WIPO China: WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center Signed Cooperation Agreement with Chongqing High People’s Court

On June 1, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center and the Chongqing High People’s Court signed the Agreement Concerning Cooperation on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the Area of Intellectual Property (IP). Ms. Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of WIPO, attended and addressed the Signing Ceremony.

Ms. Wang shared, as the specialized agency of the United Nations for IP development and protection, WIPO leads the development of a balanced and effective global IP ecosystem to promote innovation and creativity for a better and more sustainable future. China is a long-standing partner and steadfast supporter of WIPO. In April 2023, WIPO celebrated the 50th anniversary of its cooperation with China. Over the past five decades, China has emerged as a global leader in science, technology, innovation and creativity, marking the latest chapter in its 5000-year history of innovation. 

Ms. Wang said, as one of China’s four centrally administered municipalities, Chongqing serves as a national advanced manufacturing base, a science and technology innovation center and a gateway for opening up in western China as well as a shipping center on the upper Yangtze River. Chongqing ranked 44th in the world’s top Science and Technology Clusters identified by WIPO’s Global Innovation Index (GII), being one of the three cities in western China breaking into the world’s top 50 Science and Technology Clusters. Notably, the courts in Chongqing have been innovative in IP adjudication, providing robust judicial protection of IP and innovation activities. 

Ms. Wang expressed that, the Chongqing High People’s Court is the first court in western China to cooperate with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center on IP ADR. With the support of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of China, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center and the Chongqing High People’s Court will collaborate in court-referred mediation of foreign-related IP cases, talent training, publicity and other areas. WIPO believes that this cooperation will facilitate the effective resolution of foreign-related IP disputes and foster the creation of a world-class business environment in Chongqing. WIPO looks forward to this cooperation achieving fruitful results in the future.

On the same day, Ms. Wang met with Mr. Li Mingqing, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee.

Mr. Li Mingqing welcomed Ms. Wang and her delegation to Chongqing on behalf of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government and shared an overview of the city’s economic and social development. He mentioned that Chongqing attaches great importance to its cooperation with WIPO and hopes to further deepen cooperation in promoting global IP governance, strengthening the training of legal professionals specialized in foreign-related IP matters and enhancing the mediation of international IP disputes, so as to make greater contributions to the development of global IP and scientific and technological innovation. 

Ms. Wang expressed WIPO’s appreciation for the achievements of Chongqing in strengthening IP protection, supporting innovation and creativity and promoting economic development. She said that WIPO sees the signing of this Cooperation Agreement as an opportunity to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Chongqing in the area of IP, so as to help local innovators and creators leverage the rich knowledge assets provided by WIPO and promote the high-quality development of IP undertakings in Chongqing.  

About the Signing Ceremony

Mr. Ignacio de Castro, Director of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, introduced the activities of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center and the WIPO ADR Services and signed the Cooperation Agreement with Mr. Li Yongli, President of the Chongqing High People’s Court. Ms. Liu Hua, Director of WIPO Office in China attended the Signing Ceremony. 

Ms. Wang Shumei, Standing Committee of the Adjudication Committee of the SPC, Mr. Li Yongli, President of the Chongqing High People’s Court, and Mr. Jiang Tianbo, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee under the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee attended the Signing Ceremony and delivered speeches. 

Ms. Wang Shumei noted that the signing of this Cooperation Agreement marks another significant step for Chinese courts to deeply implement the construction of a strong IP nation and actively participate in WIPO’s multilateral framework. She hoped that the Chongqing courts will continue to adhere to strict protection standards, strive to create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and international, consistently uphold equal protection, further promote the construction of a preferred venue internationally for IP litigation and continuously strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, contributing Chinese judicial wisdom to global IP governance.

Mr. Li Yongli emphasized that this cooperation is an important practice of the Chongqing courts in implementing the MoU between the SPC and WIPO. In recent years, the Chongqing courts have explored and formed a specialized IP adjudication system with Chongqing characteristics, consistently upholding the equal protection of the legitimate rights and interests of both domestic and foreign right holders, and have concluded a number of IP cases with significant impact at home and abroad. The Chongqing courts look forward to working with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center to provide neutral and efficient dispute resolution services for all parties involved.

Mr. Jiang Tianbo expressed the hope to take the signing of this Cooperation Agreement as an opportunity to accelerate the creation of a new highland for opening-up in the area of IP.

During the Signing Ceremony, the Chongqing High People’s Court referred the first batch of court-referred mediation cases to the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service. 

Participants of the Signing Ceremony also included representatives of the SPC, the Publicity Department of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, the Municipal People’s Procuratorate, the Municipal Bureau of Justice, the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and the Municipal IP Office as well as IP judges from the courts in Chongqing.