Sponsored by Shanghai IP Administration (SIPA), the Seminar on IPR Protection in Exhibition Industry is held by Shanghai Convention and Exhibition Industries Association (SCEIA) in Shanghai recently. Gao Xiaomei, Deputy Director of SIPA and Ma Hongding, Deputy Secretary General of SCEIA attend the seminar and deliver speeches.

Addressing the seminar, Gao stresses that it is of great significance to strengthen IPR protection in exhibition industry, and that protecting enterprises’ IPRs during exhibitions and supporting their innovation are the pragmatic activities of implementing the Compendium on China National IP Strategy. The sponsoring units of exhibitions are the responsibility bearers of IPR protection work, which are very important for the establishment of IPR protection mechanisms in exhibition industry in Shanghai; the deepening of IPR protection work in exhibition industry in Shanghai and the establishment and improvement of protection mechanisms need active participation of exhibition sponsoring units. Ma delivers a speech on the statues quo of Shanghai’s exhibition industry, the existing problems in IPR protection and the positioning and roles of SCEIA in the work of IPR protection during exhibitions.

At the seminar, SIPA, on the basis of prior investigations and opinion solicitations, recommends the Rules of the Exhibition IPR Office in Dealing with Patent Disputes (model) to exhibition sponsors and the Letter of Commitment on IPR Protection (model) to exhibition participants, providing references for exhibition sponsors to independently formulate related regulations. The models include the detailed implementation plans and operation processes of exhibition sponsors’ work in IPR protection and administration before, during and after exhibitions.

Representatives from Shanghai International Exhibition Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Worldwide Exhibition Service Co. Ltd. introduce their experience in protecting exhibition IPRs, noting that measures of IPR protection in exhibition industry are important in exhibition invitation, and before and during the exhibitions. While inviting exhibitors, exhibition sponsors should include the terms of exhibition IPR protection into contracts so as to clarify the rights and obligations of exhibition sponsors and participants, require exhibitors to sign the letters of commitment related to IPR protection and list the explanation of IPR protection in exhibition manuals; before exhibitions, sponsors should distribute materials concerning the complaint procedures of IPR infringements and other needed documents to exhibition participants; during the exhibitions, sponsors should establish IPR protection offices at the exhibition halls and invite IPR administration departments to the office. The offices are responsible for dealing with complaints of IPR infringements at the exhibitions, IPR safeguarding publicity and law information consultation.

Leaders of more than 50 exhibition sponsors (related guilds) and exhibition companies in Shanghai and heads of related departments participate in the seminar. During discussions, participants say that this is a benefiting and sound platform of exchanging experiences and deepening study thanks to its proper theme and abundant coverage. This is a sound interaction between the governmental departments and exhibition units.

With the development of the international exhibition industry, China also maintains rapid growth in the total market of exhibition industry with a trend of increasing the proportion of vocational exhibitions and continuously expanding the areas of exhibition halls. In recent years, Shanghai’s exhibition industry, on the one hand, meets the opportunity of the rapid elevation of the concentration level of the international exhibitions in Shanghai during the city’s process of international metropolis construction; on the other hand, it also faces competitions among various exhibition cities and enterprises in exhibition projects and talents. The problem and demand for IPR protection are prominent. Statistics show that during the 20 large scale international and domestic exhibitions which SIPA stations in at invitation from January to September 2008, SIPA totally deals with and solves 148 complaints of patent infringement disputes, and removes 100 exhibition stalls out of the exhibition halls, accounting for 67.6 percent.