City to expedite invention patent applications

Patent applications for inventions in Shanghai – which currently take two to three years from beginning to end – will soon take no more than 12 months, the city’s intellectual property authorities said today.

The expedited service will be carried out by the China (Shanghai) Intellectual Property Protection Center, said Rui Wenbiao, director of the city’s Intellectual Property Bureau.

The new center will serve companies in Shanghai and also facilitate intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, Rui said.

Moreover, Shanghai authorities will work more closely with Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui Provinces on IPR issues.

The city’s first intellectual property protection law was passed by the legislature today.

For the first time, the law requires government performance assessments to include IPR work. It also encourages international IPR arbitration institutions to set up shop in Shanghai.