WIPO China: Forging Future IP Leaders in the Era of Transformation

June 23, 2025, Wuhan – The 2025 WIPO-China Summer School at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL) officially opened today. This two-week program is one of several WIPO-China Summer Schools being held across China in 2025, co-organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and ZUEL. Ms. Liu Hua, Director of the WIPO Office in China (WOC), Mr. Chen Shi, Deputy Party Secretary of ZUEL, Mr. Yu Song, Director of the Office of the Hubei Provincial Intellectual Property Bureau, and Ms. Xia Lei, Deputy Director of the Wuhan Municipal Administration for Market Regulation (Wuhan Intellectual Property Office) attended and addressed the opening ceremony.

In her speech, Ms. Liu highlighted that the rise of frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology is reshaping the global innovation landscape. In 2023, global R&D investment reached USD 2.5 trillion, with AI-related patent filings accounting for 18%. China remains highly active in this field. These technological advancements, she noted, present significant challenges to the global IP system—including how to define inventorship in AI-generated creations, protect data rights, and bridge the technological divide. To address these issues, WIPO has convened over 10,000 experts through its WIPO Conversation on IP and Frontier Technologies and launched various tools including the AI Policy Toolkit. It has also strengthened collaboration with Chinese universities to nurture IP talents. Ms. Liu acknowledged China’s ongoing progress in strengthening its IP system, including increased efficiency in patent examination and improved public satisfaction. In the cultural IP sector, successful cases such as Black Myth: Wukong, Ne Zha 2, and “LABUBU” showcase the country’s creative vitality. She further pointed out that Wuhan ranks 13th globally and 5th in China among top science and technology clusters, with more than 71,000 patents granted in 2024 and 4 WIPO Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) supporting local innovation.

In his remarks, Mr. Chen Shi emphasized that the ZUEL will deepen the cooperation with WIPO, the China National Intellectual Property Administration, and peer universities to strengthen international talent development and expand global collaboration in the field of IP. Speaking on behalf of the leadership of the Hubei Provincial Intellectual Property Bureau, Mr. Yu Song highlighted Hubei’s active engagement in international IP cooperation in recent years. He expressed the province’s commitment to further strengthening collaboration with the WOC and advancing the development of a nationally influential IP trading hub. Ms. Xia Lei noted that as a developing national central city and a core engine of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Wuhan boasts strong industrial clusters in optical fiber, healthcare, and automobile manufacturing and services. She remarked that IP has become a hallmark of the city’s high-quality development.

Following the opening ceremony, Ms. Liu delivered the school’s first lecture. She underscored that the world is undergoing profound transformation, with emerging economies playing an increasingly prominent role in global innovation. Asia now accounts for 56.3% of global PCT applications, with China leading the world with over 70,000 filings. She elaborated on two innovation waves, one fueled by digital technologies such as AI and blockchain, and the other by deep science innovations in areas like biotechnology and nanotechnology.

Ms. Liu introduced the “3E Trend” of global innovation: the Eastward shift of innovation hubs, Enhanced collaboration across borders despite geopolitical tensions, and Enterprise-driven innovation, with private companies surpassing universities as key drivers of technological progress. She also outlined WIPO’s five major initiatives to strengthen the global IP ecosystem， including policy platforms, registration systems, databases, cooperation platform systems, and capacity building. In response to student questions about career development and emerging technologies, Ms. Liu encouraged young professionals to cultivate the “3Cs” of international competence: Communication, including multilingual and intercultural fluency; Compromise, emphasizing win-win consensus-building; and Collaboration across disciplines and borders. She also shared WIPO’s continuing support for developing countries and young professionals, including fee reductions, career development initiatives, and cross-sectoral training opportunities.

Afterwards, Ms. Deng Yuhua, Counsellor at the WOC, delivered a lecture on the development of the international copyright system. She provided a comprehensive overview of the evolution of international copyright treaties—from the Berne Convention and the Rome Convention to the Beijing Treaty and the Marrakesh Treaty—while offering an in-depth analysis of the challenges posed by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Ms. Deng also introduced WIPO’s responses to these challenges and referenced key judicial cases from both China and abroad. In addition, she shared international developments and practical experiences in the protection of traditional cultural expressions.

The two-week summer school brings together 163 participants from 24 countries across four continents. ZUEL has invited a number of prominent IP experts from both China and abroad to deliver lectures, including Professor Dev Gangjee, Professor and Director of the Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre, UK; Professor Graham Dutfield from the University of Leeds, UK; and Professor Tatsuhiro UENO from Waseda University, Japan. The curriculum covers both traditional areas of IP such as copyright, patents, and trademarks, as well as emerging topics including artificial intelligence, text and data mining, and the protection of traditional cultural expressions.