Intellectual property service industry offers fresh opportunities for the nation's transformation

Suzhou New District in East China's Jiangsu province has gained fresh growth momentum by seizing opportunities from the intellectual property service industry in recent years.

Founded in 1992, the district covers 260 square kilometers and is an important base for emerging industries in Suzhou, including new-generation information technology, rail transport, new energy and medical devices.

The district has gradually improved its intellectual property system during the past two decades, which in turn boosted its economic and social development. In 2007, the district was named a National Pilot Zone for International Property Rights. In 2013, the district was named one of the first national model zones for IPR.

The Jiangsu Patent Examination Cooperation Center of the State Intellectual Property Office was founded in September 2011, making it the first regional center outside the Beijing headquarters.

It is located in Wisdom Valley in Suzhou Science and Technology Town, an industrial park in the Suzhou New District.

Surging demand

As China is transforming from a "world factory" to an innovation-oriented economy, the intellectual property service industry in the country has entered a phase of rapid development and provided strong backing for China's transformation of its economic development mode and its drive to build an innovation-oriented country.

It is estimated that China will handle about 750,000 patent applications annually by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), which would be twice the figure seen by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2016-10), said Zheng Huifen, director of the Jiangsu Patent Examination Cooperation Center. The rise in number of applications has raised the standard for the patent agency industry, Zheng said.

The booming industry also urgently needs more patent examination personnel, which was short 4,000 people in 2010, Zheng said.

"Intellectual property service is crucial for a country's innovative development. The Suzhou New District has given high priority to the growth of the Jiangsu Patent Examination Cooperation Center," said Pu Ronggao, Party chief of the district and member of the Standing Committee of the Suzhou Party Committee.

With an area of 6.67 hectares, the Jiangsu Patent Examination Cooperation Center has more than 1,400 patent examiners, among which 90 percent hold master's degrees. The number of patent examiners in the center is expected to reach 2,000 by the end of this year.

The center examined and approved 86,000 patent applications last year, which accounted for 20 percent of the country's total and generated 310 million yuan ($49.95 million) in revenue, according to statistics.

In June 2012, the Suzhou integrated pilot zone for intellectual property services, the first of its kind in the country, was launched in Suzhou New District. The pilot zone covers an area of 16.7 hectares and is engaged in high-end IPR services, application of IPR achievements and training of IPR professionals.

"The corporate competition in the 21st century is fundamentally competition for technology and intellectual property. As Chinese enterprises make great strides in technological innovation, their demand for IPR service has been increasing significantly," said Qiao Tao, director of Shangke Law Firm, which launched its operation in the pilot zone in March last year.

Suzhou New District is home to more than 50 well-known intellectual property service institutions, including the Jiangsu Patent Examination Cooperation Center, China Trademark and Patent Law Office Co, Wan Hui Da Intellectual Property Agency and Sanyou Intellectual Property Agency.

An industrial chain for intellectual property services that cover IPR examination, agency service, early warning analysis, data utilization and legal assistance and training has been established in the district. By 2020, the district estimates it will be home to more than 50 top-100 intellectual property service institutions in the country and will notch up revenue of more than 5 billion yuan.

Policy backing

The district has put forward a range of measures to provide consulting services and fund support for enterprises to create, apply and use IPRs.

"With more IPR service enterprises launching operations in the district, we hope to attract more innovative high-tech enterprises," said Zhou Xudong, deputy Party chief of the district and director of the district's management committee.

More and more high-tech enterprises take into consideration the local intellectual property services rather than land prices before starting new operations, Zhou said.

Home to 302 high-tech enterprises, Suzhou New District's high-tech technology industry generated more than 140 billion yuan last year, accounting for 54 percent of the total output value of large-scale industrial enterprises.

"Intellectual property is an intangible asset that could create a huge fortune," said Zhang Haixia, general manager of the Jiangsu branch of Sinocap (Beijing) Assets Appraisal Co.

"My company is appraising more than 20 technologies for a client in Suzhou, who used the technologies as investment for shares in a cross-border cooperation project worth 1 billion yuan," Zhang said.

Sinocap has launched strategic cooperation with Suzhou Bank, Kunshan Rural Commercial Bank and Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank in aspects including patent pledges and evaluation of intangible assets.

The improved intellectual property service system has contributed to a steady rise in the number of patent applications and licensing in Suzhou New District. Enterprises in the district submitted more than 56,500 patent applications between 2008 and 2014, which registered an annual growth rate of 39.3 percent. The average annual growth rate for the number of applications for invention patents reached 62.5 percent.

In 2014, the district's applications for invention patent accounted for 52.89 percent of the total applications, ranking it top among all districts in Suzhou.

Tangible benefits

The district's intellectual property system has brought tangible benefits to the enterprises. For instance, Dongling Technologies, a private manufacturer of electrodynamic vibration systems, was granted a 30-million-yuan loan by China Everbright Bank through a pledge of 58 patents in March last year.

More than 20 enterprises in the district have been granted nearly 100 million yuan in loans through intellectual property pledges.

"A patent pledge is an effective and innovative financing channel for small and medium-sized enterprises," said Gu Jun, deputy director of the district's science and technology bureau. The innovative development of cities and enterprises requires not only the support of the intellectual property service industry but also joint efforts by government departments, enterprises, research institutions, financial capitals and agencies.

"The rapid development of the Jiangsu Patent Examination Cooperation Center is the outcome of the joint effort," Zheng said. The center also established an IPR service company in August 2013 to help with the government's policymaking in aspects including investment attraction, technology import and export and talent introduction.

The company has produced more than 40 appraisal reports in industries such as automobiles and lasers for government decision-makers. It is working on the analysis of the elevator industry and the optical cable industry in Suzhou.

Joint efforts

In March last year, the Suzhou University Intellectual Property Institute was established by Suzhou University, Suzhou New District's management committee and the Suzhou Intellectual Property Bureau. The institute serves as an IPR base for theoretical research, talent training, technical support and legal assistance.

The district also makes full use of social organizations' roles as catalysts in the development of the intellectual property service industry. Initiated by more than 10 IPR service institutions, the Alliance for Intellectual Property Service was established in the district in 2013, to create a mechanism that settles IPR disputes through cooperation and coordination.

"IPR service is crucial for enterprises' independent innovation, protection of their scientific achievements and their industrial upgrading," said Sun Peifang, director of the intellectual property bureau at Suzhou New District.

The bureau will further improve its intellectual property service system in aspects such as management, utilization and protection of IPRs to help with enterprises' innovation, Sun said.

dongjidong@chinadaily.com.cn

A view of Suzhou New District Science and Technology Town. Photos Provided to China Daily

Suzhou New District seizes opportunities from the intellectual property service industry.

Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China Suzhou Innovation Park.

(China Daily 05/21/2015 page12)