Intellectual property is not an end in itself, but a way to create value, catalyze growth and transform an idea into something valuable to the economy and society. Helping more such inventions successfully reach the market is increasingly the goal not just in China, but in all countries around the world, World Intellectual Property Organization Director-General Daren Tang said at a fair on Friday.

"This is why WIPO's work is no longer just devoted to IP protection and registration but also IP utilization and commercialization," he said at the opening ceremony of the 15th China International Patent Fair and the 26th WIPO–CNIPA Awards held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

"To do this well, we cannot just rely on good IP laws, but must build a vibrant IP ecosystem."

This fair's theme is "Patents Bridge Innovation, Commercialization Unlocks Value". About 1,500 participants from IP-related authorities at the global, national, provincial and municipal level joined the opening ceremony, as well as representatives from colleges, research institutes, companies and financing organizations.

Chen Fuli, secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, agreed that patent transactions and commercialization serve as a vital channel to realize the value of intellectual property rights.

"They also act as a bridge that facilitates the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, and fosters the development of new-quality productive forces," he said.

The administration has strived to advance institutionalized, regular, and long-term patent transformation and utilization, yielding notable results. Moving forward, it will accelerate the establishment of an efficiently coordinated intellectual property supply system, deepen targeted matching between patent supply and demand, boost patent transaction and commercialization, and speed up the realization of patent value, Chen said.

"High-value patents will empower the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, the growth of emerging industries, and forward-looking planning for future industries," he said.

Tang cited the example of Fluzoparib, a medicine developed in Jiangsu. He said research work began in 2011 and nearly a decade was spent in clinical trials. It was supported by patents internationally protected through WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty system.

It became China's first domestically developed PARP inhibitor, a type of cancer treatment, and entered the national insurance catalogue to help cancer patients across the country and around the world.

In this process, IP is critical, he said.

"By registering the patent, it gave the inventors and investors the confidence that their innovation would be protected through the long years of testing and development before it was fully released to the public. It also allowed investors to be confident in providing funding," Tang said.

He added that WIPO will continue to cooperate with China, helping more innovators to transform their creativity into industry, expand new markets and improve people's lives.