THE number of valid invention patents in Shenzhen had jumped to 270,100 as of June this year, accounting for 7.33% of the national total, according to the latest data released by Shenzhen’s intellectual property regulator.

The ownership of invention patents reached 152.9 per 10,000 people, about 5.9 times the national average, and the ownership of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people stood at 90.2, the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Administration said.

This comes as the city achieved remarkable success at the recent 24th China Patent Awards. The National Intellectual Property Administration announced that Shenzhen received 98 awards, an increase of 14% compared with the previous year and accounting for 10.47% of the total national awards.

Among the awards, Shenzhen won three patent gold and two design gold awards, the greatest number of gold awards the city has obtained in recent years.

Additionally, Shenzhen also bagged four patent silver, three design silver, 81 patent excellence and five design excellence awards.

Shenzhen firms, especially high-tech firms, have a prominent role in patent applications.

These firms won 96 out of 98 awards that Shenzhen obtained at the China Patent Awards, accounting for an impressive 98% and indicating the firms’ significant role in technological innovation.

Medical devices maker Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co. and drone maker Shenzhen Dajiang Innovation Technology Co., both gold award winners, are becoming the driving force behind the accelerated rise of the city’s innovative firms.

Shao Lingyun, head of the central research and development management department of Shenzhen Mindray, said the company currently has over 3,900 research and development personnel and invests 10% of its revenue into innovative research and development annually.

“Shenzhen has created a favorable environment for companies to create and protect intellectual property rights, allowing companies to engage in research and development and innovation with peace of mind,” Wan Zhiyong, who is in charge of intellectual property rights (IPR) at television maker Skyworth Group, said of the reason why Shenzhen firms have received so many patent awards.

Shenzhen, selected as one of the first national demonstration cities for IPR protection in 2022, has led the country in various IPR indicators such as patent grants, trademark registrations, international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the ownership of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people.

Shenzhen has also established 130 IPR protection workstations, covering 120,000 key firms, providing accurate intellectual property services such as information retrieval, legal consultation, rights protection assistance and dispute resolution to over 100,000 firms. (Yang Yunfei)