China is enjoying a meteoric rise in the international IP marketplace, increasingly taking centre stage as the balance of global economic power shifts eastwards. Astute businesses operating in China recognize that they need strong patent portfolios if they are to continue to grow at their current rate. Ensuring that they have the necessary expertise to create, manage, commercialise and drive strategic value from their intellectual property is vital to their ongoing success.

Many Chinese companies are acting now to shore up their patents. The World Intellectual Property Indicators (2014 edition) published by the World Intellectual Property Organization shows that global patent filings extended a run of strong annual increases in 2013, powered largely by double-digit growth in China where a full third of the world’s 2.6 million patent applications were filed (trailed by the US and Japan as the next-largest recipients). China also had the overall highest year-over-year growth in the number of patent applications – a whopping 26.4 percent increase from 2012 to 2013.

It is against this dynamic industry backdrop that Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) will be holding the second IP Business Congress China (IPBC China) on April 21&22 in Beijing. Designed specifically for the Chinese marketplace, IPBC China will take the core themes of IP value creation and strategic corporate IP management and discuss these in a Chinese context, with a particular emphasis on IP monetisation and international IP expansion strategies.

Conversant is sponsoring IPBC China, and I’ll be attending the program, which includes sessions on IP-backed funding in Asia, China as a venue for patent litigation and FRAND, standards and antitrust in this market. There’s sure to be some insightful discussion and insights flowing from the presentations, and I’ll share my key takeaways with you on my return.