BEIJING, May.26 (China Daily) -- The Suzhou Intellectual Property Research Institute at Soochow University is taking measures to develop the city's intellectual property service sector and help local companies better understand their IP rights, the institute said.

Zhu Chunxia, executive dean at the institute, said the research organization, located in the Suzhou High-tech Zone, a national demonstration area for the development of the IP service sector, is also preparing to set up a chamber of commerce.

The move was based on surveys and discussions the institute had organized from May 2015 to January among nearly 200 IP service organizations in Suzhou.

"We found there were some problems, such as unhealthy competition and lack of staff training, in the industry," Zhu said.

Representatives from local IP service companies agreed at a meeting in late April that it was essential to establish a chamber of commerce.

Zhu said the chamber, which is expected to be established in July, plans to hold IP-related activities, such as analyzing IP cases and creating solutions, for local companies with organizations from other industries.

"We hope the activities will help foster companies' IP awareness and improve their IP protection, creation and usage," Zhu said.

The research institute will also regularly organize events to help members of the chamber recruit and train IP professionals.

The institute also plans to launch an online IP trade platform to integrate the resources in the chamber.

"It will be an e-commerce platform for IP services," Zhu said.

Service organizations will be allowed to open shops on the platform, post recruitment information and bid for services that companies need.

The institute was jointly set up by Soochow University, the administrative committee of the Suzhou High-tech Zone and the Suzhou IP bureau in 2014 to work as a bridge for the government, IP service organizations and industrial enterprises, she said.

The institute has carried out 12 research projects since its establishment and helped the government in its policy planning. It has also organized events such as the Taihu Lake IP Forum.

The Suzhou High-tech Zone became one of China's first three demonstration areas for IP services sector development in late April. The zone is home to more than 70 IP service organizations.

Patent applications in the high-tech park amounted to 56,530 from 2008 to 2014. During the period, the annual growth rate for patent applications was about 39.3 percent on average and for invention patent applications was about 62.5 percent.