News Network (Reporter: Zhuo Zhangpeng Correspondent: Xu Jianfei, Hu Yishu Photographer: Cui Zhenzhen)The 2023 IPRs Nanhu Forum was held from April 15th;to 16th;in Qingdao, a coastal city in East China’s Shandong province under the theme of “High-quality Development and Law-based Guarantee of Intellectual Property Rights”. Over 800 people attended the Forum, including officials from the People’s Courts, China National Intellectual Property Administration, State Trademark Bureau and different appellate levels of the specialized Intellectual Property Court system, legal practitioners, as well as academic colleagues from Chinese universities and scholars from the UK, the US, Germany, Canada, Japan, and Korea. Meanwhile, 450,000 people watched the live stream.
Main Venue
The forum was hosted at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL) by the Center for Studies of Intellectual Property Rights (CSIPRs), the School of Intellectual Property Rights, the Innovation Base on Studies of IPRs for Scientific and Technological Revolution in the New Era, the Research Base for Judicial Protection of IPRs Authorized by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of P.R.C., the Research Base on Studies of Culture and Tourism(2023-2025) Authorized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, PRC, the Research Base Served for National Working Group for IPRs Protection, the Research Base for the Implementation of the National Intellectual Property Strategy(NIPS), the Training Base (Hubei) of IPRs Authorized by China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), and the Research Base of International Copyright Authorized by National Copyright Administration of the People’s Republic of China (NCAC), and College of Humanities and Law (Institute of Intellectual Property) of Shandong University of Science and Technology (SDUST).
Shen Changyue, Secretary of the leading Party members group and Commissioner of CNIPA as well as Chairman of China Intellectual Property Society (CIPS), made a sincere written address to the forum.;Many distinguished guests were present at the forum, including Wang Zhicheng, head of the Copyright Management Division under the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Li Mingde, executive vice president of Intellectual Property Law Association of China Law Society,Yu Cike, executive vice chairman of Copyright Society of China (CSC),Liu Jufang, deputy director of Strategic Planning Department of CNIPA, Yin Zhi, Level II Bureau Rank Official of the Department of Personnel of CNIPA, Wang Wei, Level II Bureau Rank Official of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, Xu Changhai, judge of the Third Civil Division of SPC, Liu Xiaomei, presiding judge of the Intellectual Property Division of SPC, Cheng Hao, member of the leading Party members group and deputy director of Hubei Intellectual Property Bureau, Wang Dongxiang, deputy secretary-general of the People’s Government of Qingdao Municipality, Luo Gongli, Secretary of the Party Committee of SDUST, Sun Haoliang, Vice President of Northwest University of Political Science and Law (NWUPL), Qin Jian, director, vice president, and general counsel of Alibaba Cloud (a company featuring cloud computing and artificial intelligence technology), Xie Ning, general manager of Alibaba Cloud Hybrid CloudProducts, Zhang Qinkun, secretary-general of Tencent Research Institute, Zhou Mingshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of ZUEL, and Wu Handong, senior professor, director of the Academic Committee of ZUEL, and honorary director of CSIPRs of ZUEL. Heads of other departments of ZUEL including the Department of Development Planning, Science Research, Alumni Affairs and Social Cooperation, and International Affairs, as well as members of the 6th;Academic Committee of CSIPRs of ZUEL also participated in the forum. The opening ceremony was held by Peng Xuelong, director of CSIPRs of ZUEL.
Zhou Mingshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of ZUEL, delivered a welcoming speech
On behalf of ZUEL, Professor Zhou Mingshan expressed his warm welcome and sincere gratitude to all the guests for their long-term support for the development of the IPRs discipline in ZUEL. He hoped that experts and scholars in the field of IPRs could bear the CPC’s central task of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects on the new journey by pursuing high-quality development in mind, and pool their wisdom on creating an IPRs system oriented towards a strong socialist modernized country and IPRs protection strategies in favor of a new pattern of development, so as to promote the high-quality development of IPRs in the new era. He said that ZUEL would continue to build on its strength in IPRs studies to make more contributions to the fulfillment of the national goal.
