April 26th marks the 21st World Intellectual Property Day. Guangdong Information Office held a press conference in Guangzhou to introduce the Intellectual property rights (IPR) protection of Guangdong.

Mai Jiaomeng, Director General of the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation. (Photo / Zhang Ruilin)

The number of Patent Cooperation Treaty applications from Guangdong reached 28,100 in 2020, with a year-on-year increase of 13.64%, accounting for 41.89% of China's total, according to Mai Jiaomeng, Director General of the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation.

As of the end of 2020, the number of valid patented inventions in Guangdong reached to 350,500, of which 172,400 were high-value inventions, accounting for 19.4% of the national total, ranking first in the country.

Also, there were three more national IPR protection centers approved by the China National Intellectual Property Administration and established in cities of Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Shantou. At present, the province has established 6 national-level IPR protection centers, 7 national-level rapid IPR protection assistance centers, and 54 IPR mediation organizations.

To establish an international IP cooperation center in the Greater Bay Area

Intellectual property has become a core competitiveness for innovation development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), especially for the nine Chinese mainland cities in the GBA.

In 2020, 69,000 patented inventions were granted in the Chinese mainland cities of the GBA, which now owns 339,000 valid patented inventions, accounting for 97% of Guangdong's total.

Guangdong will further IP exchanges between Hong Kong and Macao with cooperation platforms including regular seminars, IP trade expos and talent conferences.

Finally, it will explore the establishment of an international IP cooperation center in the Greater Bay Area, said Mai. "We will improve the IP cooperation mechanism between Hong Kong and Macao, then increase the IP cooperation in more areas," he said.

Deng Hong, Deputy-director of the Information Office of Guangdong. (Photo / Zhang Ruilin)

Guangdong has attached high attention to IPR protection, and it has held relevant press conferences each year since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games with remarkable effects, according to Deng Hong, Deputy-director of the Information Office of Guangdong.

The province's IP comprehensive development index and comprehensive regional innovation capability has ranked first in the country for 8 consecutive years and 4 consecutive years, respectively. Also, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou Science and Technology clusters ranked second in the 2020 Global Innovation Index.

Author: Will

Editor: Keane, Jerry