Guangdong, HK to consolidate biz advantages

By Hao Nan | China Daily | Updated: 2016-06-22 07:50

Hong Kong and its northern neighbor Shenzhen should channel their innovative capabilities and economic influences among countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road route, according to a seminar held in Shenzhen on June 17.

The 2016 Guangdong & Hong Kong Seminar on Intellectual Property and the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises promoted the importance of IP protection among SMEs. It was jointly organized by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office and the Shenzhen city government.

Themed "IP Promoting Innovation Development of Shenzhen and Hong Kong Companies", the seminar aimed to help increase the innovative capabilities of companies and expand their overseas markets.

Ada Leung, director of the HK IP department, said at the opening ceremony that companies from both Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland should develop effective IP management and commercialization strategies and consolidate existing business advantages.

Companies also need to capitalize on professional IP services to drive the development of innovations and embrace new opportunities presented by their "going global" strategies, she said.

Chen Biao, deputy mayor of Shenzhen who said the city is currently building an IP protection system, suggested that the Shenzhen and Hong Kong governments enhance communications to create a better investment environment, deepen economic and trade cooperation, accelerate integration and the development of international industries, and promote exchanges related to innovations.

Tang Yi, deputy head of Guangdong IP office, said some 100 IP projects have been carried out under the framework of the Guangdong/Hong Kong Expert Group on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights since its establishment in 2003, during which the two sides have significantly increased capabilities of IP creation, utilization, protection and management.

As for IP litigation, Cheng Xuxin, deputy director of Huawei's IP department, said IP lawsuits allow companies to find defects in the corporate IP system.

Huawei is certainly no stranger to IP lawsuits. In 2003, for example, the United States-based Cisco Systems took Huawei and its US branch to court.

Cheng said the case, which cost Huawei millions of dollars, allowed it to learn more about the value of IP rights. The lawsuit also greatly raised Huawei's profile not only in the US, but also in other countries and regions around the world.

Shenzhen, known for its powerful innovation capability, has a large number of science and technology companies with patents and proprietary brands. Of over 30,000 science and technology firms, nearly 5,600 are recognized as State-level high-tech companies.

Recently, the Guangdong provincial government issued an opinion on promoting IP service innovation to drive development.

According to the opinion, the province will annually select at least five key industries or markets in the Pearl River Delta region, where Shenzhen is located, to initiate regular IP enforcement campaigns and set up a system of rapid IP rights safeguards by the end of 2020 covering over 30 key industries.

As of 2020, ownership of invention patents per 10,000 people will reach 20 in Guangdong and 30 in the Pearl River Delta region.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn