New District leads innovative growth(1)

By Dong Jidong
 
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.