WIPO Director General Visits Belt and Road Forum and China Supreme People’s Court
May 18, 2017
From May 13 to 16, WIPO Director General, Mr. Francis Gurry, attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in China and made the first ever visit by a WIPO Director General to the country’s Supreme People's Court (SPC).
The Belt and Road: a win-win initiative
During the Forum, Mr. Gurry delivered a speech dedicated to the inter-connectivity of development policies and strategies. Whilst pointing out that the Belt and Road Initiative is a key strategy that helps China to promote world economic development in the modern era, he also highlighted the significance of the concept of joint effort, shared benefit and win-win development.
The Director General explained that, against the backdrop of a world of increasing complexity and fragmentation, the Belt and Road Initiative will help to achieve coherence through better coordination and integration of regional development strategies.
The Forum concluded with the signing of the “Agreement on Enhancing ‘Belt and Road’ Intellectual Property Cooperation between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)” by Mr. Gurry and the representative of the Chinese Government, Commissioner Shen Changyu of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO). (Photo: WIPO)
Visits to key actors
On May 15, Mr. Gurry and his delegation paid visits to the following institutions:
In his talks with SPC President Zhou Qiang, the Director General indicated that he would continue to implement the outcomes of President Zhou’s visit to WIPO headquarters and looked forward to further strengthening the exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese court system in the field of judicial IP protection. President Zhou praised WIPO’s key role in the global protection of IP rights and said that the visit, the first by the WIPO chief to the SPC, would deepen the traditional friendship between the two sides and would give a new impetus to their cooperation. (Photo: WIPO)
State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and National Copyright Administration (NCAC)
During his talks with Mr. Zhou Huilin, Vice Minister of SARFT and NCAC, Mr. Gurry said that he appreciated the cooperation between the two sides in the field of copyright, commending especially the important progress in jointly promoting the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. He also expressed his wish to strengthen the copyright cooperation between the two sides within the Belt and Road framework. Mr. Zhou said that copyright played an increasingly prominent role in boosting China's economic and social development, and remarked that China's cultural and creative market continues to expand. (Photo: WIPO)
State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC)
In a meeting with Mr. Zhang Mao, Minister of the SAIC, Mr. Gurry welcomed China's increased use of the trademark protection system. Mr. Zhang briefed the Director General on the progress made in China’s market regulation and trademark registration, and expressed willingness to advance the cooperation in areas including the Madrid System, geographical indications and the Trademark Awards. (Photo: WIPO)
State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO)
In his discussions with Mr. Shen Changyu, Commissioner of SIPO, Mr. Gurry noted the positive results of China's of IP Development Strategy. He congratulated Mr. Shen on the work the country has done in the patent field, and thanked the Chinese side for its support in promoting the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in China. Mr. Shen explained recent developments in China’s IP field, and pointed out that priorities included cooperation on IP within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, alternative dispute resolution, Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs), China funds-in-trust, as well as human resources capacity building. The two sides also signed two agreements on data exchange and human resources cooperation. (Photo: WIPO)
