QUALIFIED enterprises in Shenzhen can apply for two subsidies, which cover foreign intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and big data monitoring, according to the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Office, sznews.com reported.

For IPR protection cases that have significant industry influence, a subsidy of at most 500,000 yuan (US$75,069) will be given, depending on the cost. Each enterprise can accumulate a maximum of 1 million yuan in subsidies annually. For enterprises launching IPR big data monitoring, the subsidy will be awarded according to the actual expenses, with a maximum of 500,000 yuan for each enterprise annually.

The two subsidies are important projects to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in Shenzhen. As Shenzhen has been speeding up its strategy of “going global,” it has become particularly significant to adapt to the intellectual property environment abroad and to safeguard its own interests.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently signed an administrative memorandum in the White House, which instructed trade representative Robert Lighthizer to launch an investigation into the so-called “unfair trade practices of China” to ensure the protection of intellectual property and technology in the U.S. This is not good news for domestic enterprises.

It has been reported that many Shenzhen enterprises, including Huawei, ZTE and other key enterprises, have repeatedly faced American Section 337 investigations during the process of going global. But most enterprises could not win, and even if they won the lawsuits, the process they had to go through was long and consumed a lot of manpower, material and financial resources.

The projects supported by the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Office include the funding of foreign IPR protection, which can help enterprises carry out overseas IPR protection market investigations, evidence collection, analysis, identification and negotiation, as well as the dynamic collection, processing, analysis and consultation of international IPR conventions and treaties. In addition, the projects can help provide the early warning-related services regarding foreign IPR protection, including collecting or providing real cases.

Another subsidy is for funding big data monitoring. Industry insiders pointed out that enterprises can implement IPR protection through big data. The most common case is to entrust professional organizations to conduct mass data analyses of the Internet market and to dig out the suspected infringement clues behind a large number of advertisements and transactions on the Internet by default judgment rules, so as to continue the next steps of rights protection.

This is just the “tip of the iceberg” in the application of big data monitoring. One of the most important ways for enterprises to protect IPR and enhance competitiveness is to establish a big data monitoring mechanism.

It has been reported that the deadline for the application is 6 p.m. Sept. 5. Enterprises can obtain the relevant materials required to declare on the official website of the city’s market and quality supervision commission.

(Zhang Yu)