On April 19, 2019, the seminar on IP public service and operating organizations was held in Shanghai. The seminar was attended by He Zhimin, Deputy Director of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), heads of CNIPA functional departments including the Public Service Department and the IP Utilization Promotion Department, Lin Haihan, a Party member of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration (SIPA), heads of the Planning and Development Office and the Patent Affairs Administration Office of SIPA, and responsible persons from key public service and operating organizations.

Kevin Sun, CEO of Sinofaith IP Group, attended the seminar as a representative of IP operating organizations. He joined heads of other organizations to brainstorm about China’s IP operating and service system and the patent operating model.

The seminar on IP public service and operating organizations in Shanghai

Kevin Sun, CEO of Sinofaith IP Group, delivers a speech

Attendees waxed lyrical about the patent operating models. Kevin Sun, CEO of Sinofaith IP Group, first analyzed the global patent operating models. He said there are three entities for patent operation: intermediaries, enterprises, and universities. He gave extra weight to the patent pool model of MPEG-LA, Ericsson’s model of entrusting NPE to collect patent royalties, and the Office of Technology Licensing established by Stanford University. Kevin suggested that China should roll out its own patent operating model based on its actual conditions and the development of foreign patent operating models. He said governments could guide the exploration and assessment of the value of patent operation, and CNIPA could work with CSRC to establish a technological IP exchange and introduce an operating platform, investors, intermediaries, and buyers to jointly marketize the patent operation and transaction.

When talking about the promotion of IP investment, financing and pledge financing, Xue Jinghe, general manager of Shanghai IP Operating Fund for Key Industries, proposed that under the guidance of CNIPA, banks or other financial institutions could develop some innovative products for IP financing. He also suggested that specialized service institutions be introduced to control the risks in the IP investment and financing and assess the patent value. Xue called for close attention to which core IPs would be closely related to enterprises' production and operation process and how big a role they would play in helping enterprises gain financing.

He Zhimin, Deputy Director of CNIPA, keynotes the seminar

At the end of the seminar, He Zhimin, Deputy Director of CNIPA, gave a keynote speech: Today's seminar is fruitful. China’s IP protection and operation is now at a crucial stage of "forge ahead or fall behind". Despite the rich experience and advanced models in Shanghai, I hope service institutions and operating organizations can join the efforts to make further exploration and gain more experience. We should think about three questions. First, how big the patent transaction and operation market could be? Second, what kinds of technologies are of great value to patent transaction and operation? Third, what makes your platform or institution more attractive to clients for patent transaction? If you can all work these questions out, our model will be clearer. CNIPA Deputy Director He Zhimin I hope for a next seminar with IP service institutions led by Sinofaith IP Group, where we can chart a suitable IP operation model and implement it.