2024 AIPPI World Congress highlights China's achievements in IPR, increasing role in global innovation

A worker works at an assembly line of Dongfeng Motor Corporation in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 6, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)

The 2024 International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) World Congress closed on Tuesday in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, during which Chinese and foreign participants discussed and exchanged ideas on a wide range of hot topics concerning intellectual property (IP) protection, including opportunities and challenges brought by fast-rising artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

It was the first time that the annual conference was held in China since the association was established 127 years ago. Observers said that the meeting was a landmark event, as it showed international society's recognition of China's achievements in IPR and underscored the country's growing importance in the global innovation landscape.

The four-day meeting, which kicked off on Saturday, was themed "balanced protection and innovative development of IP rights." About 2,300 IP professionals from 92 countries and regions attended the conference.

The meeting focused on the discussion of draft resolutions on four topics, including parody in the field of copyright and the abuse of rights in the exercise of IP, which are expected to be passed and become core outcomes of the conference. Also, heads of IP bureaus from Europe, China, Japan and the US discussed new opportunities and challenges that AI brings to IP.

"The congress reflects international society's full recognition of China's work, and it also shows that China attaches high importance to IPR," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a press briefing on Tuesday. He also stressed that as China is actively advancing the implementation of its strategy to build a strong IP nation, the country is deeply involved in global intellectual property governance.

During the conference, officials from global organization highlighted the eye-catching achievements that China has made in the past decades. China's international patent applications via the Patent Cooperation Treaty ranks first in the world for five consecutive years, said the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) chief, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The "Global Innovation Index 2024" released by the WIPO in September showed that China had risen one place to rank 11th in global innovation strength, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in innovation over the past decade.

"It is important to note that China actively promotes global exchanges and communications in the IPR field and plays an important role in creating a more equitable and reasonable global IP governance system," Zhao Zhanling, a senior analyst at the Center for IPR Studies at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

According to the Foreign Ministry, as of June the number of valid foreign invention patents and registered trademarks in China had reached 919,000 and 2.135 million, respectively, which fully demonstrates the confidence that foreign investors have in China's IPR.

"China is willing to work with all countries to continue strengthening practical and mutually beneficial dialogue and cooperation, and jointly build a global IP governance framework that is based on consultation, collaboration and sharing, enabling foreign enterprises to better share in China's development dividends and allowing the achievements of knowledge innovation to better benefit the international community," said Lin.