Shanghai had another blockbuster year in 2009, when it generated more than 1.49 trillion yuan in GDP, in large part due to a host of well-known companies and brands, both homegrown and from abroad.

Chen Xuejun, vice-chief of Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce (SHAIC), said: "Brands help Shanghai sharpen its edge in competition and reflect the progress of the city's trademark strategy."

The city's nearly 690 companies with the status of famous brand had a total of 823.4 billion yuan in sales in 2008.

The city government began a famous trademark recognition and protection initiative in 1996 as part of its trademark strategy.

The number of trademarks in Shanghai increased almost 50 times from 2,700 in 1979 to 130,000 in 2008, while the number of famous trademarks increased from 34 in 1996 to 686 in 2009.

Nearly 70,000 registered trademarks were added over the past five years, equal to the total number in the previous 25 years, Chen noted.

Trademark quality has also improved with increasing numbers of famous trademarks from the high-tech and financial industries.

The SHAIC has released a range of support policies for intellectual property protection including establishment of a fund to award famous brands and aid in overseas protection of domestic trademarks.

A long-term trademark supervision system has also been established to create a fair and orderly market environment. The system helped Shanghai to win an award last year as one of China's best cities for intellectual property protection from English magazine Managing Intellectual Property.

"Protecting Shanghai World Expo trademarks has been a priority in our work since 2004," said Xing Dongsheng, head of SHAIC's trademark supervision and management department.

The protection covers the Expo logo, official symbols and hallmarks of participating countries and international organizations as well as trademarks of Expo sponsors.

After an investigation in 2009, authorities located markets with high rates of infringement and cracked down on counterfeits.

In 2009, the SHAIC law enforcement team handled 2,773 trademark violations - 79 of them related to Expo trademark infringement - and seized 2.15 million pieces of illegal goods and faked trademarks.

Until the end of the year, SHAIC will continue surveillance of local markets and deepen cooperation with customs, the police and city administrative departments to watch for counterfeits, Xing said.

SHAIC has also developed software to help companies inquire about Expo franchised merchandise and know how to recognize faked goods.