On November 11, ceremonies for the 12th China International Patent Fair & the 21st WIPO-CNIPA Award for Chinese Outstanding Patented Invention were held in Dalian. The theme of this year's Fair is "Intellectual Property Leading High-quality Economic Development". This is the first time for the administration to combine the two events. CNIPA Commissioner Shen Changyu and relevant leaders of Liaoning Province attended the opening ceremony and presented the awards. WIPO Director General Daren Tang addressed the conference via video link. Liu Hua, Director of WIPO China Office, attended the ceremony.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Shen pointed out that high-quality economic development cannot be separated from the strong support of intellectual property rights. Emphasis on strengthening intellectual property protection and substantially improving commercialization of scientific and technological achievements was renewed at the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), he added. Pursuant to the arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, China's intellectual property system is making plans on the commercialization and utilization of patents in a systematic manner to promote better creation, protection and utilization. He stressed that the WIPO-CNIPA Award for Chinese Outstanding Patented Invention is an important means to promote high-quality IP development, while the Fair serves as a high-end platform for exhibition and transaction of outstanding patents. He hopes that various participants can fully leverage this platform to explore new ideas and measures for patent transactions and commercialization and thus bolster high-quality economic development.

Daren Tang said in his video message that, with gradually enhanced influence, the WIPO-CNIPA award has become the most important IP-related award for technological innovation and creativity in China. The vibrant and resilient Chinese economy is bound up with China's powerful innovation ecosystem and the innovative and creative power of the Chinese people and industry. China's innovation-driven development strategy has a bright future and WIPO is willing to continue to cooperate with China on intellectual property and innovation matters, he added.

At the ceremony, Hu Wenhui, Deputy Director of the Patent Office of CNIPA, also presented awards to the winners.

The online and offline integrated platform of the Fair was launched

Participating leaders jointly launched the online and offline integrated platform of the Fair. After the opening ceremony, Shen and his delegation visited the offline special exhibition area.

This year's Fair lasted three days. Nearly 3,000 domestic enterprises and institutions participated in the exhibition through the Fair's newly established online and offline integrated platform. Moreover, the first China Intellectual Property (Dalian) Summit Forum and the first offline special exhibition area of the Fair were given acute attention in an effort to better coordinate intellectual property with the market, capital, human resources and services. (Translated from CNIPA Website Chinese Version)