influence through collaborative innovation. The realization of this goal must be guaranteed by the protection of intellectual property （IP）. The criminal justice protection of IP is the last shield for IP protection. Still， the long?term absence of an agreement on criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao has had a negative impact on the coordinated development of IP in these three regions. Under the new circumstances that the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area has been elevated to a national strategy level， and that Hong Kong and Macao have laws to safeguard national security， Guangdong should play the "first mover" spirit of reform and opening up， and， based on the fact that the Mainland， Hong Kong， and Macao are TRIPS members， draw on the experience of the Arrangement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons between Hong Kong and Macao， seek common ground while reserving differences， to reach relevant criminal justice cooperation agreements on IP with Hong Kong and Macao and establish a standard criminal justice cooperation mechanism on IP， which will provide a model and add experience for the joint protection of IP and inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao.

Key words： new circumstances; Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao IP criminal justice cooperation; first mover

CLC：D 912         DC：A                      Article ID：2096⁃9783（2021）06⁃0129⁃09

1 Introduction

In 2017， the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area was first written into the Report on the Work of the Government， officially becoming a national strategy. In 2019， the Outline of the Development Plan for the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area clarifies that the overarching principle of the development of the Greater Bay Area is "innovation⁃driven and reform⁃led"， and that it is necessary to thoroughly implement the innovation⁃driven development strategy， further improve the regional collaborative innovation system， to build an international science and technology innovation center with global influence. The 14th Five⁃Year Plan specifies that the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area should be made into an innovative development region with international competitiveness and achieve the free flow and combination of various elements of science and technology innovation with the Greater Bay Area， which requires the formation of an excellent collaborative mechanism for IP protection in the Greater Bay Area.

At present， there are relatively few studies on IP protection in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area1， and most of them focus on coordination at the governmental level. For example， Teng Hongqing and She Jinyan believe that "we should build a linkage mechanism for the administrative protection of IP in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area by drawing on the international experience in formulating and enforcing regulations for the protection of IP in the trade process of developed regions， so as to realize the overall and protective functions for the protection of IP in the Greater Bay Area"[1]; Lu Chunxin believes that the coordination and cooperation among different jurisdictions in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Bay Area should be resolved by "constructing a mechanism for mutual recognition of IP policies， a mechanism for clustering creative industries， a mechanism for operation services for IP， a linkage mechanism for protection of IP and other coordinated mechanisms in the Bay Area"[2]; Wang Wenmin believes that the problem that there are different jurisdictions in the Bay Area， should be resolved by drawing on overseas experience and "promoting the improvement of the IP coordination mechanism in the Guangdong?Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area in terms of IP institutional system， operation services and protection mechanism"[3]. Some studies focus on the resolution of IP legal conflicts in the Greater Bay Area as a whole. For example， Mei Ao proposes four paths for resolving IP legal conflicts respectively regarding the harmonization of the Greater Bay Area's IP legal system， the establishment of mutual recognition of IP in the Bay Area， the promotion of non⁃litigation methods to resolve IP disputes in the Bay Area， and the improvement of inter⁃regional judicial assistance in the Bay Area[4]. From the contents of the studies in Chinese searched so far， there are not so many studies on the criminal justice cooperation of IP in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area. Whether in the Mainland or Hong Kong and Macao， judicial protection of IP is a crucial way to protect IP， and criminal justice protection is the last shield of the judicial protection of IP. Along with the gradual deepening of the coordinated development of technological innovation in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area， the issue of criminal justice cooperation in IP matters in these three regions is an inevitable problem. Therefore， it is of positive practical significance to study the criminal justice cooperation in IP matters in Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao Greater Bay Area.

