In response to the central government's initiative to make the country strong in intellectual property and to actively expand foreign-related legal services, Shanghai Commercial Mediation Center (hereinafter referred to as “SCMC”), worked with CocreateIP European Patent Attorney Law Firm (hereinafter referred to as “CocreateIP”) to set up the first legal service workstation for Europe in Munich, Germany in 2019, which was highly recognized by the then Vice Mayor, Chen Qun. Under the guidance and support of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration and the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Munich Service Station was integrated into the overall arrangement of the “Overseas Intellectual Property Service Station for Shanghai Enterprises” in 2023, further focusing on the protection of intellectual property rights of Chinese enterprises overseas. On October 13th, 2023, the inauguration ceremony of the Overseas Intellectual Property Service Station (Munich) (hereinafter referred to as the “Munich Service Station”) was successfully held at the Munich Office of CocreateIP. Mr. Gong Jinping, Head of Munich Service Station, and Director of CocreateIP Law Firm presided over the event.

Pei Yonggui, Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Section of the Chinese Consulate General in Munich, Germany, Zhang Wei, Director of SCMC, Chen Naiwei, Vice Chairman of SCMC, and You Minjian, Director of the IP Professional Committee, as well as the head of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Germany and representatives of Chinese enterprises attended the event. Yu Chen, Deputy Director of Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, delivered a speech online.

Deputy Director Yu Chen congratulated the opening of the service station online and hoped that the Munich Service Station could give full play to its own resources and advantages to further deepen the exchanges in intellectual property protection between China and Germany, facilitating the trade, investment, and business operations of Shanghai enterprises in Germany.

(Address by Deputy Director Yu Chen)

Counselor Pei Yonggui said that China and Germany are important economic and trade partners, and IPR protection and dispute resolution are issues of common concern for Chinese and German businesses. He believed that the Munich Service Station can safeguard Chinese enterprises overseas and contribute to the high-quality cooperation between China and Europe on IPR.

Director Zhang Wei said in her speech that Munich is the intellectual property center of Europe, and under the long-term care and support of the Consulate General of Munich, SCMC and CocreatIP Law Firm have made remarkable achievements in promoting the exchanges and cooperation between China and Europe on intellectual property rights through years of tacit cooperation and integration of advantageous resources. She expressed her hope that the Munich Service Station will become not only a display window for China's professional legal service, but also a “model station” for demonstrating and leading the establishment of Shanghai's overseas intellectual property dispute resolution mechanism.

(Address by Director Zhang Wei)

(Address by counsel, Mr. You Minjian)

(Director Zhang Wei presented a mediator's letter of appointment to Mr. Gong Jinping)

Counselor Pei Yonggui and Director Zhang Wei jointly inaugurated the Munich Service Station, witnessed together by the attending guests.

(The inauguration ceremony)

During the discussion and exchange, the guests put forward valuable opinions on the development of Munich Service Station from different perspectives and were willing to contribute to the better development of the Service Station.

(Presentation by Mr. Gong Jinping)

At the end of the event, Mr. Gong Jinping delivered a presentation on the topic of “Intellectual Property Situation of Chinese Businesses in Europe”, introducing the global influence of European invention patents.

(Group photo of some of the participating guests)