Guests pose for a group photo at the forum. [Photo/OVC Expo]

The 19th Optics Valley of China Intellectual Property International Forum was held at the East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC) on Oct 27.

The forum has been successfully held 18 times before, and is one of the most influential international intellectual property rights (IPR) forums.

Top specialists and officials from international organizations were invited to the event, attracting more than 600 attendees from governments, enterprises, research institutions, and universities.

Yi Jiming, professor of the Peking University Law School, interpreted the newly issued national guidelines on IPR protection, urging further integration between IPR and economic performance.

He pointed out that one major problem ahead of us is that the need for innovative subjects in regard to IPR cannot be fully recognized and met. Transfer ratios of research achievements in universities and scientific institutes comes in at 13.8 percent and 38 percent, not to mention mid and small-sized enterprises, whose technologies or products might run into patent problems once they enter the market.

By 2020, the number of authorized patents had exceeded 25,000, with 1,146 international patents approved, accounting for more than 70 percent of Hubei province's total.