2 Current Situation of the Criminal Justice Cooperation in IP Matters in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area

The Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao， Greater Bay Area， applies a legal system of "one country， two systems and three jurisdictions"， which means there are many differences in the substantive and procedural criminal laws among the three regions. This kind of cross⁃jurisdictional cooperation in criminal cases under the circumstance of "one country， two systems" belongs to the inter⁃regional judicial collaboration. Based on the criminal justice process， the inter⁃regional cooperation in criminal justice can be divided into three parts2： The first part is the criminal justice cooperation at the stage of criminal investigation， such as the acquisition of evidence and the apprehension of suspects， which belongs to the inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation in a narrow sense; the second part is the criminal justice cooperation at the stage of a criminal trial， including the trial jurisdiction of criminal cases and the basis for the application of substantive criminal laws; the third part is the criminal justice cooperation at the stage of enforcement of criminal judgments， which is mainly concerned with the enforcement of illegal decisions， such as the transfer of sentenced persons. In a broad sense， inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation includes the three stages of the criminal justice process mentioned above and is the subject of this article.

The characteristics of the legal systems of the three regions in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area determine that there are many differences in the IP laws and the judiciary jurisdiction among the three areas， so some obstacles to cooperation in IP protection exist inevitably. In recent years， with the gradual integration of the development of science and technology in Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao， the three regions have built some cooperation platforms and reached some agreements on IP protection， but mainly in the civil and administrative fields. For example， in the IP administrative enforcement， Guangdong and Hong Kong established the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in 2003 to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in enforcement， investigation， and research through intelligence exchange and joint operations[5]; in the civil justice field， Macao and Hong Kong signed respectively with the Mainland the Arrangement between the Mainland and the Macao Special Administrative Region on the Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments and Arrangement between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments. In terms of criminal justice cooperation， although in recent years the police in Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao have established a work meeting mechanism， Liaison mechanism for relevant authorities， a case collaboration mechanism， a joint action mechanism， and an online cooperation platform for the police in Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao， no formal criminal justice cooperation agreement has been reached between the Mainland and Hong Kong or Macao， from the perspective of the coordination and communication mechanism of the Greater Bay Area itself， the implementation mechanism and dispute resolution mechanism are limited to some high?level meetings of the administrative system， and the cooperation and mutual assistance in legislation and justice are either blank or very slight[6]. In this context， the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao criminal justice cooperation in IP matters has also not formed an effective cooperation mechanism or reached a corresponding cooperation agreement.

3 Obstacles to Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Criminal Justice Cooperation in IP Matters

After the reunification， Hong Kong and Macao have entered into agreements with other countries on judicial cooperation in criminal matters， such as the Agreement on Judicial Assistance in Criminal Matters and the Agreement on the Surrender of Fugitive Offenders. However， Hong Kong and Macao have not reached any cooperation agreements with the Mainland in judicial assistance in criminal matters， surrender of fugitives， and transfer of sentenced persons after the reunification. What are the reasons for the long⁃standing lack of agreements on criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland， Hong Kong， and Macao？ In addition to the subjective reasons in terms of communication and mutual trust， the author， by sorting out the research and practice related to inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao， has summarized the core reasons as follows.

3.1 Absence of Constitutional Documents

Our Constitution only provides for establishing particular administrative regions; however， there is neither a constitutional interpretation for "one country， two systems" nor an enabling norm for resolving inter⁃regional conflicts of laws. The absence of constitutional documents on inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation means the lack of guidance. It has led to difficulty reaching consensus on the basic principles and concepts of criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland， Hong Kong， and Macao， the biggest obstacle to the legalization of inter⁃regional legal conflict resolution[7].

The Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macao explicitly provide that the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions may conduct judicial contacts and provide mutual assistance by law through consultations with the judicial organs of other regions of the country. This provision provides a legal basis for establishing cooperative relations between the judicial organs of Hong Kong/Macao and the Mainland. Still， this provision is limited to the regional level. In the absence of relevant judicial cooperation agreements between Hong Kong/Macao and the Mainland on a central station， the judicial cooperation between Hong Kong/Macao and regions in the Mainland lacks top?level guidance. It cannot be carried out in⁃depth.

