Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center, which officially began operations in February 2023, continues to help optimize the business environment by extending its service network to the “last mile” for enterprises.
After its official launch, the center has focused on two strategic emerging industries—new materials and energy conservation/environmental protection—carrying out integrated intellectual property coordination and protection work covering “rapid pre-examination, rapid validation, and rapid rights protection.”
Over 30 corporate representatives and members of the public visited the Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center.
On the 21st, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration held a “Government Open Month” event. More than 30 corporate representatives and members of the public visited the center to learn about the current state of reform and development in Shanghai’s intellectual property initiatives, as well as pro-business policy services such as patent pre-examination, helping to create a first-class business and innovation environment.
Shanghai continues to improve the rapid coordination and protection mechanism for intellectual property in key industries. With the Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center and the Pudong New Area Intellectual Property Protection Center as “two wings,” efforts are underway to establish the first batch of branch centers in six areas: Lingang, Huangpu, Jing’an, Putuo, Yangpu, and Songjiang. This allows intellectual property protection to be delivered more quickly. Focusing on three leading industries—integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, and biomedicine—Shanghai has innovatively established specialized intellectual property protection committees, enabling technical support to respond more swiftly to industry needs.
That day, a humanoid robotics company in Shanghai explained that systematic management, layout, protection, and operation of intellectual property have always been at the core of the company’s strategic planning. The professional services of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center have laid a crucial foundation for the company’s technological breakthroughs and industrial implementation. “The patent pre-examination services provided by the center have helped address the efficiency of intellectual property protection for innovative companies operating against a backdrop of rapid technological iteration and short market windows,” the company stated. “Through the convenient filing channel of the ‘One-Network’ system, we completed the entire filing process in just 7 working days. The precise review and rapid response mechanism in the pre-examination phase significantly shortened the patent authorization cycle compared to traditional processes. Currently, the company’s invention patents can be authorized in as little as one month, allowing core technologies to obtain legal protection as quickly as possible.”
To date, the company has applied for nearly 90 patents in the fields of hardware, algorithms, and software. Among these, 30 were submitted through the center’s pre-examination channel, and 23 have already been officially authorized. “The ‘Robot Patent Navigation Report’ organized and released by the center provided precise guidance for our technological innovation direction, making our intellectual property layout more aligned with industry development trends,” the company added.
Innovative achievements in the new energy vehicle industry urgently require intellectual property protection. A relevant automaker stated that the pre-examination support and intellectual property protection training provided by the center allowed the company’s R&D innovations to be quickly protected, avoiding the loss of technological achievements and eliminating potential adverse effects on market first-mover advantage. At the same time, from the perspective of encouraging innovation, it stimulated the enthusiasm of R&D engineers, accelerated breakthroughs in core technical challenges, and won the company valuable opportunities in market competition.
Another leading domestic fuel cell technology provider mentioned that, relying on the patent pre-examination channel of the center, the company accelerated the patent authorization process for its core hydrogen energy technologies. After the launch of the pre-examination service, two subsidiaries responsible for core product R&D and sales became among the first companies to file with the center, playing a key role in the rapid protection of innovation results. Rapid patent authorization won precious time for the company to seize market opportunities.
In the company’s view, pre-examination not only brings speed improvements but also imposes stricter quality requirements than ordinary applications. This has actually compelled the company to set higher internal standards for mining innovation results, evaluating them, and preparing patent application documents, prompting the company to enhance the creativity level of patents and the comprehensiveness of protection scope.
The Shanghai Intellectual Property Protection Center will continue to deepen its intellectual property coordination and protection services, empowering the development of strategic emerging industries and helping Shanghai accelerate its growth into a globally influential hub for technological innovation. The Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration stated that it will regularly carry out diverse government open activities to enhance the quality and effectiveness of public-government and business-government interaction, fostering a culture that “respects knowledge, champions innovation, upholds integrity and lawfulness, and ensures fair competition.”
