SIPA Deputy Director General Wei Lan speaks at the 2022 Shanghai Belt and Road Intellectual Property Protection Forum. [Photo/WeChat account: Shanghai_IPA]

The city of Shanghai in East China recently made moves to boost its levels of protection for intellectual property, or IP in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative – also known as the BRI.

The 2022 Shanghai Belt and Road Intellectual Property Protection Forum was held in the Hongqiao International Central Business District, with the establishment ceremony of a pool of experts who can offer guidance in overseas intellectual property disputes being held at the same time.

Wei Lan, deputy director general of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, or SIPA, spoke at the event. He said that the BRI was a major strategic move designed for greater opening up and was also a first-class blueprint for economic diplomacy. Wei added that high-quality BRI cooperation could not be achieved without the support of IP rights.

During the forum, SIPA and the Hongqiao International Central Business District Administrative Committee signed a memorandum on strategic cooperation for increased IP protection in the BRI.

In addition, the first list of experts for Shanghai's overseas IP dispute response guidance team was released. The 58 people come from related enterprises, domestic and foreign law firms, universities and research institutes, among others.