From April 12th to April 13th,the 2025 Intellectual PropertyRightsNanhu Forum was grandly held in Wuhan. Centered on the theme of “Chinese Modernization and IP System Innovation”, it brought together over 700 distinguished participants from China, the UK, the US, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Portugal and other countries. Attendees included leading scholars, emerging talents in intellectual property, legal experts, and industry leaders, who gathered in Wuhan to offer their insights on deepening IP system reforms and advancing Chinese modernization through the development of new quality productive forces. The event was live-streamed online, attracting 608,000 viewersby its end.
Hosted by Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, the forum was co-organized by the Intellectual Property Research Center, the School of Intellectual Property, and the Technological Revolution andIntellectual PropertyDisciplineInnovation.
Shen Changyu, Party Secretary and Director-General of the National Intellectual Property Administration(CNIPA), sent a written speech to the forum. The opening remarks at the forum were given by the following guests: You Quanrong, Party Secretary and President of Hubei Provincial High People’s Court. Liu Hua, Director of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) China Office. Li Jian, Chief Judge of the Third Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court. Tang Zhaozhi, Deputy Director of the Copyright Administration under the Publicity Department. Guo He, Executive Vice President of the Chinese Law Society’s Intellectual Property Law Research Association. Wu Jun, Party Secretary and Director-General of Hubei Provincial Intellectual Property Office. Hou Zhenfa, Party Secretary of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL)
In his address,ZUEL Party Secretary Hou Zhenfa emphasized that“intellectual property serves as an effective legal mechanism to incentivize innovation.”He noted the forum’s timely focus on leveraging IP systems to support China’s innovation-driven development strategy and accelerate new quality productive forces during the nation’s modernization journey.Hou reaffirmed ZUEL’s commitment to advancing China’s world-class IP system through academic research, talent cultivation, and policy leadership.
Shen Changyu’s written speech was delivered by Xie Xiaoyong, Secretary-General of the China Intellectual Property Society.
You Quanrong, Party Secretary and President of Hubei Provincial High People’s Court, delivered a speech.
Liu Hua, Director of the WIPO China Office, addressed the forum.
Li Jian, Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court’s Third Civil Division, shared remarks.
Tang Zhaozhi, Deputy Director of the Copyright Administration under the Publicity Department, spoke at the event.
Guo He, Executive Vice President of the Chinese Law Society’s Intellectual Property Law Research Association, presented his insights.
Wu Jun, Party Secretary and Director-General of Hubei Provincial Intellectual Property Office, contributed to the discussion.
The opening ceremony was hosted by Chen Baifeng, Vice President of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
Wenlan Distinguished Professor from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, honorary director of the Intellectual Property Research Center, and chief expert ofInstitute of New Era Technological Revolution andIntellectual PropertyDisciplineInnovation , Dev Gangjee, director of the Intellectual Property Research Center at the University of Oxford, Yu Cike, executive vice chairman of the China Copyright Association, Xie Xiaoyong, vice chairman and secretary-general of the China Intellectual Property Research Society, Graham Dutfield, professor at the University of Leeds, Diao Yunyun, vice president of legal affairs at Tencent Group, and Wang Xiaoqiang, senior vice president of China Innovation Advanced Energy Technology Group Co., Ltd., respectively delivered keynote speeches, sharing the role of China's modern intellectual property system in national governance, industrial innovation, and global governance. The keynote speech session was co-hosted by Ma Yide, aWenlanDistinguished Professor at our university anddean of the Intellectual Property College of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Huang Yuye,dean of the Intellectual Property College of ouruniversity.
Wu Handong delivered a keynote speech titled The Target Orientation and Global Dimension of the Modernization of China's Intellectual Property System
Dev Ganguly delivered a keynote speech titled Human-Machine Collaborative Creativity: When is Human Contribution Sufficient?
Yu Cike delivered a keynote speech titled Chinese-style Modernization and Innovation of Copyright System
Xie Xiaoyong delivered a keynote speech titled Intellectual Property Governance Capacity and Governance System Construction
Graham Duttonfield delivered a keynote speech titled The Impact of Patent Law on Disclosure of Traditional Knowledge on Innovation
Diao Yunyunhosted a keynote speech titled The Development of Digital Content Industry and Legal Guarantee
Wang Xiaogang delivered a keynote speech titled Intellectual Property Protection Facilitating Sustainable Innovation and Development of New Energy Industry
Ma Yide and Huang Yuye jointly hosted the keynote speech session.
The two-day forum includes a main conference and eight parallel thematic sessions, covering: modernization of copyright in the new era; patent protection and building China into an IP powerhouse; judicial services and the development of new quality productive forces; trademark law reform and Chinese modernization; IP system innovation in the age of AI;development ofnew qualityproductiveforces andjudicialprotection ofcopyright in thecontentindustry; IP governance amid industrial transformation; and a Youth Forum on Intellectual Property.
On the morning of April 13, the forum’s closing ceremonywas heldafter representatives had presented reports at various parallel sessions and engaged in discussions. During the meeting, the results of the 2025 South Lake Forum “New Leaf Award” for intellectual property were announced, and the award was presented to thewinners.
The closing ceremony was presided over by Zhan Ying, the Deputy Dean of the Intellectual Property School and the Deputy Director of the Intellectual Property Research Center.
Professor Li Mingde, Honorary Director of the Intellectual Property Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, introduced the review process for the 2025 “New Leaf Award” and announced the final results.
Academic committee members from the Intellectual Property Research Center at ZUEL, a Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences under the Ministry of Education, presented the “New Leaf Award” to recipients.
The director of Intellectual Property Center Peng Long stated that the Intellectual Property Nanhu Forum will maintain its academic integrity and public welfare commitments. He expressed anticipation that the youth scholars can grow to be the pillar of the forum in the future, push intellectual property academic research and practical innovation, and devote their wisdom and strength to Chinese-style modernization.
Reporter: Zhuo Zhangpen
Photographer:Cui Zhenzhen