Young minds focused on IP education

An inventive mind

Wei Hanxiao loves inventing things. With school classmates, he designed a waste-recycling device for a 3D printer and applied for a patent.

"It is good training," said the 17-year-old, who has received an offer from a prestigious university in Canada to major in electronics and computer engineering. The patent application experience helped him understand the importance of IP protection.

"My future career will definitely involve frequent patent applications," he said."Experience in high school is very helpful."

According to the government, IP education in primary and secondary schools can help pique young people's curiosity, train their intelligence and enhance their practical abilities.

Gao always tells her students, "Respect for IP rights first requires respect for knowledge, then for rights." However, she is concerned that emphasizing rights first will lead the children to focus too much on profit and neglect the sharing of knowledge.

"The purpose of IP protection is to stimulate desire and energy to create value for society, rather than immediate personal interests," she said.

"For children, guiding them to innovate and protect their IP by applying for patents has no commercial value, but is just for them to experience the notion of 'I have an idea, which needs to be protected, and I have the ability to protect it'."