3.2 Differences in Basic Principles

In the period around the handover of Hong Kong and Macao， more studies on criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao were published， and the studies in this period are relatively consistent in their views， emphasizing that inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation is different from international criminal justice cooperation， and must adhere to the principle of "one country， two systems"， and some principles with strong national sovereignty nature， such as "no extradition of political and military criminals" and "no extradition of capital criminals"， shall not be applied in the inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation. Otherwise， it is a violation of the "one country" principle. For example， Chen Zengxia proposes that the principles of "no extradition of political criminals" and "no extradition of capital criminals"， which have national solid sovereignty nature and are applied in the international criminal justice assistance， shall not be used in the inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong and Macao[8]， Zhao Bingzhi and He Xingwang hold the same view. They also believe that， in criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao， "the rules of 'double criminality and in favor of the accused' in international criminal justice assistance shall not be invoked as a reason for refusing to provide criminal justice assistance"[9]. Other scholars believe that "it is inappropriate to apply the principle of non⁃transfer of capital criminals in the process of transferring criminal suspects among the Mainland， Hong Kong， and Macao， and the principle of 'no transfer of residents' is not applicable[10].

From the above， it can be seen that scholars' studies on the principles of criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao in this period emphasize that inter⁃regional criminal justice is different from international criminal justice assistance. The principles of "no extradition of political and military criminals"， "no extradition of capital criminals"， "double criminality"， and "no transfer of local residents" do not apply to the criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. The above view is difficult to reach a consensus on Hong Kong and Macao， emphasizing the independence of legislation and justice. This is an important reason why the two sides could not reach an agreement on inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation.

4 The Feasibility of Criminal Justice Cooperation among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao

Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao are geographically close， share the same language and traditional culture， and have a better foundation of mutual cultural trust and respect; economically， over the past 40 years of economic cooperation between Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao， the capital and industries of Hong Kong and Macao， the land of Guangdong and the labor force gathered in the Pearl River Delta region have combined to form an inseparable processing and trade chain in the global production network. At present， the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area has been elevated to a national strategy. With the top⁃level design and coordination of the central government and the "first mover" policy specified in the Outline of the Development Plan for the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area， the all⁃round integrated development of the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area is in line with the common interests of Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao. It is a common goal for the development of the three regions. These new circumstances help promote criminal justice cooperation in IP matters in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area.

4.1 New Developments in the Theory of Judicial Principles

The principle of "non⁃transfer of political criminals" in inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation is a sovereign principle in the implementation of "one country， two systems"， which is the most critical difference in the criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. This difference was resolved with the entry into force of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （hereinafter referred to as the "National Security Law of Hong Kong）. In June 2020， the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the National Security Law of Hong Kong and decided to include it in Annex III of the Hong Kong Basic Law， establishing a legal system and operational mechanism for the protection of national security in Hong Kong， which， together with the National Security Law promulgated by Macao in 2009， has formed a consistent legal system for national security in the three regions and resolved the long?standing differences between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao on the principle of "no transfer of political criminals" in the criminal justice cooperation， and laid a good foundation for the conclusion of Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao criminal justice cooperation in IP matters.

Theoretically， with a fuller understanding of the "one country， two systems" theory， some scholars in recent years have changed their mindset in the study of the basic principles of inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation， no longer emphasizing the total removal of the basic principles of international criminal justice assistance from the inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation. No longer regarding the principles of "double criminality" principle， "no transfer of local residents"， and "no transfer of capital criminals" as reflections of national sovereignty， and these doctrinal shifts are conducive to facilitating the conclusion of criminal justice cooperation agreements among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao. For example， Wei Hantao[11] believes that "inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation should also follow the principle of equality and voluntariness. ......The Mainland cannot ask Hong Kong and Macao SAR to request the transfer of capital criminals against their values forcibly， and Hong Kong and Macao SAR cannot forcibly request the transfer of capital criminals from the Mainland despite the judicial sentiment of the Mainland people; otherwise， criminal justice assistance will be in a difficult situation". Wang Wenhua and Niu Yifang also believe that the existence of differences should be recognized， and the principle of "double criminality" and the principle of "no transfer of local residents" should be conditionally allowed， facilitate the conclusion of the inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao[12]. Jing Changling and some other scholars also hold the same view[13]. From the practical point of view， the Arrangement between the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons signed by Hong Kong and Macao in 2005 is the only document on criminal justice cooperation among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao. The first paragraph of its Article 4， "Conditions for Transfer"， stipulates that "the conduct on account of which the sentence has been imposed would constitute a criminal offense according to the law of the receiving Party if it had been committed within the jurisdiction of its courts"; the second paragraph stipulates that "where the sentenced person is a permanent resident of or has close ties with the receiving Party". These two paragraphs reflect respectively the recognition of the principle of "double criminality" and the principle of "non?transfer of local residents" by Hong Kong and Macao， which are of great reference significance for the conclusion of the agreement on the criminal justice cooperation in IP matters among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao.

