Press Release for Media Briefing of the Shanghai Municipal Government on April 22, 2025

2025.04.22

On the morning of today (April 22), the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality held a press briefing. Rui Wenbiao, director of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, introduced details of Shanghai’s efforts to promote high-level reform and opening up and build intellectual property power in the city. Cao Jie, vice president of the Shanghai High People’s Court, Lu Taohong, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commission, Hu Binyong, chief of the Economic Crime Investigation Division of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Public Security, and Chen Zilong, full-time member of the Procuratorial Committee of the Shanghai People’s Procuratorate, attended the briefing and answered questions from reporters.In 2024, Shanghai continued to enhance the entire intellectual property rights ecosystem — from creation and application to protection, management, and services — guided by the Outline for Building Intellectual Property Rights Power in the City and the 14th Five-Year Plan. The city now boasted 57.9 high-value invention patents per 10,000 people, marking a year-on-year increase of 15.3 percent. International PCT patent applications reached 6,822, up 10.3 percent from the previous year; valid registered trademarks totaled 2.7893 million, up 6.7 percent; and copyright registrations for works exceeded 450,000, reflecting a 9.05 percent year-on-year growth. Shanghai has consistently earned top marks in the national IP protection assessment. Notably, in the “Science & Technology Clusters” ranking of the Global Innovation Index 2024 released by WIPO, the “Shanghai-Suzhou” cluster ranks fifth worldwide.With the goal of becoming a global hub for intellectual property rights protection, Shanghai has focused on advancing the following key areas.First, enhance intellectual property governance to better support national strategic priorities. Shanghai has introduced several key policy initiatives, including the Implementation Plan for the Special Action on Patent Commercialization and Utilization, the Evaluation and Commendation Measures for the Shanghai Intellectual Property Innovation Award, and the Implementation Plan for Reforming the Division of Fiscal Powers and Expenditure Responsibilities Between the Municipal and District Levels in the IP Field. The city has also revised the management guidelines for special IP funds. Efforts have been made to develop Pudong New Area and Xuhui District into high-standard demonstration zones for intellectual property rights protection. Shanghai is also piloting a program for the registration and record-keeping of IP rights for data products, issuing regulatory documents and conducting substantive reviews to assess their IP attributes. As of April 21 this year, 409 registration applications had been accepted, with 289 certificates issued. Among them, 243 data products generated licensing income totaling 2.066 billion yuan, while 161 data products were listed and traded through various exchanges, with total transaction value reaching 3.353 billion yuan.Second, leverage more effective utilization of intellectual property rights to empower high-quality economic development. Shanghai has launched special initiatives to promote patent commercialization and utilization, conducting in-depth reviews to revitalize dormant patents held by universities, research institutes, and medical institutions. A total of 68,000 patents have been cataloged, with over 43,000 included in the national transformable patent resource database, and more than 7,600 successfully commercialized. Additionally, 130 products have been recognized as patent-intensive, generating a combined output value of over 70 billion yuan. The city has also upgraded its patent navigation program to empower key regional industries through targeted chain-strengthening and efficiency-boosting initiatives, providing strong support for the development of priority industries outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan across all 16 districts. Five government departments jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Enhancing the Quality and Efficiency of Shanghai’s IP Finance, paving the way for several firsts: the city’s initial IP rights pledge financing for data products and new plant varieties, as well as its first fully market-based, credit-enhanced IP securitization project. In 2024, patent and trademark pledge financing reached 32 billion yuan across 2,223 transactions, with inclusive finance accounting for nearly 90 percent of the total.Third, enforce stronger intellectual property protection to fuel innovation and creativity. Shanghai issued the Implementation Plan on Strengthening Administrative Adjudication of Patent Infringement Disputes in the New Era and established a two-tier administrative adjudication system at both municipal and district levels. The city has enhanced IP rights protection mechanisms for key industries and expanded the scope of fast-track pre-examination services offered by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center. The Shanghai Fengxian (Cosmetics) Intellectual Property Rapid Protection Center has officially launched