On September 21 (China Standard Time), the Sixty-First Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO was held in Geneva, Switzerland, attended by delegates both physically and online for the first time. The Chinese delegation, led by CNIPA Commissioner Shen Changyu, including officials from other authorities, delivered a general statement online.

Commissioner Shen remarked that the Covid-19 pandemic has post great challenges to global innovation activities. WIPO and its member states have taken action to cope with the pandemic and achieved remarkable results. CNIPA has also taken a series of measures to provide remedies and facilitation services for applicants. From January to July of 2020, CNIPA received 818,000 patent applications, 5,171,000 trademark registration applications, 36,000 PCT international patent applications, and 4,551 Madrid trademark applications. All this demonstrated an uptrend instead of a downturn trend. China is willing to continue to work with WIPO and other member states to meet challenges, provide high quality services for global users, and promote global innovation, cooperation and economic recovery.

Shen Changyu spoke highly of Director General Francis Gurry that he has upgraded all aspects of WIPO to a new level in the past 12 years. The organization now has a more standardized internal management system, a stable growth of revenue and assets, and unprecedented geographical extension of IP services systems. The conclusion and entering into force of several international treaties, such as the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances , have consolidated WIPO’s leading position in international norm setting. A lot of technical assistance has been provided to developing countries and least developed countries, promoting the global IP system to be more balanced, inclusive and effective. WIPO is also optimizing IT system with new technology such as AI to ensure the operation of business during the pandemic.

Shen Changyu also expressed his congratulations to the new Director General Daren Tang and expected that WIPO will maintain a good momentum of development headed by him. China will as always support WIPO to play an important role in developing the global IP system.

The Chinese delegation comprises leaders from CNIPA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Copyright Administration, the Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and the Intellectual Property Office of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR. The All-China Patent Attorneys Association attended the meeting as an observer. (Translated from CNIPA Website Chinese Version)