The 19th Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum opened on Nov 18 in the city in East China, with the theme of "Strengthening IP Commercialization and Fueling the Innovative Growth of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises".

Chen Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, makes a point during his speech to the forum. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

Chen Jining, Shanghai's Party secretary, attended the forum and delivered a keynote speech in which he said that the city would strengthen its intellectual property, or IP protection with forceful and effective measures.

Furthermore, the metropolis would optimize its mechanism for rapid and coordinated IP protection and diverse dispute resolutions and strengthen the connection between IP administrative law enforcement and criminal justice.

Chen added that Shanghai would increase the value of IP through more effective public services and it would boost IP cooperation with a more open attitude.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng (L) and CNIPA Director Shen Changyu jointly unveil the foundation plaque of the new Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng and Shen Changyu, director of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, or CNIPA also attended and jointly unveiled the foundation plaque of the new Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center.

In his speech, Shen Changyu said that small and medium-sized enterprises were crucial to maintaining a stable and healthy economic development.

He said that in recent years, the CNIPA had extensively implemented the IP promotion strategy project for small and medium-sized enterprises and focused on strengthening the creation, protection, utilization and management of intellectual property and IP services. He said it had improved the effectiveness of IP transfers and transformations and supported the development of the real economy.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang gives a speech via video. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

Daren Tang, the director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO, said in a video speech that Shanghai had become a leading city in holding various IP activities. He said the Shanghai-Suzhou cluster ranked sixth among the 100 global science and technology clusters in the 2022 list released by WIPO.

WIPO appreciated the progress Shanghai had made in establishing a strong and effective IP ecosystem and looked forward to continuing to strengthen cooperation between the two parties in the future, Tang added.

The 4th Shanghai IP Innovation Awards winners receive their honors at the forum. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

The list of winners of the 4th Shanghai IP Innovation Awards was also announced at the forum.

The 19th Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum was co-hosted by CNIPA, WIPO and the Shanghai municipal government. The three-day forum was held both on-site and online.