Liu Jufang, deputy director of Strategic Planning Department of CNIPA, read a written address from Shen Changyu, Chairman of CIPS
Shen Changyu noted that to achieve high-quality development and build a new open economic system, it is imperative to stimulate domestic innovation and promote openness through stronger protection of IPRs under the rule of law. Standing on a new starting point, we should implement Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, establish a foundational system for the all-around innovation, get deeply involved in the formulation of international rules on IPRs, and comprehensively promote the law-based development on IPRs. Therefore, in order to build China a IPRs power with high-quality development and facilitate the law-based guarantee of IPRs, he hoped that attendees could put forward pragmatic recommendations through communication centered on major theories and practices about IPRs in China.
Wang Zhicheng, head of the Copyright Management Division under the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a speech
Wang Zhicheng pointed out that the period from now to 2035 is a key stage for the Party and the country to advance toward the Second Centenary Goal of building a modern socialist country in all respects and implement the 15-year plan (2021-2035) on the development of IPRs power focusing on the modernization of governance system and capacity of IPRs which includes copyright. In the face of the new situation, new tasks, and new requirements, we shouldhold on to four principles for copyright work. First, adhere to the overall Party leadership over copyright for a more resolute political direction. Second, strengthen copyright protection to safeguard people’s lawful rights and interests. Third, spur innovation and creativity for high-quality development. Fourth, tell stories of China’s copyright well for a better global copyright governance system.
Li Mingde, executive vice president of Intellectual Property Law Association of China Law Society, made an address
Li Mingde noted that pursuing high-quality development is our first priority to build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and innovation is the driving force of development, which has been highlighted in the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Therefore, we must reinforce the legal footing of IPRs protection and form a basic system to support comprehensive innovation, which shows the way to make further progress in IPRs protection and sets new goals for us. According to Li Mingde, IPRs academics and professionals are supposed to thoroughly explore the theoretical and practical issues, so as to develop their own solutions. He stated that IPRs Nanhu Forum focuses on a series of cutting-edge hot issues both in theory and in practice, and has obtained a fruitful academic achievement by in-depth deliberation for nearly two decades, which plays a positive role in promoting the high-quality development of China’s intellectual property undertakings.
Wang Dongxiang, deputy secretary-general of People’s Government of Qingdao Municipality, made an address
Wang Dongxiang pointed out that IPRs Nanhu forum has become a significant and influential platform for IPRs studies and international exchanges. It is not only a platform for experts and scholars in the field of intellectual property to exchange thoughts, but also for showcasing and disseminating China’s achievements in promoting the rule of law in intellectual property. This year’s forum is not only conducive to promoting the cutting-edge developments of the rule of law studies in intellectual property, but also in line with China’s strategic goal of creating a new development dynamic and promoting high-quality development. Qingdao is prepared to give full play to its foundational advantages and will spare no efforts in stepping up IPRs protection as well as providing better law-based support for IPRs protection, thus strongly boosting high-quality development of the economy.
Luo Gongli, Secretary of the Party Committee of SDUST, made an address
Luo Gongli pointed out that strengthening rule of law measures to enhance IPRs protection is an essential aspect of complementing the system of IPRs protection as well as a practical need for promoting the high-quality development. Therefore, this year’s forum focuses on such major theoretical and practical topics as “strengthening the legal protection of intellectual property rights and maintaining macro policy support to improve the policy system for high-quality development of IPRs” so as to reach the consensus of “facilitating the development of IPRs power with scientific theories and promoting high-quality development through reform and innovation” as well as further promoting the quality, utilization efficiency, effect of legal protection and level of service and management of IP creation, which provides a great guarantee for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects.
