Progress in Shanghai's intellectual property work favors business

A number of 2.8 million trademarks were registered in Shanghai in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 6.7 percent, revealed by government and judicial departments at a press conference today.

Last year, in light of the vision of building a city strong in IPRs, and the 14th Five-Year Plan, Shanghai continued to strengthen the IPR work every step of the way, ranging from creation, utilization, protection, management, to services, according to Rui Wenbiao, chief of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration.

For instance, the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people in the city reached 57.9, a year-on-year increase of 15.3 percent.

The city continues to earn rave reviews in term of national IP protection work. In the category of science and technology clusters in the latest innovation index report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Shanghai-Suzhou cluster ranked fifth globally.

Apparently, such glowing results are inextricable from efforts committed to five aspects: more efficient IP governance to serve global strategic objectives, to empower high-quality development, as a catalyst for innovation and creativity, to build a pro-business environment, and to lay a solid foundation for global cooperation.

The city's determination in striking IP-related violations and crimes is evidenced in the number of cases handled.

In 2024, citywide, municipal procuratorates handled a total of 1,744 IP-related criminal cases, which led to the arrest of 584 people, with legal proceedings instituted against 1,702 people.

Meanwhile, municipal police solved a total of 1,303 cases, and caught 4,414 criminal suspects, who were involved in illicit gains or sales amounting to 8.5 billion yuan (US$1.18 billion). Of the 2,964 cases handled concerning patent disputes, 2,950 have been resolved.

In the recent top 10 high-profile cases published by the General Office of Shanghai Intellectual Property Joint Committee, the first involved a company in Shantou, Guangdong Province, which is accused of achieving sales of 1,113 million yuan in copycat LEGO toys.

In 2022, the five suspects were either apprehended or chose to give themselves up.

After the case was heard, the company, in addition to its illicit sales being confiscated, was fined a mammoth 600 million yuan, and the two chief culprits each face imprisonment of eight and nine years, with a fine of 15 million yuan and 20 million yuan to boot, respectively.

Commenting on the case, legal experts said that in cracking down on IP infringement cases, severity should work hand in hand with education, so as to build an environment conducive to innovation and creativity.

Another case involved a Shenzhen company suspected of plagiarizing a video game. The suspects were ordered to stop their illegal behavior, and, after trial, had to pay over 10 million yuan in compensation and related expenses.

Although whether copyright protection should apply to computer games remains a moot point among legal experts, who, nonetheless, said that this verdict afforded an excellent example of effective legal deliberation in ensuring an orderly competitive business environment.