The Chinese mainland's financial center also aims to lead the Asia-Pacific region in terms of intellectual property by 2020, according to the city's IP strategy.

China has developed a more mature IP system that is adapted to its own specific situations and now needs to have a greater voice in international rule-making, said Lu Guoqiang, chief of the city's IP office.

The number of patent applications in Shanghai grew at an average annual rate of 24 percent and the average annual growth in the number of registered patents was 30 percent from 2004 and 2010.

Patent applications from the city reached around 80,000 filings last year, 45,000 of which were granted.

(Source: China Daily)