The 2019 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) China Summer School opened on Changning campus at ECUPL on September 16. The Summer School, a joint program by the WIPO Academy and ECUPL, was held at ECUPL for the third time. Mr Lu Guoqiang, the Senior Consultant of WIPO China, Mr. Zhang Yongzhong, the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, and Professor Ye Qing, the President of ECUPL, attended and spoke at the opening ceremony. More than 70 people attended the meeting, including Wang Xingying, the Director of the International Cooperation and Exchange Center of Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, Ma Le, the Deputy Director of the International Exchange Center of ECUPL, Liu Guanglong, the Deputy Party Secretary of the School of Intellectual Property, and representatives of teachers giving lectures in the program as well as Chinese and foreign students. The opening ceremony was presided over by Professor Huang Wushuang, the Dean of the School of Intellectual Property.
On behalf of ECUPL, Ye Qing extended a warm welcome to the honorable guests and students from home and abroad, and expressed heartfelt thanks to WIPO, the organization's China office and the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration for their continuous strong support and help in the WIPO China Summer School program held at ECUPL. He talked about the history and the current situation of ECUPL, its achievements, and its plans for development, also looking back on the previous two WIPO China Summer School programs held at ECUPL. He remarked that the WIPO Academy's choice of ECUPL to hold the WIPO China Summer School once again not only demonstrates the close relationship of mutual trust and full cooperation between the two sides, but also is an important achievement of ECUPL's adherence to its development concept of "Open and International" over the years. In the two-week schedule, ECUPL would provide nearly 40 courses related to intellectual property (IP). Renowned experts and scholars from China and abroad from universities, research institutes, courts at all levels, government departments, well-known law firms, specialized institutions and other organizations had been invited to give lectures during the program. Various teaching methods such as simulation training, group discussion, and visiting law firms would be conducted to help students get to know WIPO, and acquire knowledge of IP in an all-round and in-depth manner through the integration of various quality resources. Not only will this help the students make improvements in their research and practice of IP, it will also give them a better understanding of China, Shanghai, and ECUPL, and enhance conversations and exchanges among themselves. Ye Qing also stated that ECUPL would take this program as a starting point and continue to deepen cooperation with WIPO, to improve the level of their IP course, and to help promote the internationalization of IP research and teaching not just in Shanghai but in the whole country. He hoped that the experts and students would continue their support and care for ECUPL.
Lu Guoqiang pointed out in his speech that opening up and innovation have become the distinct feature of the era of globalization. China has made outstanding achievements in IP protection in recent years. In 2019, China ranked 14th in the Global Innovation Index and took the lead in innovation and IP. It is expected that China will lead the development of the IP system in the near future.
Lu Guoqiang said that the WIPO Academy tries to promote the role of IP in technological progress mainly in developing countries, least developed countries and economies in transition. The summer school aims to offer college students, junior legal professionals and government officials the opportunity to learn about WIPO, the way IP serves sustainable development, and WIPO's function in managing IP and rendering services for IP globally.
Lu Guoqiang also mentioned that the WIPO Summer School had been successfully held by WIPO and ECUPL for the first time in October 2015, and that this year is the third time the two sides have cooperated. ECUPL attaches great importance to summer school. From curriculum design, selecting experts, and field studies, to students' livelihoods and financial support, ECUPL has made the most careful arrangements and done much work. Moreover, the training has already produced positive results. On behalf of the WIPO Academy and China office, he thanked the Shanghai Municipal Government, the Municipal Intellectual Property Administration and ECUPL for their help and support for the WIPO China Summer School.
In his speech, Zhang Yongzhong extended a warm welcome to students from China and beyond on behalf of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, and thanked WIPO and ECUPL for their support and work in the development of Shanghai's IP industry. He said that Shanghai, as a city that values innovation, aims to become the center of IP where high-level workers gather in the Asia-Pacific region. By virtue of quality resources such as colleges and universities, Shanghai aspires to create a favorable environment for the training and development of both specialized and internationalized IP experts from around the world and build a platform for them. In recent years, with an international vision and a practical attitude, ECUPL has taken the lead in exploring training methods that follow international practice and continuously improved its research and teaching of IP. The WIPO China Summer School program is the third time ECUPL and the WIPO Academy have cooperated, and is also the physical implementation of The Supplementary Agreement on the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Shanghai Municipal Government and WIPO. Through this program, the scope of international cooperation in IP education in Shanghai has continuously expanded under the joint efforts of all parties, with contact with experts becoming more and more frequent and a series of positive outcomes being achieved. Zhang Yongzhong sincerely hoped that students taking part in the program from China and abroad can use the WIPO Summer School as a platform to broaden their horizons, increase their knowledge, make friends, practice communication, and develop cooperation skills with people from different cultural backgrounds through mutual learning and conversations, and finally to make their own contributions to promoting mutual understanding and friendly cooperation among different countries in the field of IP .
After the opening ceremony, Lu Guoqiang and Zhang Yongzhong gave two lectures,“The WIPO Global IP Protection and Service System” and “An introduction to IP management and protection in Shanghai” respectively.
The Summer School is in English and will last two weeks. More than 50 students from China, Russia, Switzerland, Spain, India, the Philippines, South Africa and other countries will take part in the program. In addition to the teachers from ECUPL, well-known experts and scholars will give lectures. They are invited from the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, the Intellectual Property Court of the Supreme People' s Court, the Trademark Office and The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Intellectual Property Office, the Intellectual Property Court of Shanghai Higher People's Court, Shanghai Intellectual Property Court, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Shanghai University Of Political Science and Law, King & Wood Mallesons, AllBright Law firm, Global Law Office, US law firm Baker & McKenzie, UK law firm Bird & Bird, and other organizations. At the end of the training courses, the students will receive certificates issued by the WIPO Academy.
