22 April 2026
On 20 April, the 2026 High-Level Forum on China’s Intellectual Property Protection was grandly inaugurated at the Beijing Guoerzhao Hotel. With the theme “Advancing Through Innovation, Sustained by Intellectual Property,” this year’s forum assembled distinguished guests and industry elites from government departments, judicial organs, institutions of higher learning, research institutes, renowned enterprises, legal service organisations, and international organisations to jointly explore how intellectual property can comprehensively empower new-quality productive forces and facilitate high-quality economic and social development.
Shen Changyu, Commissioner of CNIPA, Shi Weizhong, Deputy Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and Tang Wenhong, Vice Mayor of Beijing, attended the main forum and delivered addresses. Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), delivered a written address. At the main forum, keynote speeches were delivered by Ma Yide, Dean of the School of Intellectual Property at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Fan Su, Head of Litigation and Licensing at CATL; Qian Kun, Senior Vice President and Global General Counsel at Qualcomm; Laurie Fitzgerald, President of the Avanci Vehicle Platform; and Fu Boen, Vice President of Global IP and Litigation at Nike.
Law as Sword: Fortifying the Foundations of Sports IP
On the afternoon of the same day, the “Intellectual Property and Sports” sub-forum, hosted by the China Intellectual Property News and supported by Beijing Tengyu Law Firm and other organisations, was held as scheduled. Mr. Wang Xin, Managing Partner of Beijing Tengyu Law Firm, delivered a keynote address, and Ms. Liu Li, Chair of the Management Committee, participated in a roundtable discussion. They engaged in in-depth dialogue with guests from the industry, academia, and media on the topic of “how intellectual property drives the development of new-quality productive forces in the sports industry.”
In his keynote presentation, Mr. Wang Xin drew on his profound professional accumulation and rich practical experience to deliver a precise “risk prevention and control masterclass” for sports event organisers. From fortifying the foundations of trademark rights confirmation to flexible response to exceptional circumstances; from the synergistic construction of multi-dimensional legal protection to compliance guidance for standardised use, he dissected each layer with meticulous care and eloquent exposition. The presentation combined rigorous jurisprudential depth with practical operational warmth, constituting not merely a professional legal opinion but also an “action guide” for safeguarding the long-term value of sports IP.
Wisdom as Beacon: Illuminating the Path of Industrial Development
During the roundtable dialogue, Ms. Liu Li, Chair of the Management Committee, demonstrated acute insight into industrial development trends from a lofty vantage point. She posited that the core essence of new-quality productive forces lies in scientific and technological innovation and technological breakthroughs. From Tengyu’s industry perspective, one must approach this developmental connotation from both ends of IP protection and dispute resolution. A patent is not merely textual content on a certificate; its core value resides in the commercial value and innovative vitality empowered by the “right of exclusion.” Only when patent rights are afforded full legal protection can enterprises muster the confidence to sustain deep investment in R&D; only when innovative achievements are transformed into market competitiveness through the IP system can new-quality productive forces truly take root, flourish, and continuously generate momentum.
From this foundation, she elaborated in depth on the pivotal role of intellectual property as the core engine of new-quality productive forces in the sports industry. In her view, IP is no longer cold and rigid legal provisions but rather a vibrant force that activates innovative kinetic energy, drives industrial advancement, and serves as a solid bridge connecting cultural value with market value.
Upholding Integrity and Innovation, Advancing in Partnership with Value
The protection of intellectual property in the sports industry is both a race against infringers and a relay race alongside technological innovation. Looking to the future, as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, and other technologies become deeply integrated with the sports industry, the forms and methods of sports IP protection will become increasingly complex and diverse.
Beijing Tengyu Law Firm will continue to deeply cultivate the intersection of intellectual property and sports, leveraging professional legal services to empower the sports industry to “advance through innovation and soar to new heights.” The firm is committed to contributing legal wisdom to China’s sports industry as it sprints toward the RMB 7 trillion target and to exporting Chinese solutions for IP protection to the global sports industry.
