WIPO China: Ready, Set, Innovate! — Tianjin "Copyright Marathon" Explores a New Path for Sports and Copyright Integration

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) set this year's World Intellectual Property Day theme as "IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate!" to highlight how intellectual property drives innovation in the sports industry. On April 19, the 2026 Tianjin Jinnan Half Marathon, hosted by the Jinnan District People's Government with support from the Tianjin Copyright Bureau, was held at the Tianjin Vocational Skills Public Training Center, echoing the 2026 World IP Day theme of "IP and Sports" with its own theme of "Copyright Empowers Sports.

Ms. Liu Hua, Director of the WIPO Office in China(WOC), attended the starting ceremony, witnessed the 2-kilometer folklore copyright-themed course together with 8,000 runners, visited the cultural and creative fair, and delivered remarks at the Roundtable on the High-Quality Development of Copyright and Sports Industries.

Ms. Liu noted that intellectual property runs through the entire sports chain — from patents on running shoes to copyright licensing for event broadcasts. She observed that Tianjin, using the marathon as a medium, has integrated copyright concepts into the sports scene — a down-to-earth yet forward-looking approach.

Facing new challenges brought by AI, such as rights ownership and data legality, she introduced WIPO's "AI Infrastructure Initiative" (AIII) launched in March this year and the upcoming upgrade of the "IP and Frontier Technologies Dialogue" into the "Global AI and IP Forum," extending a sincere invitation to Chinese experts to participate in these platforms.

Ms. Liu also shared that in 2024, the value added of China's copyright industry exceeded 10 trillion yuan for the first time, and the share of its creative product exports has ranked first globally in the Global Innovation Index (GII) for many consecutive years. She stated that copyright protection is a "marathon" requiring sustained, long-term effort, and the WOC is ready to run shoulder to shoulder with all partners, safeguarding creativity and connecting cooperation.

Ms. Deng Yuhua, Counsellor of the WOC, introduced WIPO's global service systems at the roundtable, with a focus on the application of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in sports event copyright protection.

The race turned the 21-kilometer course into a copyright culture corridor, with 20 booths at the cultural and creative fair focusing on folklore, digital collectibles, dance and games, and copyright trading. The event achieved three key innovations — scenario, integration, and communication — offering a replicable "Tianjin model" for the deep integration of sports and copyright industries.