More than 8,000 people attend China Intellectual Property Annual Conference in anniversary year

The 12th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference held on Sept 19-20 in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, showcased the country's achievements in the IP realm and contributed Chinese wisdom to global IP governance.

After a three-year suspension from offline operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual event returned in full, attracting more than 8,000 participants from home and abroad.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of cooperation between China and the World Intellectual Property Organization. It is also an extraordinary year for China's IP development, as the National Intellectual Property Administration is now directly affiliated with the State Council, the country's Cabinet, as part of organizational reform, NIPA Commissioner Shen Changyu said at the opening ceremony.

Wang Binying, deputy director-general of WIPO, told the conference that China has become a crucial engine to drive global technological innovation and creation.

The Chinese government highly values the national IP strategy. That, coupled with constant progress and improvement in the country's IP system and policies, is indispensable for the achievements, she noted.

Keynote speakers shared insights into how IP supports innovation across the board. They included Denis L. Bohoussou, director-general of the African Intellectual Property Organization, which is better known by its French abbreviation of OAPI; Wang Jianfeng, head of public and government affairs at tech company Huawei; Etienne Sanz de Acedo, CEO of the International Trademark Association; Zong Yanmin, chairman of SICC, a Jinan-headquartered tech company focusing on the research and development, production and sales of silicon carbide substrate materials; and Liang Zhixiang, senior vice-president and general counsel of internet company Baidu.

The new round of technological and industrial developments are reshaping the global innovation landscape and economic structure. Against this backdrop, IP is playing an increasingly significant role as a national strategic resource and a core element of international competitiveness, organizers said.

Thus the 2023 CIPAC set up one main session and 13 parallel sessions, inviting participants to exchange views on IP's rule of law construction, protection, utilization, service and international cooperation, especially in the sectors of artificial intelligence, green industries and pharmaceuticals. They brainstormed issues during the two-day event, providing a glimpse into China's IP modern construction.

Diverse exhibition

The 2023 CIPAC featured an exhibition, covering an area of more than 8,000 square meters, where nearly 200 exhibitors displayed their latest patented products and IP solutions.

Guangdong Power Grid, the strategic partner of this year's event, was busy receiving visitors to its exhibition booth, where the company showcased its latest research and development achievements, flexing its innovation muscle and showing off technological breakthroughs.

At an exhibition section dedicated to products and services relating to international patents and trademarks, well-known domestic IP service providers were present, including Patsnap, Gaowo, Clarivate Analytics, Han Kun Law Office, and IP Sunshine. Meanwhile, overseas IP institutions, such as the Chemical Abstracts Service based in Columbus in Ohio, the United States, which is a division of the American Chemical Society, introduced their latest services to visitors.

A new exhibition area focusing on geographical indication-marked products proved to be a popular draw at the 2023 CIPAC.

GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place, according to WIPO.

The GI exhibition displayed both Chinese and foreign GI-marked products, including specialties from Shandong and Jinan, the host province and city.

NIPA and WIPO jointly hosted an international meeting on GI, where participants discussed IP's role in promoting economic growth and rural vitalization. The participants also went on inspection tours around Shandong to learn about the rich IP resources in the province.

Part of the IP portfolio, GI boosts regional economic development and provides an effective approach to rural vitalization. It also plays an active role in promoting foreign trade and diplomatic relations, preserving and protecting traditional Chinese culture, organizers said.

The 2023 CIPAC offered a chance to keep abreast with new development opportunities in GI protection and utilization in the new era, they noted.

In addition, a high-value patent competition was a highlight of the 2023 CIPAC. The annual contest has attracted 1,112 innovative projects to participate in its four sessions.

The contestants have improved their IP management capacities, expanded their financing channels, and made progress in commercializing their innovation achievements, according to CIPAC.

Over more than a decade of development, CIPAC has grown into a key platform for advancing China's goal of building itself into an IP powerhouse, bolstering the country's high-quality development in IP, and promoting related international exchanges and collaboration, organizers said.

Foreign participants in the China Intellectual Property Annual Conference taste geographical indication-marked tea from Guizhou province. CHINA DAILY