Peng Xuelong, director of CSIPRs of ZUEL presided over the opening ceremony
Subsequently, Huang Yuye, dean of School of Intellectual Property Rights of ZUEL and Sun Fabai, dean of College of Humanities and Law (Institute of Intellectual Property) of SDUST presided over the keynote speech. Experts, scholars, and elites in the field of IPRs delivered speeches respectively, including Wu Handong, senior professor, director of the Academic Committee of ZUEL, and honorary director of CSIPRs of ZUEL, Yu Cike,executive vice chairman of CSC, Joseph Straus, former Director of Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Liu Jufang, deputy director of Strategic Planning Department of CNIPA, Xu Changhai, Class III Senior Judge of the Third Civil Division and director of General Office of SPC, Liu Xiaomei, presiding judge of the Intellectual Property Division of SPC, Qin Jian, director, vice president, and general counsel at Alibaba Cloud, Xie Ning, general manager of Alibaba Cloud Hybrid CloudProducts, and Zhang Qinkun, secretary-general of Tencent Research Institute.
Their speeches are centered around themes of building independent intellectual property rights system under China’s IPRs protection system, protecting copyrights to better guarantee high-quality development, the contribution Chinese scholars made in theoretical studies of IP and IP system construction, implementing the “The Outline for Boosting China’s Competitiveness in the Area of Intellectual Property (2021-2035) and the National Plan for Protection and Utilization of Intellectual Property During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period” to promote high-quality development of the economic societies, enhancing IP trials in China in the new era, new developments in IPRs cases of second instance on state level, development of digital infrastructure and exploration of rules of law, the copyright issues on AI-generated content by ChatGPT products, etc.
Wu Handong, senior professor, director of the Academic Committee of ZUEL, and honorary director of CSIPRs of ZUEL, delivered a keynote speech
Yu Cike, executive vice chairman of CSC, delivered a keynote speech
Joseph Straus, former director of Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich, Germany, delivered a video keynote speech
Liu Jufang, deputy director of Strategic Planning Department of CNIPA, delivered a keynote speech
Xu Changhai, Class III Senior Judge of the Third Civil Division and director of General Office of SPC, delivered a keynote speech
Liu Xiaomei, presiding judge of the Intellectual Property Division of SPC, delivered a keynote speech
Qin Jian, director, vice president and general counsel at Alibaba Cloud, delivered a keynote speech
Xie Ning, general manager of Alibaba Cloud Hybrid CloudProducts, delivered a keynote speech
Zhang Qinkun, secretary-general of Tencent Research Institute, delivered a keynote speech
Huang Yuye, dean of School of Intellectual Property Rights of ZUEL, and Sun Fabai, dean of College of Humanities and Law (Institute of Intellectual Property) of SDUST, presided over the speech session
This forum lasted for two days. In addition to the main forum, there were seven sub-forums, where experts, scholars and practitioners had in-depth discussions on topics including high-quality development and implementation of the copyright law, patent protection and intellectual property strategy, high-quality development and rule of law measures to protect trademarks, high-quality development and cultivation of intellectual property talents, high-quality development and judicial protection of IPRs, protection of IPRs in new fields and new business forms, and legal regulation of Internet infrastructure in the digital age.
Sub-forum 1: High-quality Development and Implementation of the Copyright Law
Sub-forum 2: Patent Protection and Intellectual Property Strategy
Sub-forum 3: High-quality Development and Rule of Law Measures to Protect Trademarks
Sub-forum 4: High-quality Development and Cultivation of Intellectual Property Talents
Sub-forum 5: High-quality Development and Judicial Protection of IPRs
Sub-forum 6: Protection of IPRs in New Fields and New Business Forms
Sub-forum 7: Legal Regulation of Internet Infrastructure in the Digital Age
On the morning of April 16th, representatives from seven sub-forums reported the contents of their respective discussions. Zhan Ying, vice dean of School of Intellectual Property Rights and deputy director of CSIPRs of ZUEL, presided over the exchange session.
