Shenzhen has been named a national demonstration city for intellectual property (IP) protection, according to a list unveiled by the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
A total of 38 cities across the country have been included in the first batch of demonstration cities for IP protection.
In addition to Shenzhen, another two cities in Guangdong Province — Guangzhou and Foshan — were also on the list.
Shenzhen’s IP index has ranked first in the national and provincial business environment evaluation over recent years, the Shenzhen Administration for Market Regulation (Shenzhen Intellectual Property Administration) said Tuesday.
In the first half of this year, the number of patents authorized in the city was 144,800, and the number of international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications was 7,120, ranking first in the country.
Moreover, the number of invention patents per 10,000 people reached 124.90, about six times the national average. The city also issued five new IP securitization products, valued at 651 million yuan (US$96.35 million), according to the administration.
Shenzhen is building itself into a benchmark city for the protection of IPR, as stated in the plan for the pilot comprehensive reform of building a pilot demonstration zone of socialism with Chinese characteristics in Shenzhen for the period 2020-2025.
It has been encouraged by the Supreme People’s Court with a set of new judicial measures to protect new-type intellectual property rights in an innovative manner, according to Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court.
It is allowed to explore ways to safeguard IPRs in some new sectors, including AI, life sciences and Internet information.
Shenzhen also has dedicated itself to making itself an international IP protection center. Shenzhen’s IP protection infrastructure includes a specialized IP Court, the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Protection Center, the South China High-Tech and IP Arbitration Center, two IP forensic institutions, and top intellectual property service providers and law firms.