WIPO Director General Wraps Up Visit to China

On September 14, 2024, WIPO Director General Daren Tang wrapped up a six-day official visit to China where he attended events and held bilateral meetings in Jiangxi Province as well Beijing. He pledged WIPO's continued support in further developing the intellectual property (IP) ecosystem in the country.

Jiangxi Province Meetings, Events, Field Visits

In the capital of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, Mr. Tang met with Mr. Yin Hong, Secretary of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the CPC, who gave an overview of the efforts the Provincial Government is making to strengthen the region's innovation and creativity ecosystem, including setting up specialized IP courts and creating an enabling environment for innovation and creativity to flourish.

Mr. Tang congratulated Mr. Yin Hong on this progress, noting that Nanchang had, for the first time, entered the top 100 of WIPO's GII Science & Technology Cluster Ranking 2024, marking an important milestone. This reflects the important strides in technological innovation as well as the efforts of the Jiangxi Provincial and Nanchang Municipal Governments, who have reinforced IP protection, enacted incentive policies and refined the legal ecosystem.

The Director General also underlined the rich cultural heritage of the province. Located in northeast Jiangxi Province, Jingdezhen is world-famous for centuries-old production of porcelain. The region is home to over 12,000 porcelain industry businesses - the majority being small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). He said that WIPO is prepared to support the Province in its efforts to use the IP system to protect its cultural heritage and other forms of creative expression.

In Jingdezhen, Mr. Tang opened the International Copyright Forum, an annual event organized jointly by WIPO and the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) since 2008. He told some 400 delegates from over 20 countries and international organizations taking part in the event that one of the most meaningful aspects of copyright is its close connection with culture, history and heritage “and this is why it is especially appropriate to hold this event in the historic city of Jingdezhen.”

He recalled that over a thousand years ago, skilled artisans in this area established a center of pottery and porcelain making. Mr. Tang said this was possible because of creative openness - artisans in Jingdezhen were inspired by Persian blue and white pottery that had entered China during the Yuan dynasty - and technological innovation - artisans were able to innovate new types of kilns, creating more sophisticated environments for the firing of new types of porcelain.

The Director General underlined that robust IP protections, including copyright, are critical to the industry's success. He said that WIPO is partnering with NCAC on the “Jingdezhen Story” project, a study will shed light on the close relationship between IP and the creative industries.

Mr. Tang noted however that IP is not just about protecting and promoting culture, but there also needs to be a focus on IP commercialization. He cited as an example the recently released Black Myth: Wukong which has become one of the fastest-selling videogames of all time. He said it stands out for both its technical sophistication as China's first top-tier computer game and it is rooted in one of the fundamental classics of Chinese literature, “Journey to the West.” The harnessing of digital technologies has been a huge driver of growth in many countries, including China.

To support all WIPO Members in protecting their heritage, promoting their culture and growing their creative industry, Mr. Tang said WIPO will focus on three things: finding ways to promote dialogue and partnerships, raising copyright awareness at the grassroots level, and taking a comprehensive perspective of IP, rather than just emphasizing individual IP rights.

“It is not possible to talk about culture, creativity and innovation without partnership, collaboration and openness,” Mr. Tang concluded

Mr. Tang also met with Mr. Wang Gang, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of Central Committee of CPC and NCAC and other senior NCAC officials. Mr. Tang pledged WIPO's continued support for projects with NCAC, including the development of regulations for the protection of traditional cultural expression, sharing of IP stories and best practices for stimulating SMEs in the creative industries such as the Jingdezhen project, and addressing challenges related to cutting-edge technologies for copyright protection.

Mr. Tang visited the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, a national museum integrating archaeology, research, restoration, protection and exhibition. The museum houses China's first Ancient Ceramic Gene Bank, using digital technology to preserve and study ceramic genetic fragments.

To conclude his visit to Jingdezhen, Mr. Tang met with two masters: Mr. Lai Dequan and Ms. Deng Xiping whose mastery of innovative ceramic techniques has propelled them to the top of their profession.

Beijing

In Beijing, Mr. Tang met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang who opened the Third Belt and Road High-Level Conference on IP. In his remarks to the Conference, the Vice Premier outlined how countries in this initiative had tightened collaboration to strengthen their IP ecosystems. In talks with the Director General, the Vice Premier said China is willing to share with other countries its best practices that had led to the strengthening of its IP ecosystem. Mr. Tang told the Vice Premier and other participants at the Conference that WIPO will continue to support all countries in fulfilling their IP ambitions. The focus should not just be on IP protection but also on commercialization of IP - ensuring that great ideas are converted into life-changing products.

