Ambitious database offers information to fuel more innovation

The State Intellectual Property Office has started trial operations of an online patent information system that offers free updates and downloads of patent data from China and abroad.

The system enables users to access patent documents stockpiled in the world's five largest IP offices - China, the United States, the European Union, South Korea and Japan - which account for 80 percent of the total worldwide.

After agreements on exchanging patent data were signed by the five offices in June, China made the first move by tapping into the countries' databases for free distribution over the new SIPO system.