The experiences of Zhuhai as a benchmark city for intellectual property creation, protection, and application were shared during a recent national exchange in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

For the first time, the city took part last September in the business environment assessment by the National Development & Reform Commission. It scored third among domestic prefecture-level cities in IP creation, protection, and application -- one of 18 first-grade indexes.

As of March, Zhuhai recorded 128,036 patent authorizations, of which 20,116 are for valid inventions. Ownership of invention patents reached 99.4 per 10,000 persons, ranking 2nd in Guangdong Province.

In addition, the city garnered 110 China Patent Awards, of which eight are gold, three silver, and 99 honorable mentions, according to an official of the Zhuhai IP Bureau.

Hengqin International Intellectual Property Exchange Center [Photo courtesy WeChat account: hq-mcvv]

An IP protection system covering authorization review, administrative and judicial protection, rights safeguards, arbitration, and mediation, has taken shape. Relevant institutions include the China (Zhuhai) IP Protection Center, Zhuhai People's IP Mediation Committee, Zhuhai Rights Safeguarding Assistance Center, and Zhuhai-Hong Kong-Macao Mediation Center. 

Achievements in IP application include the Hengqin Operation Platform of the China National IP Administration (Hengqin International Intellectual Property Exchange Center), promotion of IP auctions, and IP-pledged financing. Total IP-pledged financing has reached 1.57 billion yuan ($244 million), and creation of the Baijiao Sea Bass geographical indication has generated annual output value of 2.83 billion yuan ($440 million) for more than 1,600 farmers.

To date, Zhuhai has cultivated 343 IP advantageous demonstration enterprises and 687 others complying with national standards for corporate IP management regulations, as well as 15 IP service and trademark/brand cultivation stations in industrial parks.

In terms of outbound cooperation, an agreement has been signed with Macao for cross-border trademark IP protection and service; there also are green channels for Macao trademark applicants, Greater Bay Area High-Value Patent Cultivation & Layout Competitions, and the Hengqin International IP Protection Alliance.