Copyright Protection in Promoting Innovation and Development in the Silk Industry

December 13, 2020

On December 9, 2020, the International Evaluation and Conclusion Meeting on the Case Study of Best Practice in Copyright Utilization and Protection in Wujiang District of Suzhou in its Silk Industry (Wujiang Silk Industry Case Study) was held in Wujiang, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Ms. Liu Hua, Director of the WIPO Office in China (WOC), Ms. Zhao Xiuling, Deputy Director General, Copyright Department of the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC), Mr. Jiao Jianjun, Director General of Jiangsu Provincial Copyright Bureau, and Mr. Wang Guorong, District Chief of Wujiang District of Suzhou City attended and addressed the meeting. The research group made a briefing on the Report of Wujiang Silk Industry Case Study and the comments and suggestions from experts were well received.

Ms. Liu commended the research project in Wujiang, noting the unique bottom-up approach adopted in Wujiang’s copyright protection in the silk industry, which reflected the comprehensive mode of copyright protection combining the joint support and promotion from the Chinese government agencies, universities and research institutions, the business community and the media. Ms. Liu suggested that the Wujiang Silk Industry Case Study could, from an international perspective, refine the typical experience that can be shared with other countries, and play an exemplary effect in the member states of WIPO. Ms. Liu also briefly introduced the global IP services and products of WIPO. She mentioned about the high evaluation of China’s intellectual property protection work made by WIPO Director General Daren Tang, and the development direction of WIPO toward the construction of an inclusive, balanced, vibrant and forward-looking global IP ecosystem.

Participants and experts at the meeting fully affirmed the implementation of the Wujiang Silk Industry Case Study and its results, considering the project as a measure to promote the quality of Wujiang’s silk and textile products and their culture and to enhance the innovative capacity and creativity of enterprises, highlighting the unique role and value of the copyright system in sharing the outstanding cultural heritage of China and promoting the development of the silk and textile industry.

Ms. Liu also conducted field research with Ms. Zhao and visited Taihu New Town copyright workstation, Wujiang silk company, Wujiang Silk Cultural Creative Industrial Park (Zhenze Town copyright workstation), Shengze Oriental textile city (Shengze Town copyright workstation) and Suzhou silk technology and culture companies. They had in-depth discussions with local practitioners in the silk industry and staff working at field-level copyright workstations.

The Case Study of Best Practice in Copyright Utilization and Protection in Wujiang District of Suzhou in its Silk Industry (Wujiang Silk Industry Case Study), launched in August 2019, was the third Case Study of Best Practice in Copyright Utilization and Protection organized by WIPO, following the case study in Nantong on textile industry and the case study in Dehua on ceramics. It aims to promote the transformation, upgrading and high-quality development of Wujiang silk and textile industry through strengthening copyright protection, and conclude and refine the experience of copyright work with significance.