Shanghai hailed for its thriving businesses, IP activity at forum

The financial district of Pudong New Area. (Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily)

Shanghai has grown into a globally known hub for science and technology, and is continuously ramping up efforts in the protection, innovation and creativity of intellectual property, officials and business leaders said on Wednesday at the 21st Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum in Shanghai.

Daren Tang, director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, noted that Shanghai has become known worldwide for its advanced industries and thriving business environment. The city is now home to more than 24,000 enterprises in critical sectors including artificial intelligence, biomedicine and chips, and houses nearly 40 unicorn firms and billion-dollar startups, the sixth highest total in the world.

Owning such achievements to the city's "top-class financial sector, world-class infrastructure, exceptional talent as well as sharp and sustained focus on research and development", Tang highlighted Shanghai's commitment and visible efforts to foster IP innovation and creativity for economic growth.

"Last year, innovations from Shanghai found nearly 370,000 trademark applications, 100,000 pattern applications and 25,000 design applications, making Shanghai one of the key centers of IP activity in China and around the world. In addition, the Shanghai-Suzhou cluster places 5th in WIPO's ranking of the world's top 100 science and technology clusters," said Tang, adding that Shanghai scientists contributed over 25 percent of Chinese publications to key international journals like Cell, Nature and Science.

Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng introduced in the opening ceremony that the city has granted 43,400 invention patents in the first 10 months of this year, up 15 percent year-on-year.

Not only innovation, IP assets are unleashing their full value in Shanghai through financing. Last year, the city's local IP pledge financing hit record levels with 1,500 deals struck worth 23 billion yuan ($3.16 billion), increasing by 90 percent over 2022. Shanghai's progress in IP insurance and securitization are also recognized as best practices by the China National Intellectual Property Administration and other key agencies, Tang said.

"Our deal size of IP pledge financing has reached 10 billion yuan this year, with highlights on sectors including biomedicine, advanced manufacturing, information technologies and artificial intelligence," said Pan Xi, chairman of the National Platform (Shanghai) for International Service of Intellectual Property Operations, a Shanghai-based platform focusing on the cross-border transaction, financial innovation, industry operation, layout and application protection of intellectual property.

Shanghai was the first Chinese city to sign a WIPO Corporation Agreement in 2014, and the two sides have built a close and enduring partnership, which benefits both foreign companies in Shanghai and local companies seeking for overseas expansion.

Shanghai Westwell Technology, specialized in intelligent and green solutions in the bulk logistics sector, has a robust patent, industrial design and trademark portfolio.

"Technology and products are key in our overseas business expansion, and so are our IPs and how to make them connected with our clients from across the world. The WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty system has enabled us to realize our technical layout worldwide and make our trademark and brand known globally. We have filed over 200 patents in total," said Sun Chi, the company's vice-president and head for global business development.

Bai Yajun, head of IP China at Siemens Healthineers, which has been in Shanghai for over three decades, described Shanghai's efforts in improving business environment and IP protection as "open and inclusive" during the forum.

"We have seen continuous improvement in China's business environment and legislation making, including revisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the Trademark Law and the Patent Law. We started our R&D here since 2002 and our investment in R&D has been constantly growing. Over 90 percent of the IPs we generated in China are applied in our production here, and we are also making global layout of them as well — 'local for global'," said Bai.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of China's accession to WIPO's PCT system.