Introduction
Can Huang, Professor and Co-Director of Institute for Intellectual Property ManagementSchool of Management, Zhejiang University
On Friday April 21st in Shanghai, the International Symposium on Intellectual Property Management and Open Innovation took place, organized by the Holland Innovation Network China, Zhejiang University School of Management – Institute for Intellectual Property Management, and the Shanghai Pudong Intellectual Property Bureau. This symposium was part of the 2017 China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair (CSITF), for which the Netherlands was the Guest Country of Honour.
Speeches
Daniel Yan, Senior Director of Intellectual Property & Standards China, Royal Philips
The symposium was opened by the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Martijn van Dam and Wenbiao Rui, the Deputy Director General of Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration (SIPA). Van Dam introduced the link between IP management and open innovation, and stressed that collaboration – when strategic – is beneficial for all stakeholders. Speeches were then followed by Ruud Peters, former Executive Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Officer of Royal Philips, and Wim Vanhaverbeke, professor at the Hasselt University and an authority in the field of Open Innovation. Plenary speeches and parallel sessions, moderated by Bart van Hezewijk (Holland Innovation Network China), Frans Greidanus (School of Management, Zhejiang University) and Wenlian Ding (Pudong Intellectual Property Bureau) covered topics like IP strategies, entering into R&D partnerships, and the importance of openness in the innovation process. Contributions came from MNCs (Alibaba, Unilever, DSM, Huawei, Intel, Tianma Microelectronics), startups and SMEs (Seedlink, VanBerlo), universities (Gothenburg University, X-Lab of Tsinghua University) and the Pudong Intellectual Property Bureau. Speakers agreed that the creation of IP provides added value, as IP is used to expand collaborations and stimulate the innovation process. Where open collaborations arise, IP can be deployed to protect consortia, to determine the rules of the game, and to distribute the profits. Several companies described how they were part of open innovation chains – like IMEC in Belgium – or how they work with external parties to get new expertise and ideas, for example by exchanging data.
Panel
The symposium was rounded off with a panel, moderated by Sam Linsen (Holland Innovation Network China), reflecting on the topics discussed during the day, addressing the role of governments in supporting open innovation by stimulating strategic IP management, and discussing the relative successes of Shanghai in providing such modern services to companies and institutions. Attending the panel were Ruud Peters, Wim Vanhaverbeke (both reporters for the parallel sessions), Ulf Petrusson (Gothenburg University) and Can Huang (School of Management, Zhejiang University). Members of the crowd were encouraged to ask questions,
creating further opportunities for interactive discussion during the panel.
Networking Reception
After the symposium, all participants gathered at the Holland Innovation Pavilion for a networking reception where experts, scholars and others had the opportunity to exchange ideas and broaden their network.