World IP congress highlights innovative development and the exercise of rights
The 2024 AIPPI World Congress concluded in Hangzhou on October 22, marking the organization's first convention in China since its inception in 1897.
The International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property, known as AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle), is the world's leading non-profit organization dedicated to developing and improving intellectual property laws.
The congress is co-organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and AIPPI, with the Hangzhou government and AIPPI's China Group serving as co-hosts.
"The 2024 World Congress is the result of joint efforts by AIPPI, CCPIT, and the Hangzhou government," said Shoichi Okuyama, president of AIPPI.
"The participating countries and regions have achieved a new record in AIPPI history. CCPIT has played an important role in fostering trade and investment while also protecting intellectual property rights. AIPPI will increase its links and cooperation with CCPIT."
The congress, themed "Balancing Intellectual Property Protection with Innovation and Development," has attracted around 1,500 experts from 92 countries and regions, as well as 800 insiders from the home business.
"CCPIT is a pioneer, promoter and builder of China's IP cause, serving Chinese and foreign enterprises, promoting international cooperation and driving innovative development," said Ren Hongbin, chairman of CCPIT.
"We will continue building the bridge between government and enterprises, integrating domestic and overseas resources, facilitating supply and demand, and taking the initiative in promoting high-level openness," Ren added.
The congress is focusing on patents, trademarks, copyrights and the exercise of rights.
During the congress, the China Chamber of International Commerce Hangzhou announced the formation of the Professional Committee on Intellectual Property. The chamber also published the Belt and Road Intellectual Property Protection Handbook series on its website.
Chen Zhijun, president of the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court, spoke on IP protection law at the congress.
The Hangzhou Internet Court was formed in 2017 to conduct trials of Internet-related intellectual property claims over the Internet. The web platform has enabled the entire online litigation process, including evidence preservation, case filing, trial, mediation and delivery.
The rate of online case filings has increased to 98.5 percent, while the rate of online trials has reached 99.6 percent. The Internet court pioneered an asynchronous trial paradigm that, with the parties' cooperation, allows for the asynchronous online completion of evidence exchanges, court inquiries and mediation in simple intellectual property matters.
The unique mode has overcome the constraints of time and space to facilitate litigation for the parties involved.
"To help judges solve technical problems and provide support for IP trials, we have organized 47 university professors and experts to form a team of technical investigators," Chen said. "We also established a diversified fact-ascertaining mechanism including technical investigation, consultation, appraisal, expert jury and expert assistants."
As a leader in the digital economy, Hangzhou was one of the first cities in China to establish a national demonstration zone for intellectual property protection. As of July 2024, Hangzhou's total number of market entities surpassed 1.95 million, with over 170,000 valid inventive patents and over 10,000 Patent Cooperation Treaty applications.
The World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index reveals that Hangzhou, as a single city and independent technology agglomeration, has been classified among the top 15 GII technology clusters globally for three years running.
GII also announced that China's global innovation rating has jumped one spot to 11th year on year, making it one of the fastest-growing innovative powers in the past decade. It observes that China is home to 26 of the world's top 100 scientific and technology innovation clusters, indicating a strong push for inventive development.
"As China's economic change accelerates, the value of products and services becomes more vital, as does the preservation of intellectual property rights," Okuyama said.