In light of the current reality， the consensus on basic principles must be reached under the agreement on criminal justice cooperation in IP matters between Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao. The adoption of the National Security Law of Hong Kong signifies that the principle of "non⁃transfer of political criminals" is no longer an obstacle to criminal justice cooperation among the three regions. There is no death penalty in the penalties for IP crimes in the mainland criminal law， and there is no obstacle to the principle of "no extradition of capital criminals". Guangdong should give play to the "first mover" spirit and， with the consent of the Central Government， reach a tripartite agreement on criminal justice cooperation in IP matters with Hong Kong and Macao based on the recognition of the principle of "double criminality" and the principle of "non⁃transfer of local residents".

4.2 The Particularity of Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao IP Criminal Justice Cooperation

At present， the development pattern of "achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration" in Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao and the wave of IP protection at home and abroad have put forward higher requirements for IP criminal justice cooperation in the Greater Bay Area. The Outline provides specific guidelines for Guangdong Province to strengthen the linkage protection of IP rights. One of the Greater Bay Area's strategic positioning in the Outline is "an international scientific and technological innovation center with global influence"， which emphasizes the comprehensive strengthening of cooperation in the Guangdong?Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area in areas such as IP protection. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that IP protection work is related to modernizing the national governance system and governance capabilities， so strengthening IP protection is essential for improving the property rights protection system. In addition， criminal justice protection of IP rights and technological innovation in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area also require a stable， transparent， predictable， and fair competition business environment. Under the premise of respecting the jurisdiction of various jurisdictions， criminal justice protection of IP rights can be achieved by setting boundaries and regulating and guiding the transaction access， transaction process， and transaction exit of market entities in each jurisdiction.

4.3 Good Basis for Cooperation in IP Protection

At the governmental level， in 2003， Guangdong and Hong Kong established the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights， which aims to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong in different areas of IP protection， including promotion and education， training， enforcement， investigation and research， and information dissemination; the Mainland reached the Arrangement between the State Intellectual Property Office and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Cooperation in the Area of Intellectual Property with Hong Kong in June 2017 and the Arrangement between the State Intellectual Property Office and the Economic Bureau of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government on Deepening Exchanges and Cooperation in the Area of Intellectual Property with Macao in June 2020， which laid a good foundation for the criminal justice cooperation in IP matters between Guangdong， Hong Kong and Macao. At the practical level， in 2019， the collaboration on IP protection in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area was further promoted， with Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao further optimizing the mechanisms of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights and the Guangdong⁃Macao Intellectual Property Working Group， and has completed a total of 39 cooperation projects among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao. Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao customs authorities organized three joint enforcement actions for the protection of IP; for example， the General Administration of Customs coordinated the Hong Kong and Macao customs to jointly launch a collective enforcement action for IP rights protection in August 2021， focusing on freight and express mail. More than 50，000 illegal goods that violated IP rights were seized during the joint enforcement action， including auto parts and clothing that violated trademark rights. In addition， Zhuhai City， located at the midpoint of Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao， has also passed the form of Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening the Protection of Intellectual Property Protection and Promoting High?quality Development issued by the Municipal Procuratorate. This document promotes cooperation in criminal enforcement of IP rights among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao from the perspective of a regulatory document.

Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao IP authorities jointly organized the first Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area Intellectual Property Trade Expo， which for the first time achieved full coverage of IP categories such as patents， trademarks， copyrights， and geographical indications， resulting in an intended amount of 10.15 billion yuan in IP cooperation and 2.62 billion yuan in transactions; jointly organized the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area High⁃Value Patent Cultivation and Distribution Competition， attracting 586 entries from the Mainland， Hong Kong， and Macao， discovering several outstanding patent projects and promoting their implementation in the Greater Bay Area; held the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area Intellectual Property Talent Development Conference and Intellectual Property Talent Supply and Demand Matchmaking Conference， promoting the cluster and development of IP talent in the Greater Bay Area.3

5 Suggestions for Building Guangdong?Hong Kong⁃Macao Criminal Justice Cooperation in IP Matters

The construction of the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area aims to achieve the free flow and rational allocation of all factors within the Bay Area， ultimately realizing the coordinated development of urban clusters within the Bay Area and building an international science and technology innovation center with global influence. Data show that the total number of invention patents in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area reached 1，287，600 from 2015 to 2019， ranking first among the four major bay areas globally， and the average annual growth rate has remained in positive growth year⁃round.4 However， at present， the three regions have not yet formed a long⁃term and stable cooperation mechanism in the judicial protection of IP. The development of the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao， Greater Bay Area， requires the "innovation⁃drive"， which means the coordinated protection of IP in the three regions is an inevitable trend. Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao can base on summarizing the existing cooperation experience， be the first mover and make full use of the current support conditions to explore the way to reach the agreement on criminal justice cooperation in IP matters among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao， to a creative system or mechanism to strengthen the selection of legal talents regarding IP laws and their exchange in Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao， and to gradually form an innovative system or mechanism for the judicial protection of IP in Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao， to form a unified shield for IP protection in the Bay Area.

5.1 Promote the Conclusion of the Agreement on Criminal Justice Cooperation in IP Matters among the Three Regions

At present， the criminal justice cooperation among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao is still based on case⁃by⁃case cooperation and lacks stable normative documents， which is not conducive to the effective development of criminal justice cooperation among the three regions. As some scholars have pointed out in their research on European Union criminal justice cooperation， "that the European Union promotes criminal cooperation through constitutional treaties is the common motivation for its significant achievements in criminal collaboration. It is also necessary for our inter⁃regional criminal collaboration to learn from this advanced experience and address the issue of inter⁃regional criminal assistance under our constitutional legal system"[14]. But from the development of the European Union's own criminal justice cooperation history， its criminal justice cooperation state is not a one⁃day achievement， but in the process of criminal justice cooperation by constantly improving the relevant criminal justice cooperation agreements， and through these norms to promote convergence and mutual trust in criminal justice cooperation between European Union member states， which has led to the formation of the criminal justice cooperation system[15].

The criminal justice cooperation in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area cannot be achieved overnight. The three regions must carry out criminal justice cooperation based on seeking common ground while reserving differences and accumulating experience in areas that can be readily agreed upon to practice as the first mover in a "small⁃cut" manner. In terms of the scope of criminal justice protection of IP， Guangdong and Macao have included copyright， trade mark rights， and patent rights in the area of criminal justice protection; Hong Kong has only included trademark and copyright in the scope of criminal justice protection. The three regions may only include copyright and trademark rights when negotiating criminal justice cooperation agreements， and patent rights may be protected by the criminal justice protection bilateral agreements reached between Guangdong and Macao. In terms of the threshold of criminal justice protection of IP， the Mainland implements dual judicial and administrative protection， so the criminal justice protection is based on a monolithic system of penalties. At the same time， Hong Kong and Macao only have civil litigation protection and criminal justice protection of IP， which means the criminal justice protection is based on a binary system of parallel security sanctions and penalties. Therefore， the standards for establishing IP crimes in Hong Kong and Macao are lower than those in the Mainland. On this point， the three regions need to coordinate and communicate on specific matters based on the recognition of the principle of "double criminality" and seek common ground while reserving differences on the basis of the contents of criminal justice assistance in IP matters， to reach an agreement on criminal justice cooperation in IP matters among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao.

5.2 Establishing a Special Case Mechanism for the Criminal Justice Cooperation in IP Matters among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao

