China ramps up efforts to become IP powerhouse

BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- China is accelerating efforts to build itself into an intellectual property (IP) powerhouse, providing robust support to advance high-quality development, said the country's IP regulator on Wednesday.

In 2023, China made significant strides in various aspects of IP, encompassing quantity and quality, transformation and utilization, and protection efforts, as well as international cooperation in the field of IP, said Shen Changyu, head of China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), at a press conference.

A total of 921,000 invention patents were authorized throughout the year, marking a 15.3 percent year-on-year increase, about 4.4 million trademarks were approved for registration, 13 geographical indication products received recognition, and 201 collective trademarks and certification trademarks were approved for registration as geographical indications.

In a report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), China's count of the top 100 technology clusters worldwide reached 24, ranking first globally for the first time.

For the first time, China's industrialization rate of enterprise invention patents surpassed 50 percent, sustaining growth for five consecutive years. The total registered amount of patent trademark pledge financing reached 854 billion yuan (about 118 billion U.S. dollars), marking a year-on-year increase of 75.4 percent.

The amount of copyright pledge guarantee reached 9.9 billion yuan, up 80.8 percent year on year. The total annual import and export value of IP usage fees amounted to 376.5 billion yuan.

The first group of 10 national IP protection demonstration zones has started to show promising results in their development, while the selection process for the second group of 15 zones has been completed.

A total of 112 national-level IP protection centers and rapid enforcement centers were established in 2023. Throughout the year, 44,000 cases of patent and trademark infringements were investigated and resolved, along with 68,000 administrative cases related to patent infringement disputes. Additionally, 4,745 cases of copyright infringement were addressed.

In 2023, China successfully hosted two events commemorating the 50th anniversary of its cooperation with the WIPO in Beijing and Geneva, effectively enhancing the collaboration between the two parties.

There has also been significant progress in advancing IP cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, with multiple achievements included in the list of outcomes of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.