The International Symposium on Intellectual Property Management and Open Innovation, co-organized by the Institute for Intellectual Property Management, School of Management, Zhejiang University, the Shanghai Pudong Intellectual Property Bureau and the Dutch Consulate-General in Shanghai, was held on April 21^st (Friday), 2017 in Shanghai. Leaders from the Intellectual Property Office, technology transfer experts from national and foreign universities, and renowned corporate representatives participated in the Symposium. The Symposium is part of the program of the 5^th China (Shanghai) International Technology Fair.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Prof. Frans Greidanus, the Co-Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property Management, School of Management, Zhejiang University. Mr. Martijn van Dam, Minister for Agriculture of the Netherlands, Mr. Wenbiao Rui, Deputy Director General of Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, and Mr. Wenlian Ding, Deputy Director of the Pudong Intellectual Property Bureau delivered opening speeches. Minister Martin van Dam pointed out that innovation is the high priority for both China and the Netherlands. Innovation is the answer to grand social challenges. China has opened the door to innovation through this International Technology Fair to bring together experience and technology from all over the world, and to use this combined knowledge for the good of us all. Mr. Wenbiao Rui mentioned that innovation is the inexhaustible driving force for the development of a country. Enterprise is the main driver of technological innovation. Intellectual property can support technological innovation. Mr. Wenlian Ding mentioned that with the globalization of innovation, more and more companies have joined into open innovation to share resource and risk as well. Open innovation has brought new challenges to IP management and enterprise strategy. For the government, how to support open innovation is also a new challenge.

（Left: Prof. Frans Greidanus, Co-Director of Institute for Intellectual Property Management, Zhejiang University; Right: Mr. Martijn van Dam, Minister for Agriculture of the Netherlands)

（Left: Mr. Wenbiao Rui, Deputy Director General of Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration; Right: Mr. Wenlian Ding, Deputy Director of the Pudong Intellectual Property Bureau)

After the opening ceremony, Mr. Ruud Peters, Former Executive Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Officer of Royal Philips, and Prof. Wim Vanhaverbeke from Hasselt University delivered keynote speeches. Mr. Ruud Peters argued that with globalization and convergence of technologies, companies need more external resource to speed up innovation process. Open innovation helps companies to stay in the market and get competitive strength in the future. He also introduced five forms of open innovation: Pre-competitive joint research activities, Co-creation by joining forces with complementary assets, Open innovation platforms, Licensing-in technologies/IP and acquisition. In addition, he introduced the role of IP and standard in open innovation. Prof. Wim Vanhaverbeke introduced the topic of open innovation and its implications for IP management. He argues that there are IP-contamination problems in open innovation, and companies need to identify what IP has to be closed and use some method such as training and intermediary organization to solve this problem. Prof. Wim Vanhaverbeke also explained the reasons why there is still a lot of closed innovation, and open up IP is one alternative. He also emphasized the need for a management-centric view of IP.

（Left: Mr. Ruud Peters, Former Executive Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Officer of Royal Philips; Right: Prof. Wim Vanhaverbeke, Hasselt University)

Afterwards three speakers delivered plenary speeches from the multinational company perspective. Mr. Mason Wang, Open Innovation Director of Unilever introduced Unilever’s innovation ecosystem in China. Ms. Quanxiang Wang, Senior Intellectual Property Counsel from Huawei introduced Huawei’s international innovation network, international patent application and IP management method. Mr. Dietmar Pressner, Global Vice President on Intellectual Property of DSM, shared the experience of IP management and open innovation in DSM.

In the afternoon, three speakers addressed IP and open innovation issue from three different perspectives. Prof. Steven White, Deputy Director of X-lab of Tsinghua University, delivered the speech on the topic “Universities as spin-off hubs”, arguing that the role of universities in the open innovation system is changing from middlemen to ecosystem catalyst. Mr. Donald Merks, a strategist from Van Berlo introduced the relationship between design innovation and open innovation. He emphasized that human needs have become an important part of innovation and human is the key to differentiate from competition. Mr. Simon Blanchard, Senior Vice President of Technology from Seedlink Technologies delivered a speech on IP and algorithms from the startup perspective.

In the afternoon, two parallel sessions were held on the topic of “IP challenges in the era of internet of things and big data” and “opportunities in IP management and open innovation in China”. In the last part of the symposium, Mr. Ruud Peters, Former Executive Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Officer of Royal Philips, Prof. Wim Vanhaverbeke from Hasselt University, Prof. Ulf Petrusson, Director of Center for Intellectual Property of Gothenburg University, and Prof. Can Huang, Co-Director of Institute for Intellectual Property Management in School of Management of Zhejiang University participated in a roundtable discussion, summarizing the previous speeches and discussed the role of government in open innovation. Prof. Wim Vanhaverbeke argued that government is shaping open innovation and providing accessibility of IP and knowledge for more people to use. Prof. Can Huang argued that China is a dynamic market. Chinese government has implemented several experimental reforms, such as establishing the first three-in-one IP bureau—Pudong Intellectual Property Bureau—in China, providing patent, trademark and copyright protection and services in one bureau. The IP reform in China is helping Chinese companies to catch-up and overtake. Prof. Ulf Petrusson mentioned that government plays a tricky role in open innovation. Government provide an open structure for society. Mr. Ruud Peters argued that IP management should focus more about the products and services in the market. The stable national IP system does not fit the fast-changing market.

（Left: Round Table Discussion. From Left to Right: Mr. Sam Linsen, Officer for Innovation, Technology and Science, Consulate-General of the Netherlands in Shanghai,  Prof. Wim Vanhaverbeke, Hasselt University, Prof. Ulf Petrusson, Gothenburg University, Prof. Can Huang, Co-Director of Institute for Intellectual Property Management, Zhejiang University)