IP growth boosts green, innovative development along Yellow River

The regions along the Yellow River are seeing steady growth in valid invention patents and trademark registrations, with intellectual property playing an increasingly important role in supporting green and innovative development, according to a spokesperson for China’s top intellectual property authority.

Heng Fuguang, spokesperson for the China Intellectual Property Administration, said at a news conference in Jinan, capital of Shandong province, on Tuesday that as of August, the nine provincial-level regions along the Yellow River, including Shandong and Shanxi provinces, had 910,000 valid invention patents and more than 10.07 million valid trademark registrations.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the annual growth rates of invention patents and trademark registrations in the nine regions exceeded the national averages by 1.8 and 2.1 percentage points, respectively, Heng said.

The regions are also home to 1,758 geographical indication products. From January to August, they filed 2,363 international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and 439 international trademark applications under the Madrid System, both of which showed steady growth, Heng said.

In Shandong, various measures have been introduced to promote the development of a modern industrial system through patent industrialization, including streamlining authorization procedures, improving commercialization efficiency and expanding the talent pool.

More than 41,000 invention patents in the province have received fast-track authorization, with the examination period reduced by 84 percent compared with standard procedures, said Wu Chengbing, head of the Shandong Provincial Intellectual Property Office.

The province has also established 22 industrial intellectual property operation centers, while 11 universities have introduced intellectual property majors, training more than 2,600 interdisciplinary IP professionals, Wu said.

Shanxi, which has rich historical and cultural resources, is also stepping up efforts to strengthen the protection and utilization of its geographical indication resources.

Wu Xiaoqin, deputy head of the Shanxi Provincial Intellectual Property Office, said the province is implementing regulations to strengthen its institutional protection system and has launched special campaigns to enhance protection. It is also providing domestic and international platforms to help local brands expand into overseas markets.

Over the next five years, Shanxi plans to establish more than 30 centers for developing high-value patents, optimize fast-track channels for IP applications, strengthen coordinated intellectual property protection across the Yellow River basin and train more than 2,000 IP professionals to improve IP management capabilities.