During July 14-22, 2022, WIPO’s 63rd General Assembly was successfully held in hybrid means. In the 7-day meetings, the representatives and observers thoroughly exchanged views, debated, and voted on the 21 agenda items. Lena Shen, Senior Partner of Dakun IP Law Firm attended the meetings online as an observer on behalf of AIPPI.
At this Assembly, WIPO adopted a resolution to accept Arabic and Chinese as the working languages of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of Deposits of Microorganisms for Patent Proceedings (Budapest Treaty) through a vote of members. The General Assembly also adopted proposals to accept 11 NGOs, including the China Trademark Association and the China Patent Protection Association, as observers to WIPO.
During the meetings, WIPO also hosted its first-ever Global Award Ceremony for SMEs, which recognized five outstanding SMEs from around the world who have effectively utilized intellectual property rights and made great contributions to economic, social and cultural progress at home and abroad. In the final list of winners, Chinese companies occupy two seats, namely Suzhou Raican Technology Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Shylon Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.