The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will further focus on enhancing the international competitiveness of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) and guide the province to continue strengthening the internationalization and law-based implementation of its intellectual property (IP) system, according to the administration.

At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on January 23, Rui Wenbiao, Deputy Director General of the CNIPA, said the agency will support Hainan in aligning with international economic and trade rules and in exploring the establishment of an IP governance system more in line with global practices. He noted that Hainan will take the lead in institutional innovation in areas such as IP protection in cross-border e-commerce, cross-border circulation, and IP management, to foster a more convenient, secure, and internationally oriented business and innovation environment.

Rui added that the CNIPA will also support Hainan in leveraging the FTP's open platform to conduct IP-related international exchange activities with local characteristics and to deepen worldwide intellectual property cooperation. Meanwhile, Hainan will continue to advance integrated reforms in its IP administration system to build an efficient and unified framework for IP management and public services and further unleash the role of the IP system in supporting innovation, helping the Hainan FTP become an important gateway for China’s high-standard opening-up.

In recent years, the CNIPA, together with the Hainan Provincial Government and relevant departments, has rolled out a series of pioneering initiatives to support IP development in the FTP. These include furthering the reform of an integrated “five-in-one” IP management system in Sanya’s Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City, supporting the establishment in Hainan of the country’s first intellectual property court with combined civil, criminal and administrative jurisdiction, implementing the Regulations of the Hainan Free Trade Port on the Protection of Intellectual Property, and setting up a national-level IP protection center, national-level IP public service institutions, as well as the country’s first intellectual property operation center for the seed industry.

Together, these initiatives lay a solid foundation for building an internationalized, law-based, and innovation-friendly intellectual property ecosystem in Hainan.