Daren Tang, Director General of WIPO, Attended the Launching Ceremony of the 2021 National Intellectual Property Publicity Week and Delivered a Video Speech

April 30, 2021

On April 23, the 2021 National Intellectual Property Publicity Week, themed as "Enhancing Intellectual Property Protection Comprehensively, Striving to Build a New Development Paradigm" kicked off. Mr. Wang Yong, the State Councilor of China, delivered a keynote speech. Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), was invited to attend the Ceremony and delivered a video speech. Mr. Shen Changyu, Director of the Organizing Committee of the 2021 National Intellectual Property Publicity Week and Commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), introduced the series of activities of the National Intellectual Property Publicity Week 2021. Ms. Liu Hua, Director of WIPO Office in China (WOC), and heads of IP related Chinese government agencies including the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice of China and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration attended the Launching Ceremony.

Speech of Director General Mr. Daren Tang is as follows,

In this spring day, we are about to usher in the 21st World Intellectual Property Day. It is a great pleasure for me to address you all today at the opening of China's National IP Publicity Week, which is now in its twelfth year. I would like to extend my sincere greetings to the grand opening of the National Intellectual Property Publicity Week 2021, and my heartfelt appreciation for inviting me to participate in this important event.

The theme of your deliberations this year, Enhancing Intellectual Property Protection Comprehensively, Striving to Build the New Development Paradigm, is fully aligned with this year’s World Intellectual Property Day celebrations - SMEs and IP: Takin g your ideas to market.

SMEs are the engines of our economies. Collectively, they make up 90 percent of all companies in the world, employ 70 percent of workers globally and make up half of the world’s economy. In China, nearly 40 million SMEs contribute to over 60 percent of GDP and account for over 80 percent of employment.

Of course, we have all witnessed how the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the incomes and profitability of SMEs in all parts of the world, including in China. But there are encouraging signs of an upturn in fortunes. For example, by the end of 2020, the SME Development Index had risen for three consecutive quarters. This is a positive sign that SMEs are on the road to recovery.

In particular, innovation driven SMEs will be at the forefront of this recovery. We have already seen how human ingenuity has made it possible in the last year for the extremely rapid development of new therapies, treatments and vaccines. It has also provided us with ready access to powerful communication tools that allow us to shift to digital ways of working, playing and living.

This digital transformation is here to stay and will be part of our new normal. A 2020 report by CISCO shows that 94 percent of SMEs in the Asia Pacific region have become more dependent on digital technology. Many SMEs see digitization as the key to business continuity and resilience. This is good news. Digitization promises to unleash significant value to support economic recovery. Predictions suggest that with digitization, by 2024, in two years’ time, SMEs will contribute up to USD 1.8 trillion dollars to China’s economy, and will inject around USD 3.1 trillion to the regional economy.

With such a critical role played by SMEs in our economic recovery, it is a pity that many SMEs still lack knowledge about how IP can help them translate their ideas into products and services, and how IP can be a powerful tool for them to compete and grow. I would like to take this opportunity to applaud the Government of China for its sterling work and achievements in this area.

The 2019 China Patent Survey indicates that the uptake, use and management of IP by SMEs in China is robust. Over 60 percent of SMEs are using and generating value from their IP, and more than half of them have IP management systems in place. This is a remarkable achievement.

Steps taken at the national level to create an enabling environment for SMEs to thrive are being complemented by local initiatives. For example, in Jiangsu Province, local government programs have resulted in the creation of over 40,000 new businesses, R&D investments of more than 78 billion RMB and over 43,000 patents for new drugs, integrated circuits and other high-tech outputs.

The drive to encourage SMEs to integrate IP into their businesses, is also triggering spontaneous engagement by entrepreneurs in business forums and associations. Take for example, the international innovation alliance for SMEs established by the APEC SME Business Forum, in which SMEs have an opportunity to learn from each other in mastering the nuts and bolts of IP for business growth.

The dynamism of China’s business sector is also evident in the growing number of SMEs seeking to expand their international IP footprint. This is clear from their use of WIPO’s global IP systems. For example, every year, companies like BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd, Ping An Technology and SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd file hundreds of applications to protect their new technologies under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. A growing number of Chinese SMEs are also using the international registration systems for trademarks and designs. Some of these companies are recording double-digit growth in the use of these systems.

Under the Madrid System, new market entrants like Nanjing Chenyu Media and Nanjing Huamai Information Corporation Group registered 40 and 31 trademarks respectively, in 2020. In a similar way, companies like Ninebot (Beijing) Tech and Beijing Electric Vehicle are recording double-digit growth in their use of the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs.

China has achieved tremendous success in creating an IP culture among SME community. The challenge going forward is to build on these successes to ensure that all SMEs use IP as a powerful tool to advance their business goals, create jobs, help in the economic recovery and support the nation’s continued development. WIPO is committed to continue to support these activities.

It is my great pleasure to join you today in opening the 2021 National IP Publicity Week. I wish every success with your ongoing work and all the activities that are taking place over the coming days.

Thank you!

Director General Mr. Daren Tang

After the Launching Ceremony, Director Ms. Liu Hua attended the 2021 High Level Forum on China Intellectual Property Protection and delivered a keynote speech. She introduced WIPO and its global intellectual property service system, and shared the WOC's strategy in China and its priorities in 2021.

The 2021 National Intellectual Property Publicity Week was held from April 20 to 26, 2021. More than 300 participants from all walks of life, including IP experts and scholars, representatives of innovative enterprises, representatives of IP service agencies, and the media attended the main activity of the National Publicity Week.