The training course on the Effective Use of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Services – organized by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Office in China (WOC) and the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, or SIPA – was held in the southern Chinese megacity of Shanghai on Nov 24, according to local officials.

At the opening ceremony, Liu Hua, director of WOC, delivered a speech via video link.

She gave a briefing which outlined that the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center is a neutral, international and non-profit dispute resolution provider that offers time and cost-efficient alternative dispute resolution options.

Liu also pointed out that Shanghai is a world finance, culture and innovation center.

Officials said that WIPO and its China office plan to deepen its cooperation with Shanghai, the Yangtze River Delta region and East China and would promote the alternative dispute resolution service system of WIPO and the construction of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Center.

Rui Wenbiao, director-general of SIPA, gives a speech at the opening ceremony for the training course. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

Rui Wenbiao, director-general of SIPA, also attended the ceremony.

He noted that the training course was one of the concrete measures mapped out by a Memorandum of Understanding on Development Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property – signed by WIPO and Shanghai's municipal government – and a supplementary agreement.

The training course was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 80 industry insiders from companies, legal service institutions, intellectual property research institutions and universities in Shanghai participated in the course.