Shanghai is improving its intellectual property (IP) environment, aligning with the World Bank's Business Ready (BR) assessments. The city aims to create a world-class IP environment by integrating market-oriented, legal, and international standards.

Shen Xiaodong, IP director at Antchain, praised Shanghai's IP Business Environment Experience Officer program, which gathers feedback from over 100 representatives across various sectors. "I suggested expanding the Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center's services, which received favorable feedback last year," Shen said.

Shanghai's commitment to using business feedback as the "gold standard" for evaluating its business environment is evident in its reform of the district-level IP and innovation service evaluation system. The city has increased the weight of enterprise survey scores to 40 percent in its 2024 assessments, according to the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration (SIPA).

Since 2023, Shanghai has been the sole Chinese city included in the World Bank's global business environment assessments. The city's reforms focus on enterprise satisfaction, aligning with its primary goals.

Shanghai is transforming successful reform practices into new institutional offerings, complementing national regulations. Recent policies include interim measures for IP registration and evidence preservation of data products and initiatives for the high-quality development of IP services.

The city is enhancing its service systems with a comprehensive IP public service framework, featuring standardized service windows across all administrative districts. This network offers a variety of services related to patents, trademarks and more. It has also launched an integrated IP service platform and established multiple technical and innovation support centers.