Shanghai has started to implement a strong intellectual property strategic outline amid its efforts to build the city into an international highland of IP protection, the municipal government said on Tuesday.

Policy innovations and new pilot measures in IP protection will be deepened in key areas, such as the Lingang free trade area in Pudong New District and the demonstration zone of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, the government said.

The city's IP policy system will undergo continuous improvements to form an IP mechanism that adapts to the latest international practices, it said.

The World Intellectual Property Organization's Shanghai Center for Arbitration and Mediation was officially established and put into operation in October. It was the first business institution set up by an arbitration institution affiliated to an international organization in China.

"With resources and efforts from this center, the city government said that it will continue to promote quality international resources and institutions to gather in Shanghai," said Rui Wenbiao, head of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Bureau.

The city also has beefed up judicial power in IP protection. The number of IP disputes received by courts throughout the city in 2020 grew by 70.54 percent year-on-year. The city's market watchdog, IP authority, Customs, and Law Enforcement Department in the culture sector carried out various themed operations to crack down on violations in the IP field.