On the afternoon of April 21, the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality held a press briefing, where Zhu Qigao, director of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, outlined the city’s efforts to strengthen intellectual property protection and accelerate the development of new quality productive forces. Zhai Jinguo, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology, Cao Jie, vice president of the Shanghai High People’s Court, and Li Hui, deputy chief of Pudong New Area, also attended the briefing and answered questions from reporters. Shanghai has thoroughly implemented the guiding principles of Xi Jinping’s important speeches during his inspection of the city, as well as his key directives on intellectual property (IP) work. Positioning itself at the forefront, the city has actively integrated into the national strategy of building China into a strong IP powerhouse and advancing Shanghai’s development as the “Five Centers.” It has deepened reform and innovation, improved governance efficiency, and continued to pursue high-standard development of a leading IP city, effectively translating the blueprint for building a global hub for IP protection into tangible results.Shanghai has also advanced reforms in the IP sector, taking the lead nationwide in establishing an efficient, integrated IP administration system. The city has released policy frameworks and development plans for building a strong IP ecosystem, and enacted local regulations including the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Intellectual Property Rights Protection and the Provisions on the Establishment of a High-Level Intellectual Property Rights Protection System in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. It was the first in the country to achieve full coverage of IP case jurisdiction at the grassroots court level and among the earliest to set up dedicated IP prosecution offices, significantly enhancing its overall IP capabilities.Since 2020, the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people rose from 29.6 to 65 in Shanghai, while international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty increased from 3,558 to 7,446. The number of valid registered trademarks climbed from 1.74 million to 2.93 million, and annual copyright registrations grew from 318,900 to 460,000. The city has won 15 China Patent Gold Awards and five China Copyright Gold Awards, while two small and medium-sized enterprises received the World Intellectual Property Organization Global Awards. Meanwhile, annual patent licensing and transfer transactions doubled from 32,000 to 65,000, and the registered value of patent and trademark pledge financing surged from 3.84 billion yuan to 40.2 billion yuan. The total number of IP professionals in the city has reached 60,000. Shanghai’s IP efforts have been recognized at the national level, receiving State Council inspection incentives for two consecutive years and earning “excellent” ratings in China’s annual IP protection assessments for five straight years. In the Global Innovation Index published by WIPO, the “Shanghai-Suzhou” cluster ranks among the world’s leading innovation hubs.Focusing on its strategic goal of building an international science and technology innovation center, Shanghai has stepped up efforts to support the development of new quality productive forces by strengthening five key systems.First, the city is improving the institutional framework to support comprehensive innovation. Intellectual property provisions have been incorporated into local regulations such as the Decision on Promoting Coordinated Scientific and Technological Innovation in the Yangtze River Delta, the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Promoting the Development of the Artificial Intelligence Industry, and Regulations of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Shanghai has also rolled out policy measures to optimize the business environment for IP, enhance trade secret protection, and promote the commercialization of technological achievements from universities, research institutes and medical institutions.Second, Shanghai is strengthening support systems for high-level innovation sources. The city has been approved to expand the industrial scope of its IP Protection Center to include pre-examination services for artificial intelligence patents. To better serve technological and industrial innovation, it has deepened the development of specialized IP protection committees for three leading industries and launched two public IP service support programs and 20 high-value patent cultivation projects. It has also advanced pilot programs for IP registration of data products, accepting 1,280 applications and issuing 836 certificates, with registered products generating nearly 20 billion yuan in economic value.Third, Shanghai is strengthening the system for the utilization of high-value IP. The city has fully implemented a three-year action plan to promote the commercialization and application of patents, reviewing a total of 76,300 existing patents. Annual patent licensing and transfer transactions across the city rose 41.17% year on year, with 2,166 open patent licensing deals concluded. Four entities have been selected among the first batch of national-level industrial IP operation centers. Shanghai has also launched a comprehensive pilot program to develop an IP-focused financial ecosystem, including the rollout of the country’s first trust product for intellectual property services operated under a corporate model. In addition, the city conducted the fifth Shanghai Intellectual Property Innovation Awards, recognizing nine organizations and 45 projects for their achievements.Fourth, Shanghai is strengthening its protection system to support high-quality innovation-driven development. The city has improved its administrative adjudication framework for patent infringement disputes at both municipal and district levels, and established rosters of technical investigators and appraisal institutions. Authorities have provided guidance on 379 overseas IP dispute cases and set up three new overseas IP service stations. Courts across the city handled 46,000 IP-related cases and concluded 47,000, with punitive damages totaling 170 million yuan. Procuratorial authorities accepted 302 cases for review of arrest in IP-related criminal offenses, approving the arrest of 274 suspects and initiating 659 public prosecutions. Public security agencies solved more than 550 IP-related criminal cases, apprehending over 2,100 suspects, with the total value involved reaching 1.3 billion yuan. Market regulators opened 987 cases involving trademark and patent violations, imposing fines and confiscations totaling 11.29 million yuan. Authorities also accepted 2,678 patent infringement dispute cases and concluded 2,684 during the same period.Fifth, Shanghai is improving its ecosystem to support open innovation. The city has expanded public IP services for enterprises, advanced a high-quality development plan for patent agencies, and implemented targeted rectification measures in the agency sector, including the “Blue Sky” campaign. Under the theme of “Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence,” Shanghai hosted the 22nd Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum. The WIPO GREEN City Acceleration Project (Shanghai) identified 48 technology needs and successfully matched seven projects. The city has also launched talent development programs for foreign-related IP protection, stepping up efforts to train professionals such as IP lawyers and dispute resolution specialists with international expertise.Looking ahead, Shanghai will continue to align with international best practices, deepen institutional and governance innovation in IP, and use the formulation and implementation of its 15th Five-Year IP Plan as a key lever to further empower the development of new quality productive forces. First, the city will move to build a leading hub for the creation of high-value IP. It will establish a dedicated team of IP commissioners, provide proactive support for national strategic scientific and technological capabilities, improve fast-track patent pre-examination mechanisms for key industries, and expand pilot programs for IP registration of data products. Second, Shanghai will strengthen its position as a core platform for efficient IP utilization by further optimizing promotion mechanisms in key industrial parks and sectors, and refining market-oriented support systems for commercialization and application. Third, the city will develop a high-level IP protection hub by improving protection frameworks in emerging fields, enhancing cross-departmental coordination mechanisms, stepping up protection of foreign-related IP rights, and strengthening IP protection systems for technology and innovation-driven enterprises. Fourth, Shanghai will build a high-standard IP services hub by improving public service systems and industry-specific service mechanisms, supporting the high-quality development of the services sector. Fifth, the city will foster a strong talent base for IP by enhancing the training of specialized professionals in administrative adjudication, technical investigation, patent agency services, foreign-related legal affairs, and commercialization, while accelerating the development of internationally oriented, highly skilled, and interdisciplinary talent.