Mr. Tang met with Commissioner Shen Changyu of China's National IP Administration, CNIPA, to take stock of bilateral cooperation. The Commissioner also briefed the Director General on recent developments in China's IP filings and recalled the importance placed on the continued strengthening of the IP ecosystem from the highest ranks of Government. They also discussed and agreed on a range of future joint activities.

Talks with NCAC's Li Shulei, Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, covered the impact of digital technologies on copyright as well as matters relating to copyright infringement. On generative AI (genAI), Mr. Tang said that the international community must manage the risks of genAI all while promoting the opportunities for creative expression. He said WIPO's priority was to ensure that the human being remains at the center of creative expression

At the heart of discussions with Mayor of Beijing Municipality, Yin Yong, was Beijing's efforts to further develop its innovation ecosystem. Mr. Tang congratulated the Mayor, who recently took part in the launch of the 2024 GII Science and Technology Clusters ranking, on Beijing's third place ranking. Beijing was among the 26 Chinese cities that featured in the top 100. The Mayor also informed the Director General of the priority placed on developing green technologies. Mr. Tang briefed the Mayor on WIPO GREEN and encouraged more Chinese companies to join the green tech sharing platform.

In his address to the Belt and Road Conference, Mr. Tang emphasized the importance of international collaboration: “At WIPO, we believe that building a vibrant global IP ecosystem that benefits all countries requires partnership and collaboration.” He said that IP is moving from a vertical to a horizontal, becoming a critical factor for economic, social and cultural growth and development. He said WIPO has embarked on a transformation of the global IP ecosystem so that IP is not just a technical matter for experts, but a powerful catalyst for jobs, investments, growth and development for all countries.

Speaking at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), Mr. Tang said IP is increasingly fundamental to the global rules and regulations that facilitate international trade.

Speaking at the opening of CIFTIS, along with China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang and Georgia's First Vice Premier Levan Davitashvili, he said: “International IP rules and regulations provide business certainty for enterprises moving innovative products and services across borders, allowing for the licensing of technology, the franchising of brands, and the sharing of knowledge, and the protection of IP should disputes arise.”

He warned that “any trade policy that ignores IP will have a large and growing blind spot”. As the UN agency for IP, innovation and creativity, he said “WIPO is committed to the development of IP standards that support and protect innovation.”

The Director General noted that IP is not an end in itself: “The protection of IP is a vehicle to help ease the movement of an idea to the market, and at the national level, it can be a powerful catalyst to support entrepreneurs and enterprises, create jobs, translate research into impact, and ultimately drive growth and development.”

At the China IP Annual Conference (CIPAC), Mr. Tang reiterated the need for the IP ecosystem to continue its dynamic transformation to continue to remain relevant and serve as a catalyst for growth. “In the face of these exciting developments, the work of WIPO and the global IP community should likewise transform, so that IP is not just a technical, legal matter, but for those innovating and creating at a grassroots level.”

Speaking to an audience of IP professionals, Mr. Tang said WIPO is enhancing its customer service in the international registries to provide users of WIPO's systems with a better customer experience, and harnessing technology to make the process more efficient, seamless and more customer friendly.

The Director General also highlighted the importance of enforcement: “Registration of IP goes hand in hand with protection of registered IP rights. We are also intensifying efforts in IP enforcement, recognizing that IP infringement is a complex, digital and cross-border issue.”

Following his keynote address to CIPAC, Mr. Tang met with some 30 representatives of Chinese companies and universities to talk about the IP challenges and opportunities they face. It was an opportunity to talk about how WIPO helps companies in strategically managing IP portfolios. Mr. Tang also informed participants of initiatives that WIPO is taking in the area of digitization and improving its customer experience for those using WIPO's filing and registration services.

Mr. Tang also visited Xiaomi's electric vehicle factory in Beijing and met with Founder and CEO Lei Jun. Xiaomi is a prolific user of the IP system and invests heavily in research and development (R&D). As of mid 2024, Xiaomi had been granted more than 40,000 patents and 51,000 trademarks. The company, one of the world's leading smartphone manufacturers and recent entrant to the electric vehicle (EV) market, is a prolific user of the PCT and Madrid System. In discussions, Mr. Lei Jun said that IP is of utmost importance to the company.

Mr. Tang visited one of China's leading academic institutions - Tsinghua University - where he met President Li Luming, Dean of the School of Law Zhou Guangquan and other faculty, as well as students enrolled in the first batch of the Master's Degree Program in Intellectual Property and Innovation Policy offered jointly with WIPO.

The Director General spoke on the subject of “The Power of Intellectual Property in the Era of Cutting-Edge Technology.” His lecture traced the historical development of IP and placed it within the larger context of humankind's innovative and creative capacity, as well as the value of the modern IP system for the dissemination of information, its connection to market and society and its role as a catalyst for growth and development.