Rui Wenbiao (middle), director general of SIPA, attends a news conference on the development and protection of IP on April 22 in Hefei city, capital of Anhui province. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

Authorities in the Yangtze River Delta region – in East China – recently issued an important government position paper on intellectual property, or IP, development and protection.

The White Paper on the Development and Protection of Intellectual Property was jointly issued on April 22 by government departments in Shanghai – as well as in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces – at a news conference in Hefei, capital of Anhui.

Officials told the news conference Shanghai has been implementing decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council – China's Cabinet – to strengthen the creation, protection and application of intellectual property, since 2020.

Last year, focusing on its goal of building itself as a central IP hub in the Asia-Pacific region, Shanghai coordinated prevention and control of COVID-19 and the development of IP. It reportedly accomplished all the major targets set for the year.

News conferences on IP development and protection have been held alternately in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang since 2009. Anhui joined the conferences in 2018.

Rui Wenbiao, director general of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, or SIPA, attended the latest news briefing.