Over 75,000 foreign enterprises do business in Shanghai, why?

Tesla's Shanghai energy storage gigafactory was officially put into production; global optical giant Zeiss announced plans to purchase land in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone to build its Greater China headquarters. In recent days, globally renowned enterprises have cast their "votes of confidence" for Shanghai, which reflects the continuous upgrading of the "gravitational field" of the city's foreign investment.

Currently, more than 75,000 foreign enterprises have contributed about a quarter of Shanghai's GDP, and about 60% of the city's total import and export volume of foreign trade. The growing "circle of friends" of foreign enterprises is closely tied to Shanghai's ongoing efforts to create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, rule of law-oriented and internationalized. What role does intellectual property (IP), as an important part of optimizing the business environment, play in making Shanghai a "hot spot" for foreign investment?

Policy support as a key to success

"The vitality of the Chinese market, and the government's strong initiatives to steadily expand institutional openness and create a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, rule of law-oriented and internationalized have all strengthened our confidence and determination to develop in China," a principal responsible for Siemens Healthineers said. As a foreign enterprise rooted in Shanghai for more than 30 years, Siemens Healthineers has actively responded to China's IP policies and established an IP management system that closely links the global innovation ecosystem with local partners. Under the guidance of relevant authorities, Siemens Healthineers Shanghai Innovation Center, one of the first innovation centers under the Pudong New Area's Group Open Innovation Center (GOI) Program, was located in Pudong New Area in 2021, producing more than 80 IP items.

In recent years, Shanghai has always been adhering to equal treatment and protection on IP for foreign enterprises, by first formulating and releasing an outline for construction of an IP powerhouse city and the IP-related 14th Five-Year Plan at a high level, as well as further implementing local laws and regulations. Also, Shanghai released the country's first Manual for the Application of Protection for Foreign Geographical Indications (GIs) in China that systematically sorts out the legal basis and application process for the protection of GIs, providing comprehensive operational guidelines for foreign right holders.

Strong IP protection as a security guarantee

In 2022, Ligelieting tablets, a kind of Boehringer Ingelheim's new diabetes drug, encountered an infringement case, during the tendering process, which was quickly handled by China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) as the first batch of major administrative adjudication cases of patent infringement disputes. Shanghai, as the place for the case's preliminary review, gave firm guarantee to protect the patentee's legitimate rights and interests, demonstrating the high efficiency and convenience of administrative adjudication.

To further strengthen IP protection of foreign enterprises, Shanghai has organized related special actions for four consecutive years, handled 65 administrative adjudication cases on foreign-related patent infringement disputes, and investigated more than 1,200 cases of foreign-related trademark infringement.

Resolving cross-border IP disputes through arbitration and mediation has become a new trend. In 2024, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center in Shanghai made its first arbitration ruling on a foreign-related IP case, in which the parties chose Shanghai as the arbitration location, reflecting their recognition of China's IP ecosystem. To date, the center has handled more than 140 cases, with parties from Finland, the United States, Japan and other countries and regions.

Building consensus on communication and cooperation

In 2024, CNIPA approved the establishment of a representative office in Pudong New Area from Abu Ghazaleh Intellectual Property Agency LLC, the largest IP service provider in the Middle East, providing first-class international professional IP services for Shanghai enterprises. It is worth mentioning that in order to assist Abu Ghazaleh with its application, Pudong New Area strengthened the interdepartmental cooperation, and provided a series of convenient and efficient services such as registration and site selection of office space.

Not only in Pudong New Area, but also in the whole city, Shanghai has streamlined communication mechanism between the government and enterprises, enhanced interaction with the city's foreign IP institutions, updated them on the latest progress of IP protection in Shanghai, and addressed IP challenges faced by foreign enterprises, which builds up a "connecting bridge" to serve foreign enterprises.

"Shanghai has grown into a global hub for science and technology, known for its advanced industries and thriving business environment." WIPO Director General Daren Tang's speech at the opening ceremony of the 21st Shanghai International Intellectual Property Forum triggered heated discussions. Since its launch in 2003, the forum has become one of the most influential international IP events in China, attracting more and more Chinese and foreign delegates to discuss global IP development.

Attracting talent as a strong magnet

"Studying at the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property (SICIP) gives us a vivid window to observe China's IP development." "I want to find a combination between Information Technology and IP, and that's where I'm headed." "Innovation and creativity are important forces that change the world. "These are some of the thoughts shared by SICIP's international students in the short video series "Study IP in Shanghai", telling Shanghai's IP stories in their eyes.

The SICIP, jointly supported by the Shanghai Municipal Government and WIPO in collaboration with Tongji University, is one of Shanghai's key platforms for cultivating international IP talents in Shanghai. The College has undertaken several joint programs with WIPO, such as the IP Master's program and the Belt and Road IP Master's program, and has organized WIPO Summer Schools, training courses on the effective use of WIPO's service system, IP distance learning and other cooperative projects. To date, the College has trained more than 340 students from 52 countries and regions, sending international talents to foreign enterprises and international organizations.