The inaugural Global Awards of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) were recently handed out to five small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the Netherlands, Singapore, China and Japan, two of which are Suzhou Raycan and Shanghai Shylon from China, making China the winningest country at the program's debut. What has made these Chinese SMEs bright stars? What are the secret weapons of the Chinese innovators? Keeping these questions in mind, China Intellectual Property News interviewed WIPO China Office Director Liu Hua as well as one of the jurors for the event and the winning enterprises, hoping to reenact the innovation scenes behind the winning Chinese SMEs.
Fresh Award, Global Selection
The inaugural Global Awards celebrates SMEs, which constitute the backbone of the worldwide economy and recognizes those that have used IP rights to develop commercial solutions that have made a positive contribution to society, economically, socially, or culturally."In a bid to ensure fairness, impartiality, preciseness and inclusiveness, a diverse, independent seven-person international (Peru, Nigeria, Jordan, China, U.S., Estonia, Singapore) jury with expertise in IP, innovation and commerce and with geographical representation was invited and formed by the WIPO,"Liu says.
As a renowned international cooperation expert, Dong Songgen, Vice President of China International Cooperation Association of SMEs (CICASME) was one of the invited jurors. "Since December 2021, the international jury had received a total of applications from 272 enterprises of 62 countries. After over half-year stringent evaluation, jurors picked 20 finalists, six of which are from China. Two out of five eventual winners are from China, showing our enterprises' strength to the world and making us a double winner in both the number of finalists and winners," Dong recalls.
"In recent years, SMEs' development has been heeded by China, lending tangible support in finance and education. Governmental assistance in protection and use evidently has made SMEs' innovative activities more dynamic and robust, Dong adds, SMEs are the most dynamic entities in economic development in China. Government agencies' continued issuance of effective policies and measures have inspired them to use IP tools to build their brands and enforce their rights and interests, unleashing their full strength in technological innovation in economic development.
Policy Support, High-Flying SMEs
"Global tourism, dining, transportation and many other sectors have been hit hard during the pandemic. In the meantime, innovative activities in some sectors like biotech, telemedicine and mobile payment are advancing fast in the opposite direction. Some Chinese SMEs are performing very well," Liu says, in an era that the entire country is embracing entrepreneurship and innovation, the refinement of the Chinese IP system prepares rich soil and nutrients for SMEs' innovation development.
Founded in 2009, Raycan has filed patent applications in the U.S., Germany, Japan and other countries and obtained over 100 patents, covering its self-generated, full Digital PET (Positron Emission Tomography) for high definition and precise quantification of human medical imaging technology. "As a 'small but focused' company, we have won multiple honors like China Patent Gold Medal," General Manager Chen Fang introduces, Raycan dedicates to sharing its innovative results with relevant sectors by licensing, constantly exports technology and products backed by Invented-in-China, self-reliant IPs, strives to become a national brand with international competitiveness.
Since 2010, Shylon has been in architectural lighting, using totally LED technology (over 100 patents acquired), dedicated to the design, production and marketing, and was honored "Technologically Advanced Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of 2021" by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. "Our LED landscape light, through the self-developed ZOOMNEO algorithm auto focus technology, the high-precision spectral measurement testers and color calibration algorithms, have cleared many outstanding hurdles in the industry," Wei Min, Shylon's General Manager for International Business, affirms the company's undivided attention to R & D and innovation, low carbon emission and environment protection. IP protection allows the company to go even further without incidents.
"Right now, SMEs have become one of the most dynamic economic elements of the innovation economy in China, and kept on supplying power for the country's construction of an innovation-driven country," Liu nods to China's active involvement in IP norm setting under the WIPO framework, which fits SMEs and other Chinese innovators' need in integrating into international development and offer a business-friendly environment and policy assurances for their engagement in international competition.
Source: China IP News
