https://www.scmp.com/rss/523189/feed The latest news and top stories on World Intellectual Property Organisation. A Geneva, Switzerland based specialised agency of the United Nations, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is dedicated to promoting the protection of intellectual property worldwide. Its main areas of focus include administering international IP treaties, providing global IP services like the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and offering technical assistance to member states. WIPO is recognized for publishing... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Olga Wong Olga Wong Hong Kong’s finance chief will unveil new measures in his budget to strengthen the city’s growing intellectual property (IP) economy, focusing on nurturing top-tier talent and helping local tech firms evaluate their patents, the South China Morning Post has learned. The initiatives, expected to be announced on Wednesday, come as Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po faces mounting expectations to make strategic use of the city’s earlier-than-expected operating surplus while investing in long-term... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3344370/hong-kong-boost-ip-economy-new-academy-patent-evaluation-support?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3344370/hong-kong-boost-ip-economy-new-academy-patent-evaluation-support?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:30:08 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier As Washington withdraws from United Nations agencies and other member nations cut their funding, pushing the organisation into a severe financial crisis, the head of one well-funded agency won re-election on Thursday, despite criticism over some of his policies. The vote of 83 eligible member states saw incumbent Daren Tang Heng Shim, a Singaporean national, re-elected to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, or Wipo, by a vote of 81 to 2 against Haitian national Johanny Stanley... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3343385/wipo-chief-wins-re-election-un-faces-financial-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3343385/wipo-chief-wins-re-election-un-faces-financial-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Feb 2026 22:09:10 +0000 Ken Chu Ken Chu The Nobel Prize may not seem very relevant to many, but we can certainly draw lessons from its winners. Earlier this year, Peter Howitt – an honorary professor and fellow alumnus of Canada’s Western University – was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences with two other professors for work on innovation-driven economic growth. Howitt’s work helped formalise the concept of creative destruction, which explains how economies evolve through cycles of renewal, where new companies and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3335769/how-hong-kong-can-capitalise-chinese-creative-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3335769/how-hong-kong-can-capitalise-chinese-creative-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Liu Zhen Liu Zhen China submitted the highest number of patent applications in 2024, leading global intellectual property activity, a new report shows. A total of 1.8 million patent applications were filed in China last year, accounting for nearly half of the global total and more than three times the number submitted to the United States, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). The US is ranked second on the list, followed by Japan, South Korea and Germany. Meanwhile, China issued over... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3332555/china-dominates-global-patent-race-record-filings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3332555/china-dominates-global-patent-race-record-filings?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2025 19:46:38 +0000 Victoria Bela Victoria Bela China topped the world in knowledge and technology outputs this year in a leading innovation index, driven in large part by its scientific productivity, patent applications and hi-tech exports. Despite its strong showing in sci-tech output, China came in 10th overall in the World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo)’s annual Global Innovation Index (GII) released last month. It was Switzerland that took the top spot in the ranking for the 15th year in a row, raising questions among some in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3330064/does-switzerland-beat-china-innovation-new-ranking-raises-questions-about-bias?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3330064/does-switzerland-beat-china-innovation-new-ranking-raises-questions-about-bias?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2025 22:00:14 +0000 Lam Ka-sing Lam Ka-sing Hong Kong has jumped three spots to No 15 in the Global Innovation Index on the back of its strengths in financing credit, tertiary education and knowledge absorption. Released on Tuesday, the latest edition of the annual World Intellectual Property Organization study of almost 140 economies placed Hong Kong fifth in Asia, with the city’s total research and development expenditure and number of research personnel continuing to rise. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the ranking showed the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3325755/hong-kong-climbs-three-spots-no-15-global-innovation-index?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3325755/hong-kong-climbs-three-spots-no-15-global-innovation-index?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:40:26 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Silicon Valley is dominated by tech leaders of Indian origin. While Chinese tech companies have achieved global dominance across multiple sectors, why are India-based tech firms – other than in select areas such as software outsourcing – less influential? Why does Indian talent seem to flourish more outside India? Silicon Valley has risen to third place in the innovation cluster rankings of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), long dominated by East Asia. This year, the Greater... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3324732/together-china-and-india-can-be-tech-innovation-force?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3324732/together-china-and-india-can-be-tech-innovation-force?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 10:30:08 +0000 Luna Sun Luna Sun A portion of China’s Greater Bay Area has been named the world’s largest innovation cluster, underscoring Beijing’s drive for technological self-reliance at a time of rising geopolitical uncertainties with the United States. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou technology hub – the heart of the bay area plan – has overtaken Tokyo-Yokohama to become the world’s largest innovation cluster, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) 2025 Global Innovation Index released on... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3324168/south-chinas-greater-bay-area-boasts-worlds-largest-innovation-cluster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3324168/south-chinas-greater-bay-area-boasts-worlds-largest-innovation-cluster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 07:38:01 +0000 Oscar Liu Oscar Liu A cluster of cities comprising Hong Kong and two others from mainland China has been named the world’s top innovation hub, a feat attributed to a new ranking metric that involves venture capital deals, a UN body has said. For the first time in five years, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster surpassed Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan to claim top spot in the 2025 Global Innovation Index released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Monday... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3323892/cluster-hong-kong-2-mainland-cities-named-worlds-top-innovation-hub-un-body?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3323892/cluster-hong-kong-2-mainland-cities-named-worlds-top-innovation-hub-un-body?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 07:17:48 +0000 Wynna Wong Wynna Wong Hong Kong is set to sign a deal with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on Monday to pave the way for sharing relevant court judgments with the United Nations agency, the city’s finance chief has revealed. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday also highlighted the importance of intellectual property as an emerging high-value industry that could complement other sectors with traditional strengths in the city. “This involves safeguarding research investment and value... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3323812/hong-kong-sign-data-sharing-deal-un-intellectual-property-body-paul-chan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3323812/hong-kong-sign-data-sharing-deal-un-intellectual-property-body-paul-chan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Aug 2025 08:08:27 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Just ahead of the July 9 deadline to reach an agreement on tariffs, US President Donald Trump announced his decision on the tariffs levels for 14 countries – including a rate of 25 per cent on Japan and South Korea – effective August 1. Trump accused Japan of not buying enough rice and cars from the US. It’s worth noting that the American car industry is simply not competitive in Japan. Germany, Japan and China are the top three auto exporters. Those countries, along with South Korea, have... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3317197/how-china-japan-and-south-korea-can-be-titans-tech-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3317197/how-china-japan-and-south-korea-can-be-titans-tech-innovation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2025 08:30:06 +0000