Zhan Ying, vice dean of School of Intellectual Property Rights and deputy director of CSIPRs of ZUEL, presided over the exchange session
Representatives from seven sub-forums reported the contents of their respective discussions
On the morning of April 16th, the closing ceremony of the forum was held. It was presided by Hu Kaizhong fromCSIPRs of ZUEL. At the ceremony, The Blue Book of IPR in China (2021-2022) (hereinafter referred to as TheBlue Book) compiled by CSIPRs was released. Liu Chao, secretary of the Party committee of Intellectual Property Publishing House (IPPH), chairman of the board and editor-in-chiefof IPPH, and Peng Xuelong, chief editor of The Blue Book, introduced the status of this new publication, and Wu Handong, Liu Chao and Peng Xuelong unveiled it together. The compilation of The Blue Book began in 2007 and 12 volumes have been published so far. Starting from the 12th volume of this year, Peng Xuelong has been acting as the chief editor. Next year, this book will be further refined and an English version will be launched overseas.
Liu Chao, secretary of the Party committee of IPPH, chairman of the board and editor-in-chiefof IPPH introduced the publication status of The Blue Book of IPR in China (2021-2022)
Wu Handong, Liu Chao, and Peng Xuelong unveiled the new book together
Hu Kaizhong from CSIPRs presided over the closing ceremony
Cao Xinming,vice director of the Academic Committee of CSIPRs of ZUEL, introduced the review process of Xin Ye Prize in 2023 and announced the results. This competition received 241 papers from young scholars and practitioners from more than 80 universities and law firms across the country. Among them, there are 31 papers on the basic theory of intellectual property, 120 on copyright, 24 on trademarks, 28 on patents, and 38 on other hot topics about intellectual property. The papers cover not only the basic theoretical research like philosophy of intellectual property law, global governance of intellectual property, national security, compensation for infringement damages, but also hot topics related to big data, metaverse, artificial intelligence, algorithms, and the reform of judicial system. The prizes were presented to ten doctoral candidates including Li Fan, a doctoral candidate from School of Intellectual Property Rights of ZUEL, by Professor Wu Handong, Li Mingde, and Cao Xinming. Ten nominators of Xin Ye Prize including Ren Zuliang, a doctoral candidate from Zhejiang University Guanghua Law School, were also awarded by Ning Lizhi, He Lianhong, and Yang Jianbin who are members of CSIPRs of ZUEL. Gu Lingyun, a doctoral student from Peking University, spoke as a representative of the winners.
Cao Xinming,vice director of the Academic Committee of CSIPRs of ZUEL, introduced the review process of Xin Ye Prize in 2023 and announced the results
Professor Wu Handong, Li Mingde, and Cao Xinming presented Xin Ye Prize to the winners
Ning Lizhi, He Lianhong, and Yang Jianbin, members of the Academic Committee of CSIPRs of ZUEL, presented awards to nominators of the Xin Ye Prize
Peng Xuelong made a summary speech on the forum and extended gratitude to all parties for their support. He pointed out that with heavyweights and heated discussions, it is the first IPRs Nanhu Forum after the epidemic, a fruitful, grand meeting, and a trip of warmth, academics, friendship, and romance for the participants. The forum centers on the construction of an independent knowledge system of IPRs，the measures to establish and improve the system of IPRs in line with China’s national conditions, and the high-quality development and reinforcement of the legal footing of IPRs protection.
Founded in April 2004, the Forum has always taken “improving academics and cultivating excellence” as its aspiration. Now it has become an open, integrated, and flexible academic platform with worldwide reputation for all IPRs scholars.
It is reported that 18 sessions of Nanhu Forum have been successfully held in Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, etc., which has already become a representative academic conference in the field of Chinese IPRs as well as an international platform for academic exchanges on IPRs.
Signature Event
As one of the celebrating activities for the 75th anniversary of ZUEL, a special signature event marking the launch of Intellectual Property Rights Alumni Association was held outside the venue with the theme of “Promote academic and gather elites”. Many honored guests attended the event, including Zhou Mingshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of ZUEL, Gao Lihong, director of Department of Development Planning of ZUEL, Zhang Jinlin, director of Department of Scientific Research, and Da Ning, director of Department of Alumni Affairs and Social Cooperation. Numerous alumni were attracted to sign their names as mementoes.