12th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference Opened in Jinan
The 12th China Intellectual Property Annual Conference opened in Jinan on September 19. Zhou Naixiang, Governor of Shandong Province, Shen Changyu, Commissioner of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Yu Haitian, Mayor of Jinan attended and spoke at the opening ceremony. Wang Guiying, Vice Governor of Shandong Province and Denis Loukou Bohoussou, Director General of the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) attended the opening ceremony, which was presided over by CNIPA Deputy Commissioner Hu Wenhui.
Distinguished guests from relevant international organizations and business circles delivered keynote speeches. Principal officials from relevant WIPO departments, heads and senior representatives from IP offices of multiple countries, principal officials from CNIPA departments and IP administrations of some provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities also attended the conference, along with some exhibition enterprises and institution representatives.
During the annual conference, the CNIPA and WIPO jointly organized the International Seminar on Geographical Indications in Jinan. Principal officials from CNIPA departments and IP administrations of some provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and distinguished guests from the WIPO, OAPI and relevant IP offices of African countries had profound discussions on IP as a tool to promote economy and rural development.
This year's annual conference included one main session and 13 breakout sessions with themes covering legal construction, protection, utilization, service, international cooperation for IP. The exhibitions on patent and trademark as well as GIs were set up to showcase the latest products of global IP services, products listed in the China-EU agreement on geographical indications and achievements of the GI utilization promotion project.(Translated from CNIPA Website Chinese Version)