In the core area of the pavilion, three counters have been set up dedicated to providing services from the Intellectual Property Protection and Commercial Dispute Resolution Service Center (referred to as the Service Center), facilitating exhibitors’ close-range consultation and business handling. Over 30 resident experts are available daily to offer comprehensive, professional, and distinctive intellectual property services to exhibitors. Since the first CIIE, the excellence of intellectual property services has been upgraded, providing comprehensive support for over 2400 “first release” and “first exhibition” items, demonstrating China’s high-level intellectual property protection and service standards, and showcasing China’s determination for open innovation to the world.
Delve into china’s intellectual property work from here
At this year’s Import Expo, the Service Center collaborated with the Shanghai Intellectual Property Office, the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (Shanghai Copyright Bureau), and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), among other units. They provided comprehensive intellectual property services on-site according to their respective duties and expertise. While strictly implementing China’s intellectual property policies and regulations, the Service Center actively promoted the issuance of “first exhibition” certificates to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights and attract more innovative companies to showcase their achievements at the Expo.
EE Music, a Singaporean music education technology brand participating for the first time last year, successfully obtained the first “first exhibition” certificate at the Expo. EE Music founder Zheng Wanting told reporters, “For our debut, we showcased the world’s first ‘Finger Master’ smart electronic keyboard product and a technology that adjusts the weight of piano keys. The Service Center assisted the organizer in obtaining ‘first exhibition’ certificates for the ‘Finger Master’ trademark and patented technology, giving us priority for trademark registration and patent application in China for the next six months, boosting our confidence in entering the Chinese market.”
Zheng Wanting stated that her first action at this year’s Expo was to consult the Service Center regarding issues related to obtaining Chinese music copyrights and copyrights for AI composition. The China Music Copyright Association provided her with a “consultation-contract-award” one-stop service for using musical works during the Expo. The Expo not only introduces foreign companies’ products to the Chinese market but also helps them better understand China’s intellectual property work and discover more possibilities in the Chinese market.
“While providing quality services, we must also strengthen the construction of our platform to convey China’s open intellectual property story to the world.” This is the sincere aspiration of every intellectual property service guarantor at the Expo.
Providing excellent service and building a stronger platform
At this Expo, intellectual property service assurance is based on the principles of “professional team, efficient service, and equal rights.” Measures such as “one-stop” service, “full-chain” protection, “diversified” dispute resolution, and “comprehensive” policy promotion have been adopted to create a more professional, comprehensive, convenient, safe, and warm atmosphere for intellectual property protection.
Here, exhibitors are provided with “comprehensive and timely” assistance in intellectual property and commercial dispute resolution. Working groups composed of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Office and CIETAC provided exhibitors with legal consultations on intellectual property, international trade, and dispute resolution during the Expo, handling complaints of intellectual property infringement and commercial disputes, and resolving various intellectual property and commercial disputes arising at the Expo, effectively maintaining the order of intellectual property rights.
Jia Kun, Secretary-General of the Shanghai branch of CIETAC, emphasized the importance of moving the service portal forward. They created brochures related to transaction risks, problem prevention, and resolution processes for the Expo, guiding exhibitors and trade delegations to avoid legal risks at the forefront of transactions. Since the six sessions of the Expo, the number of dispute complaints received by the Service Center has gradually decreased, while consultations on intellectual property rights and transaction implementation have increased, which is a gratifying development trend for everyone.
Here, it is also possible to handle the creation, protection, and use of intellectual property conveniently and quickly. Relevant units moved the “workstations” of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center and the Trademark Business Shanghai Qingpu Acceptance Window of the National Intellectual Property Administration to the Expo site. According to demand, they provide services such as priority examination of patents and urgent registration of trademarks for exhibitors who meet the requirements.
In addition, relevant units will also, according to the application of the rights holder, handle copyright registration applications and music copyright licensing applications for exhibitors on-site who meet the conditions.
Here, the strength and determination of China’s “full-chain protection” of intellectual property are profoundly demonstrated. The Expo organically links the intellectual property protection forces across departments and regions, providing intellectual property service assurance for global resources in the vast Chinese market through pre-expo special rectification and concentrated law enforcement, on-site protection, and provision of quality services, as well as a series of measures for continuous follow-up on exhibitors’ opinions and needs after the Expo, continuously releasing the “overflow effect” of intellectual property rights.
“Here, we must not only provide excellent service but also build a stronger platform to tell the world the story of China’s open intellectual property.” This is the sincere voice deep in the hearts of every intellectual property service guarantor at the Expo. Intellectual property services are not only a responsibility but also a necessary condition for leading the development of China’s intellectual property cause, which can open up broader horizons for global innovation and cooperation.