The award ceremony of the second WIPO-SMPG Shanghai IP Innovation Award is held during the 17th Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum on Oct 20. [Photo/eastday.com]

The 17th Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum opened to great fanfare in the city of Shanghai on Oct 20, according to local officials.

They said the event was co-sponsored by the China National Intellectual Property Administration, or CNIPA – together with the World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, the SMPG.

Officials said the awards ceremony of the second WIPO-SMPG Shanghai IP Innovation Award was held during the event and seven, including East China Normal University Press Ltd and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, received the honors.

According to officials, the winners of the award cover industrial fields such as integrated circuits, high-end equipment, civil aviation, mobile communications and cultural creativity.

Officials said these are the leaders in the creation, protection and application of IP in Shanghai.

Daren Tang, director general of WIPO, delivered a congratulatory speech via video. Shen Changyu, commissioner of CNIPA and Chen Qun, vice-mayor of Shanghai, jointly presented the awards to the winners.

Last year, the award was officially established in the three categories of creation, protection and applications.

Officials said its goal is to commend and reward enterprises and institutions in Shanghai that have made outstanding achievements in high-quality creation, high-level protection and in the high-efficiency application of IP in key industries.