Inventors get grants for patents overseas

INVENTORS are being offered more generous subsidies by the Shanghai Intellectual Property Bureau to apply for international patents.

The amended “Shanghai Patent Subsidies Measures,” drafted by Shanghai Intellectual Property Bureau and Shanghai Finance Bureau, will take effect from January 1, 2019.

Under the new measures, any local individual and company can receive up to 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million) in a year as subsidies from the government for getting their patented inventions recognized by overseas regions and countries.

Under the current scheme, the annual subsidy is no more than 1 million yuan.

Under the new scheme an individual or company will get up to 50,000 yuan, compared to the current 30,000 yuan, for making one successful international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

One patent can only be registered in five foreign countries, which means the individual or company can only get up to 250,000 yuan. To receive 10 million yuan, an individual or company must have 40 patents recognized by overseas countries.

These measures will encourage domestic inventors to showcase their new ideas and technologies on the world stage, said Rui Wenbiao, director of Shanghai Intellectual Property Bureau.

In April this year, a pilot program for an integrated platform, through which cross-border intellectual property trade, international patent fillings and other services will be provided, was launched.

Also, the bureau is working on a “green channel” to better serve foreign exhibitors at the upcoming China International Import Expo.