operations, and specialized committees for IP protection in integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, and biomedicine have also been established and are now functioning. To support overseas operations, Shanghai has built an early warning platform and guidance mechanism for overseas IP disputes and launched a new Shanghai Enterprise Overseas IP Service in Mexico City. In 2024, local courts accepted 47,000 IP-related cases and concluded 52,000, imposing over 110 million yuan in punitive damages. The city’s procuratorates handled 1,744 criminal IP infringement cases, approved the arrest of 584 individuals, and prosecuted 1,702. Public security agencies solved 1,303 IP-related criminal cases, apprehended 4,414 suspects, and uncovered offenses involving more than 8.5 billion yuan. Meanwhile, 1,402 administrative violations involving patents and trademarks were investigated, resulting in fines and confiscations totaling over 17.9 million yuan. Additionally, 2,964 administrative patent dispute cases were filed, with 2,950 successfully closed.Fourth, enhance the business environment through improved intellectual property services. Leveraging the global business environment assessment as a catalyst, Shanghai is actively advancing benchmarking reforms in the intellectual property domain. The city continues to build a “1+1+X” public IP service system, with Xuhui District selected as part of the second batch of national pilot areas for IP public service standardization. Shanghai also issued the Measures for Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Intellectual Property Service Industry. The city welcomed the establishment of the first permanent representative office of a foreign patent agency, which has officially registered and begun operations in the Pudong New Area. Meanwhile, the development of the Caohejing National Demonstration Zone for High-Quality IP Service Industry Clusters is progressing steadily. To strengthen regulatory oversight, Shanghai has introduced a “digital + credit” supervision model, completed credit records for patent and trademark agencies, and supported the Shanghai Intellectual Property Services Association in launching the first batch of 62 certified “trustworthy” patent agencies.Fifth, strengthen the foundation for business development by fostering a more enabling intellectual property environment. Shanghai deepened international cooperation by hosting the 21st Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum at a high level, under the theme “Intellectual Property Empowers the Development of New Quality Productive Forces.” The city also supported the organization of the TRIPO Heads Meeting among the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Japan Patent Office (JPO), and Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) in Shanghai. The city assisted the Green Technology Bank in participating in the WIPO GREEN Acceleration Project and supported the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Center in concluding its first arbitration ruling. Efforts were made to further improve the governance and operational mechanisms of Board of Directors for the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property. In parallel, the city continued to promote cultural development and enhance IP education among youth.To further leverage the exemplary role of typical cases in public education and guidance, the Office of Shanghai Intellectual Property Joint Conference recently selected and compiled the Top 10 Typical Cases of Intellectual Property Rights Protection in Shanghai for 2024. These cases highlight three key characteristics. First, the cases involve substantial monetary values. For instance, in a major copyright infringement case involving a technology company and individuals including one surnamed Chen, the defendants were found guilty of infringing on LEGO’s building block copyrights. The illicit business amounted to 1.1 billion yuan. Ultimately, the court sentenced the two principal offenders to nine and eight years in prison respectively, and imposed fines totaling 600 million yuan — making it the largest copyright infringement case in China to date. Second, the cases have strong deterrent effects. In one example, an individual surnamed Xu sued an individual surnamed Chen and an e-commerce platform for maliciously initiating IP lawsuits to claim damages, a case that effectively curbed the abuse of intellectual property rights. In a series of criminal cases involving the production and sale of counterfeit “tailor-made” Moutai by an individual surnamed Fan, the procuratorate traced the entire counterfeiting supply chain and cracked down at the source, helping to restore market order. Third, the rights of both domestic and foreign enterprises are equally protected. A notable example is the trademark infringement case involving a Shanghai-based automobile service company, which illegally used Rolls-Royce’s registered trademarks and caused commercial confusion. The case underscored Shanghai’s commitment to protecting the legitimate interests of foreign-invested enterprises. In another instance, Shanghai Customs uncovered an export case involving trademark-infringing solar panels, helping to uphold the global reputation of “Made in China.”