CIFTIS 2026 Observation: How Is the Intellectual Property Services Industry Moving to the Forefront of Industry?

The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) International Conference on the Development of the Intellectual Property Services Industry was held on September 10 at Beijing's Shougang Park, Legal Daily reported on September 15. The policy highlight of the conference came on site: the Beijing Intellectual Property Office released the Implementation Measures for Beijing's Intellectual Property Financial Support Funds, proposing an integrated IP finance support system of 'pledge financing + insurance protection + securitization' covering three categories of support measures — IP pledge financing, IP insurance and IP securitization — accelerating the combination of IP services with financial tools.

Peng Wen, deputy director-general of CNIPA's Department of IP Utilization and Promotion, said in an address that the IP services industry connects innovation with the market and is an important force driving the commercialization of research results and serving the broader economy, as well as an important support for scientific and technological innovation and international trade. CNIPA, she said, will next work in four areas — consolidating service foundations, expanding service fields, optimizing the development environment, and deepening cooperation and exchange — to push the IP services industry toward greater specialization and the higher end of the value chain.

Industry data from Beijing illustrates the sector's scale and capability. By the end of 2025, Beijing had more than 10,000 IP service institutions and 14,000 practicing patent agents, according to Meng Bo, head of the Beijing Intellectual Property Office. In 2025, invention patents granted through Beijing agencies in strategic emerging industries and core digital-economy industries reached 265,000 and 258,000 respectively — each over 40% of the national total — and PCT applications handled by Beijing agencies accounted for more than 60% of the national agency volume. The conference also featured the 'Laifeng rattan tea' geographical indication case from Hubei: with 110,000 mu of planting area and annual comprehensive output value exceeding 2.5 billion yuan benefiting over 30,000 farming households, the county combined provincial standards, strict GI certification-trademark management and judicial-administrative coordination with brand promotion to take the product from its place of origin to wider markets.

On institution building, Hu Anqi of CNIPA's Treaty and Law Department interpreted the core provisions of the comprehensive Trademark Law revision — covering registration of dynamic marks, trademark use on the internet, cracking down on bad-faith registrations, well-known trademark protection, and safeguarding the legitimate overseas rights and interests of Chinese enterprises — calling the revision a step toward a higher level of rule-of-law and internationalization for China's trademark system. Speakers including the Maldives' ambassador to China and China Council for International Investment Promotion experts stressed IP protection as a cornerstone of international cooperation, noting that the RCEP IP chapter covers copyright, trademarks and patents. In the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the conference showed the IP services industry moving beyond traditional filing and protection work toward commercialization, industrial development, financial services and international trade.

Original Link: http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/intellectual_property/content/2026-09/15/content_9458072.html