The agreement on criminal justice cooperation in IP matters among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao will provide a normative basis for the criminal justice protection of IP in the three regions. In terms of concrete implementation， it is necessary to build a unique case mechanism for the criminal justice cooperation in IP matters among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao on the basis of the existing consultation and cooperation on criminal justice cases regarding IP among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao. In reality， since the handover of Hong Kong and Macao， the police of Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao have established a reasonable basis for cooperation through regular and irregular meetings at different levels and collaboration mechanisms among some counterparts. Still， after all， the existing cooperation is coordinating and cannot dovetail and coordinate the handling of cases promptly. Suppose a unique case mechanism for Guangdong?Hong Kong⁃Macao criminal justice cooperation in IP matters is established in the event of criminal justice cases regarding IP involving Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao. In that case， the three regions can quickly form a task force to deal with the issues quickly and effectively. Since the fact that， in both Hong Kong and Macao， the Customs is responsible for the jurisdiction of IP criminal cases， that the Customs of the Mainland has also accumulated rich experience in handling IP criminal cases， and that the Customs of Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao have an excellent basis for cooperation， the body responsible for exceptional circumstances can be jointly formed by the personnel from these three Customs. The latter is familiar with the IP laws and business in the three regions. The body is responsible for the investigation of IP criminal justice cases involving the three areas within the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Bay Area and then transfer the points to the corresponding regional prosecution and trial authorities for criminal prosecution procedures by the jurisdictional provisions of the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao agreements on criminal justice cooperation in IP matters.

5.3 Establishing a Regular Selection and Exchange Mechanism for Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Legal Talents in the Area of IP

The criminal justice cooperation agreement among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao is the premise and foundation of criminal justice cooperation. The unique case mechanism is the operational guarantee， and talents are the key factors to promote the effective operation of the agreement and mechanism. There are apparent differences in the IP systems and criminal justice systems among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao. The practical implementation of criminal justice cooperation in IP matters in the three regions requires comprehensive talents familiar with the IP and criminal justice systems. The training of the talents mentioned above can be carried out in two ways. On the one hand， strengthen the exchange and cooperation among universities in Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao in the process of training IP legal talents， and teach the comprehensive talents who can serve the IP matters in the Guangdong?Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area; on the other hand， strengthen the exchange among existing IP legal talents in the three regions， conduct regular mutual visits and training， and deepen the personnel's understanding of IP and criminal justice in the three areas， to promote the smooth development of criminal justice cooperation among the three regions.

6 Conclusion

The Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao， Greater Bay Area， is positioned as "an international science and technology innovation center with global influence"， and the judicial protection of IP， as the most stringent IP protection， is indisputably an essential guarantee for the development of the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area. As the last shield in judicial protection， criminal justice protection is a necessary guarantee for the judicial protection of IP in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao⁃Great Bay Area. Under the background of the national strategy of the construction of the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area and the new circumstances that the national security laws of Hong Kong and Macao have come into effect， Guangdong， as the front line of reform and opening up， should give play to the "first mover" spirit， follow the principle of mutual respect based on a long⁃term cooperation on IP among Guangdong， Hong Kong， and Macao， reach an agreement on criminal justice cooperation in IP matters in the Greater Bay Area with Hong Kong and Macao， and establish a common particular case mechanism and a regular selection and exchange mechanism for legal talents. This can promote the in⁃depth coordinated innovation and development in the Guangdong⁃Hong Kong⁃Macao Greater Bay Area and bring experience and demonstrate the inter⁃regional criminal justice cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao， which is of great positive， pioneering significance.

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新形势下粤港澳大湾区知识产权刑事司法合作探析

刘春 廖倬跃

（1.东莞理工学院 经济与管理学院，广东东莞 523106;2.珠海经济特区立法研究中心，广东 珠海 519000 ）

摘    要：在大灣区建设的国家战略下，粤港澳三地有着协同创新共建具有全球影响力国际科技创新中心的共同目标。这一目标的实现必须有知识产权保护作为保障，知识产权的刑事司法保护是知识产权保护的最后屏障，但内地与港澳之间长期未达成刑事司法合作协议，对三地知识产权的协同发展造成了负面影响。在粤港澳大湾区上升为国家战略、港澳均有维护国家安全法律责任的新形势下，广东应发挥先行先试的改革开放精神，在内地与港澳均为TRIPS成员的基础上，借鉴港澳之间《移交被判刑人的安排》，求同存异，与港澳之间达成相关的知识产权刑事司法合作协议，建立知识产权刑事司法合作常规机制，为粤港澳知识产权的共同保护和区际刑事司法合作提供示范和经验。

关键词：新形势;粤港澳知识产权刑事司法合作;先行先试