On December 4, 2019, the 19th China-Japan-South Korea IP Office Directors' Meeting was held in Kobe, Japan. Shen Changyu, director of the China National IP Administration, Song Yongming, director of the Japan Patent Office, and Park Harajuku, director of the Korean Patent Office, attended the meeting.

At the meeting, the three offices reported the latest progress of the IP work in their respective countries, and conducted in-depth discussions on industrial design, trademark, review, human resources, cooperation among IP institutions of the three countries, and seminars for IP users in the three countries; they also exchanged views on the development of new technologies such as AI. The three offices decided that the 20th Directors' Meeting will be held in South Korea in 2020.

It is reported that the total annual trade between China, Japan, and South Korea reached 7.25 trillion US dollars. Strenthened IP cooperation among the three countries has nurtured for a good business environment to support the economic development in the three countries.

(Source: China National Intellectual Property Administration)