Nation builds IP system to further innovations

One of the fundamental aims of the intellectual property system is to help form a market where patents and technologies "flow", said Mu Hong, president of Chofn IP, at the 6th China IP International Annual Forum in Beijing.

"Only when patents and technologies flow on the market can they benefit inventors, promote innovation and spur economic growth," he said on Jan 23.

Lei Xiaoyun, chief of the Patent Affairs Administration Department at the State Intellectual Property Office, said at the forum that China is building an IP operations system to serve innovations and entrepreneurship and help patent-intensive industries better contribute to the national economy.

Work on part of the system is underway with the construction of a pilot IP operations platform in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province. When complete, the platform will attract more than 100 IP service organizations from China and abroad.

The platform aims to promote the transfer, commercialization and application of intellectual properties. It is also expected to generate an annual trade output in patents and technologies of more than 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) by 2020, the Shaanxi IP Office said.

The system also connected 20 IP operations companies with the Ministry of Finance to receive financial investments in 2015. The Shanghai Silicon Intellectual Property Exchange Inc and Sinoipro IP Management and Technology Transfer Co each received an investment of 10 million yuan.

Shanghai Silicon, which promotes the protection and trade of silicon intellectual property to enterprises and governments in China, will spend the investment buying high-definition audio and video patents, said Xu Bulu, the company's general manager, according to Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily.

Lei said the national IP operations system has attracted investment worth several billion yuan from private capital and local governments.

Mu at Chofn IP said one of the reasons why China hasn't been effective in commercializing its intellectual properties is the lack of professionals. IP operations professionals need to "know not only IP, but also business, technologies and sectors", he said.

He said Chofn plans to train IP operations professionals and hopes to work together with other IP services organizations to promote IP commercialization in China.