On 19 May 2026, the Shanghai (Yangtze River Delta) Green Technology Intellectual Property Management Clinic (IPMC) was officially launched in Shanghai. The programme was organized by the Shanghai Science and Technology Exchange Center (Green Technology Bank Management Center), with guidance from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Office in China, the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM), and the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration (SIPA). Following the successful completion of the first two sessions of the China Greentech Intellectual Property Management Clinic (IPMC) in Beijing in 2024 and 2025, this model expanded from its pilot phase in the capital to the Yangtze River Delta region, entering a new stage of serving the global expansion of China's green technology SMEs.

From Beijing to Shanghai: The IPMC Model Continues to Extend Across China

Just before the launch of the Shanghai IPMC, the two Beijing cohorts had already delivered impressive results. On May 12, the WIPO GREEN City Acceleration Beijing Event (2026) was held, and the second Beijing IPMC concluded on the same day, with 25 enterprises awarded certificates of completion. Looking back on the two Beijing cohorts, the IPMC has served over 50 green technology enterprises in total. Notably, more than 80% of the enterprises from the first cohort have taken substantive actions, such as international patent deployment. Together, the two cohorts have generated over 500 new intellectual property applications, maintaining a 100% participant satisfaction rate across both editions. The Beijing pilot has formed a replicable and scalable "Beijing Model," offering a valuable reference for global urban green transition. Building on this solid foundation, the IPMC has officially launched its brand-new practice in Shanghai, turning its focus to green technology SMEs in the Yangtze River Delta.

WIPO and Shanghai in Dialogue: IP as a Strategic Engine for Green Technology Going Global

In her opening remarks, Ms. Liu Hua, Director of the WIPO Office in China, pointed out that as digital innovation and green technologies converge at an accelerating pace, intellectual property is evolving from a legal tool for ex post protection into a strategic engine driving technology commercialization, industrial upgrading, and international competitiveness. Shanghai continues to lead in green technology innovation, high-value patent cultivation, and international patent filings. As an important extension of WIPO GREEN cooperation in China, the Shanghai IPMC will help green technology enterprises comprehensively strengthen their IP management and global expansion capabilities.

Mr. Guy Pessach, Director of the IP for Business Division of WIPO, further observed in his video remarks that China has become an important force in global green innovation, with SMEs playing a key role in green and low-carbon technology innovation. He extended a warm welcome to the 20 selected Shanghai enterprises and expressed high expectations for their participation, hoping that through in-depth engagement with expert mentors, the enterprises would fully seize strategic opportunities and translate the innovation insights gained from the IPMC programme into strong momentum driving their future leapfrog development and global expansion.

The Shanghai side also outlined the industrial foundation underpinning the IPMC. Mr. Xie Wenlan, an official at the Deputy Director-General level of STCSM, noted that Shanghai is one of the first Chinese cities to join the WIPO GREEN City Acceleration Project, and that 23 local green technologies have gone global through WIPO GREEN.

Mr. Yu Chen, Deputy Director-General of SIPA, shared a set of figures: in 2025, Shanghai's number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 population reached 65, with 7,446 PCT international patent applications filed. Shanghai will continue to deepen its cooperation with WIPO and enhance the influence of Yangtze River Delta enterprises in the field of international green innovation.

Intensive Training: Building an IP Capability Map Across the Full Globalization Chain

Following the opening ceremony, the four-day intensive IPMC training programme began. Based in Shanghai and connected with the Yangtze River Delta, the programme selected 20 innovative enterprises from sectors including energy conservation and environmental protection, the circular economy, clean energy, new materials, and biopharmaceuticals. The curriculum addressed core topics such as international patent portfolio building, licensing negotiation, risk management, and dispute resolution, and combines lectures, on-site corporate training, structured discussion, and simulated negotiation to provide participating enterprises with end-to-end IP strategic diagnosis and tailored guidance.

The curriculum began with the macro perspective of global IP governance and gradually focused on the real-world scenarios that enterprises encounter as they go global. The instructors included experts from the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service, senior scholars from Tongji University, judges from the Intellectual Property Tribunal of the Shanghai High People's Court, and senior lawyers from renowned law firms such as King & Wood and Unitalen, allowing theory and practice to interweave throughout the programme. Licensing and assignment topics were delivered through simulated negotiation; in the final session, a dedicated roundtable on IP financing brought issues of widespread concern to businesses into the discussion.

On the afternoon of 19 May, the corporate training session was held at NIO House in Shanghai. The participants engaged in a thematic training and indepth exchange on the topic of "IP Strategies for Intelligent Connected Vehicles in Global Competition." From the classroom to the corporate site, the IPMC achieved a deep integration of "international rules that can be understood" and "Chinese practice that can be seen."

In addition, the IPMC provides ongoing support services, including one-on-one mentoring and IP financing matchmaking. A mentor team composed of global IP experts together with senior domestic mentors will provide tailored IP strategy diagnosis to the 20 participating enterprises, guiding them to develop IP strategies and management systems aligned with their own businesses and to build their capacity for overseas patent deployment.

The IPMC Model: Making IP a True Catalyst for Green Innovation

From the first Beijing cohort in 2024, to the second Beijing cohort in 2025, and to the inaugural launch in Shanghai, the IPMC is gradually establishing an effective system in China to empower green technology SMEs. It addresses the real-world challenges of these enterprises while responding to the practical needs of local industries, embedding IP strategy into the entire chain of R&D, industrialization, and globalization through expert lectures, one-on-one mentoring, and benchmark-enterprise training.

The Green Tech IPMC has always been rooted in the WIPO GREEN global cooperation network for green technologies. As Ms. Liu noted at the earlier Beijing event, WIPO GREEN will continue to deepen its work along four directions: upgrading the platform, integrating IP with climate technologies, promoting the IPMC globally, and expanding the green technology database. The launch of the Shanghai IPMC is both a concrete step in extending this model to the Yangtze River Delta and a key milestone that marks the transition of this set of practices from the "Beijing Sample" toward a broader "Chinese Practice."