From January to May, Guangzhou's Tianhe district completed a total of 1,630 patent transformations, ranking first in the city.

Tianhe has been strengthening the creation, protection, and application of intellectual property (IP) in the past three years. It has explored a set of "Tianhe experiences" for the development of IP, promoting the innovative and high-quality development of the district.

Multiple supportive measures have been issued and implemented by the district to promote the creation of IP, as well as to improve the quality of IP. To date, a total of 10.42 million yuan ($1.55 million) have been granted.

Tianhe launched the "free application" policy for IP patentees to offer preferential policies directly to enterprises. A total of 1,208 enterprises in the district have passed the standard certification of the IP management system, while nine national and 30 provincial-level IP demonstration enterprises have been cultivated.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area thematic forum at the 11th Business of IP Asia Forum, which is jointly hosted by the Guangdong Administration for Market Regulation and the Tianhe district government in December 2021, fully displays the IP development and achievements of Tianhe. [Photo/WeChat account: tianhefabu]

In addition, the district has been promoting the development of high-value patents in key industries, such as smart manufacturing, energy conservation, and environmental protection, with 168 invention patents having been applied for.

From January to April this year, the number of granted patents in Tianhe district was 8,203, of which 2,307 were invention patents. The number of trademark applications in the district from January to March this year was 20,496, and that of valid trademark registrations reached 472,182.

A diversified IP protection system that integrates administrative law enforcement, judicial protection, arbitration and mediation, as well as industry self-discipline has been established in Tianhe in the past three years.

Guangzhou's first district-level IP mediation workstation was built in the district, as well as the city's first IP rights protection assistance information platform.

From January to May, Tianhe handled 45 cases of trademark infringement, dishing out fines and forfeitures worth 508,500 yuan, and completed six patent infringement disputes.