Shanghai improves protection and mediation for overseas intellectual property

Shanghai will improve the aid system for overseas intellectual property (IP) protection and continue to enhance the cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

This year is the 50th year of cooperation between China and the WIPO, which means the IP protection in the country is based on the highest global standard, creating a first-class business environment, said Rui Wenbiao, director of the local IP bureau, at a press conference on Tuesday.

In Shanghai, a WIPO arbitration and mediation center for foreign-related IP cases was established in 2019. It's the first international center of its kind in China. As of the end of May, 73 cases have been accepted and 63 cases have been ended by the center. The success rate of meditation reached 40 percent, he said.

Wang Guangxian, vice deputy of the local high court, said the cooperation between the city's courts and the center has been written into a guideline about alternative dispute resolution, and released on the website of WIPO, which shows the success in international cooperation and IP protection.

Rui said that many IP service stations have been established by the local government in overseas cities, such as New York, Tokyo and Dubai, to better serve the companies.

Good reputation

The officials said the city has established a good reputation for IP protection in the world. Some foreign clients and embassies sent letters of acknowledgment to the local departments after their legal rights and interests were protected.

Li Xiaomeng, chief economic manager of the local market supervision bureau, said a Germany-based company even invested an additional 300 million yuan (US$41.79 million) in China and settled its regional headquarters in Shanghai in recent years.

Many related data were revealed during the conference to show the crackdown on IP infringement in the city.

The officials of the city's public security bureau and customs said that since 2022, Shanghai's public security departments have detected over 1,400 criminal cases of IP infringement, including more than 300 trans-provincial cases. At the same time, Shanghai Customs seized more than 8 million pieces of infringing goods.

Rectification campaigns, such as for Olympic trademarks and time-honored brands, are always launched by the bureau. Last year, over 300-tons of infringing products were destroyed in total, with a value of nearly 50 million yuan, Li of the market supervision bureau said.

From 2020 to 2022, the city's courts accepted a total of over 135,500 IP cases and concluded nearly 130,000, said Wang of the local high court.