The new Shanghai West Bund Brand Guidance Station officially debuts at a ceremony in AI Tower in Shanghai city. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

The launch ceremony of an artificial intelligence-oriented trademark consulting facility -- called the Shanghai West Bund Brand Guidance Station -- was held at the Shanghai West Bund International Artificial Intelligence Center, or AI Tower, in East China's Shanghai city on Jan 5, according to local media reports.

Attending the ceremony were officials from the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration -- or SIPA -- as well as the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, the Xuhui district IP department, the Shanghai West Bund Development (Group) Company and representatives from more than 20 companies.

Shanghai's West Bund spans the Xuhui Waterfront along the city's Huangpu River, with a shoreline of 11.4 kilometers and an area coverage of 9.4 square kilometers.

According to officials, the West Bund has attracted a plethora of leading companies and institutions in the AI, arts and media and innovative financial industries. More than 20 leading AI companies have settled in AI Tower, including Microsoft Research Asia-Shanghai, the Microsoft-INESA AI Innovation Center and Alibaba.

Intellectual Property, or IP, is widely regarded as key for companies to develop the core competitiveness of their brand and achieve a high spillover value of the brand. It is of high importance that they use the IP legal system to protect their brands, officials said.

The Shanghai West Bund Brand Guidance Station, as the city's first trademark and brand consulting facility mainly oriented towards the AI industry, aims to provide integrated IP consulting services for AI enterprises on the West Bund.