Beijing speeding up processing of patents, improving services

Beijing saw an increase in the number of patents issued last year in a move to create a better business environment for the capital, according to the Beijing Intellectual Property Office on Thursday.

The authority said it issued 106,948 patents in 2017, up by 4.5 percent from the previous year, with 46,091 patents for new inventions, an increase of 11.3 percent year-on-year.

“We have simplified the process of intellectual property rights protection to promote the capital’s innovation and business environment,” said Pan Xinsheng, deputy director of the Beijing Intellectual Property Office.

The city plans to establish the Beijing Intellectual Property Rights Protection Center and the Zhongguancun Intellectual Property Protection Center to provide IPR services to high-tech companies, Pan said.

The two centers will focus mainly on providing fast-track services for patent applications for companies in cutting-edge information technology, highend equipment manufacturing, new materials and biological medicines.

“Specifically, we will start a shortened pathway for rapid patent examinations, which will cut the time needed for patent applications from one year to half a year,” he said. “It’s more efficient and convenient for the industry technological innovation.”

The Beijing Intellectual Property Office said it handled 245 complains about patent infringements and 964 about counterfeits last year, pushing total complaints up by 43.6 percent year-on-year.

Xie Zhenke, deputy chief judge of the IPR tribunal at the Beijing High People’s Court, said her office had seen rapid growth last year in IP trials with 37,522 cases concluded, an increase of 38.7 percent yearon-year.