Companies in the Zhongguancun Science Park that have the potential to file more than 100 patent applications annually will be the main focus of the park's administrative committee in the coming years.

As of 2015, Zhongguancun will be home to 10 companies that each have at least 1,000 patent applications annually and 50 companies with at least 100 patent applications annually to gather a group of high-value patents, said Guo Hong, director of the park's administrative committee, at a press conference on Oct 16 in Beijing.

The first batch of 27 Zhongguancun intellectual property demonstration companies were also announced at the event, including PC giant Lenovo, leading Chinese Internet company Baidu and liquid crystal display manufacturer BOE.

Each stood out for their number of annual patent applications and invention patent applications, as well as their corporate IP management and sustainable profitability, the conference was told.

The companies will be rewarded with special funds and yearlong professional training and guidance.

Guo said that from January to August, the 27 companies filed 9,000 patent applications, accounting for 35 percent of all applications from the park's nearly 19,000 companies in that period. More than 3,400 of those patent applications were authorized, accounting for 23 percent of the park's total.

The 27 companies also had combined sales revenue exceeding 130 billion yuan ($21.2 billion), nearly 7 percent of the park's total.

With strong support from the Beijing Intellectual Property Office, Zhongguancun undertook a series of IP-related pilot projects in recent years, such as the national IP strategy, a patent research and analysis system, patent insurance and IP investment and financing services.

Wang Hong, the office's director, said companies with IP advantages are the core driving force for the area's innovation, so it was important to "let them give full play to their leading roles to boost an overall development" of the Zhongguancun IP sector.

A list of the top 19 IP agencies in Zhongguancun was also announced at the press conference, and included IP Talent, East Linden and TekGlory. The 19 were selected based on their performance in the fields of patent commission services, patent analysis and legal services.

Last year, those 19 companies helped apply for more than 7,800 patents, accounting for 21 percent of the park's total. They also handled 42 IP lawsuits and provided 52 patent analyses and 45 patent pre-warning analyses.

The IP service sector is considered a core part of Zhongguancun's innovation and business ecosystem, said Jiang Haijun, a senior official with the park management.

The Zhongguancun administrative committee, together with the city's IP and quality and technology supervision authorities and the Haidian district government, released a guideline with suggestions in rent subsidies, personnel training, IP protection environment and another 12 aspects to accelerate the establishment of the industrial cluster in Zhongguancun.

It also set up the nation's first IP service alliance that "effectively integrates the industrial resources", Jiang said.

The alliance now includes 73 Zhongguancun IP agencies, with services covering six aspects such as IP-related information, commercialization, training and consultation.

By the end of 2013, Zhongguancun had 168 patent agencies, accounting for 62 percent of the city's total, and more than 2,000 qualified agents, 57 percent of the city's total.

"Next, we will expand support for the IP service sector, attracting more excellent IP agencies to locate in Zhongguancun to provide more professional and comprehensive services," Jiang said.

(Source: China Daily)