On April 23, the Launch Ceremony and Themed Event of the 2026 National Intellectual Property Publicity Week—Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area Sub-venue was held at the Canton Fair Complex, known as “China’s No. 1 Exhibition.”

 

The event closely aligned with the national theme of the 2026 Intellectual Property Publicity Week, “Strengthening IP Protection in Emerging Fields and Accelerating the Development of New Quality Productive Forces.” Centered on the concept of “Connecting the World through the Canton Fair, Advancing IP Together,” the event adopted diverse and flexible formats to fully showcase the Greater Bay Area’s dynamic innovation clusters and industrial agglomeration. It promoted the deep integration of intellectual property with major sports events, technological innovation, and regional coordination, highlighting Guangdong’s high-quality IP development achievements.

 

Approximately 400 representatives attended the event, including officials from the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), provincial IP authorities, the China Foreign Trade Centre Group, the Guangzhou Municipal Government, as well as enterprises, universities, research institutions, and IP service organizations.

 

Focusing on New Quality Productive Forces: Leading Enterprises Discuss IP-Driven Innovation Strategies

 

In 2025, the “Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou” technology cluster ranked first globally in the innovation index, while the “Macao–Zhuhai” innovation cluster entered the global top 100 for two consecutive years. Guangdong Province now holds 410,900 high-value invention patents, and the total number of patent transfers and licensing transactions has reached 196,000.

 

At the event, awards were presented to representatives of the winners of the 10th Guangdong Patent Awards (Gold Prize), encouraging innovators to continue leading on the frontier of technological development.

 

During the keynote session, representatives from two Greater Bay Area enterprises shared practical experiences in leveraging intellectual property to empower industrial upgrading. One company detailed its high-quality development journey in the advanced materials sector, illustrating the evolution of its IP strategy from single-point breakthroughs (“point”), to value chain extension (“line”), to multi-dimensional portfolio construction (“surface”), and ultimately toward building an industry-level patent ecosystem (“network” or “shield”).

 

Another enterprise, under the theme “Making Flight More Free,” showcased cutting-edge achievements in the low-altitude economy and emphasized that IP protection in emerging fields provides strong innovation momentum and solid legal safeguards for enterprise development.

 

Institutional Advancement and Business Environment: Rule-of-Law Foundation Supporting Exhibitions and Sports IP

 

2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the Canton Fair. Through a documentary-style dramatization titled “Secure Orders at the Canton Fair,” the event vividly demonstrated how IP authorities, relying on the “1+2+N” IP protection framework, are stationed at the exhibition site to provide full-chain protection. Mechanisms such as exhibition certification and rapid similarity searches ensure efficient, end-to-end enforcement.

 

This system enables foreign exhibitors to confidently bring in technologies and allows Chinese enterprises to confidently showcase their patents, thereby facilitating real-world cross-border cooperation.

 

Expanding Cooperation Outcomes: WIPO GREEN City Acceleration Project Launched in Guangzhou

 

IP authorities from Hong Kong and Macao presented a video review of the three regions’ cooperation in IP creation, utilization, protection, and services.

 

At the event, it was announced that the WIPO GREEN City Acceleration Project of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has officially been launched in Guangzhou. Leveraging this initiative, Guangdong will focus on building a high-level green technology matchmaking hub and establishing a demonstration model for green innovation in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, strengthening the foundation of IP-enabled green development and contributing IP-driven solutions to global sustainable development.

 

In addition, using the mascot of the 15th National Games, “Da Wan Ji,” the event highlighted how the Greater Bay Area strictly applies IP protection, full-chain management, and cross-regional coordination to transform this sports IP into a benchmark case, generating over RMB 860 million in value and evolving from event merchandise into a cultural symbol of the Greater Bay Area.