On December 15, 2021, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced a new global Award program on the official website to recognize companies and individuals making outstanding use of intellectual property to make a positive impact at home and abroad. The first Global Awards will be awarded to five small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in mid-2022. The detailed information could be found here:  

https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2021/article_0012.html

  SMEs play an essential role in a country's commercial development. Daren Tang, the Director General of WIPO, said that WIPO Global Awards are designed to recognize companies “using IP to make a difference in the world, and can serve as a role model and inspiration to other entrepreneurs and SMEs”.  

  According to WIPO, any SMEs coming from any of WIPO’s 193 Member States can apply for the Award online before March 14, 2022. All those applications will be evaluated by a panel of judges in accordance with a range of criteria, including the successful commercialization of IP and its positive impact on economy, society and culture, and the winners will be announced in July 2022. The winners will receive a tailored IP services from WIPO to help them use IP for business growth and will be invited to participate in a ceremony during the meetings of the WIPO Assemblies from 15 to 22 July 2022 to receive their awards.

  According to World Bank guidelines, SMEs refer to enterprises with less than 300 employees and 15 million dollars (about 95 million yuan) in annual revenues.