Shanghai improves IP data protection with new system

A total of 158 data products were reviewed by the government after Shanghai implemented a new set of regulations in early December aimed at recognizing and protecting intellectual property rights associated with data-driven innovations, the government said. Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration (SIPA) on December 24.

Notably, 74 of these products were successfully listed for trading on the Shanghai Data Exchange, with the first transaction involving a whopping 100 million yuan ($13.7 million) in pledged funding.

SIPA and the Shanghai Municipal Data Bureau recently jointly issued interim measures for intellectual property registration and evidence preservation of data products, which came into effect on December 8, marking the latest progress of the city ​​regarding the protection of intellectual property rights regarding data products.

The concept of “intellectual property of data products” refers to the rights held by natural, legal or non-legal persons in data resources that have been legally acquired, then processed and innovated to create intellectual assets with commercial value, the experts said. This generally includes their rights to data processing collections, data processing products and technical data algorithms.

As an emerging production factor, data is becoming an important source of value creation, and confirming and recording its ownership is important, said Yu Chen, deputy director of SIPA.

“We have facilitated the formulation of interim measures and carried out the examination and management of intellectual property registration regarding data products meeting high standards, with the aim of accumulating experience and exploring new avenues for nationwide practice in the future, and promote the orderly circulation and rational use of data factors,” Yu said.

Shanghai’s regulations had several unique features compared to similar initiatives in other provinces and cities across the country. For example, Shanghai stands out as the only region among the 17 locations involved in the pilot to conduct in-depth reviews of the IP attributes of data products to be registered.

“The in-depth reviews focused on whether the data products involve substantial processing and intellectual innovations, and whether there is an application scenario,” said Xu Shang, head of the strategic planning division. of SIPA, adding that Shanghai has established a specialized team of nearly 100 data product IP inspectors to ensure rigorous and authoritative assessments.

“The Shanghai approach not only meets market participants’ needs for registration of tradable data processing products and services, but also avoids disputes…over whether the collection of original data benefits intellectual property rights. In particular, Shanghai is the only region in the country so far. which included technical data algorithms in the records, which meets the urgent needs of data companies,” Xu said.

In an effort to create a better business environment, Shanghai chose not to impose pre-registration proof or notarization requirements, thereby reducing time and financial costs for applicants, the administration said.

“The ultimate purpose of registration is to facilitate data flow and transactions,” Xu added.

Unlike other pilot regions that issue registration certificates under the names of regional intellectual property protection centers, service centers, research institutes or data trading companies, Shanghai only presents certificates registration under the authority of SIPA. This approach has attracted several companies from elsewhere, seeking the authoritative certification provided by government agencies.

Recently, the Shanghai Data Exchange, together with the branches of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Shanghai and Wuhan, Hubei Province, finalized the first data product intellectual property pledge financing application in Shanghai , obtaining 100 million yuan of bank credit. The main asset involved in this financing is the intellectual property of a Wuhan-based company’s data platform, which provides a one-stop-shop for book information querying and visual analysis for the book industry. publishing.