East China's Shanghai, in its continuous pursuit of innovation, has released the 2023 Intellectual Property Development Report, meticulously compiled by the city's intellectual property administration. The report presents an analytical overview of Shanghai's strides in intellectual property management, benchmarking its IP performance against leading innovative cities worldwide.

According to the report, last year saw an upsurge in Shanghai's invention patent grants, with a total of 44,300 patents awarded, resulting in a 20.51 percent increase compared with the previous year. The city also witnessed a rise in Patent Cooperation Treaty, or PCT, international patent applications – totaling 6,185 – up 10.62 percent.

By the end of the year, Shanghai boasted 241,400 valid invention patents, a 19.53 percent year-over-year increase – including 124,300 high-value invention patents, up 22.09 percent. The level of per capita high-value invention patents stood at 50.2 per 10,000 people, marking an addition of 9.3 patents per 10,000 people from the previous year.

Trademark filings were equally vigorous, with 369,500 applications and 235,800 registrations. The year concluded with 2.61 million valid trademark registrations, a 7.66 percent gain, averaging 7,647 registrations for every 10,000 business entities. The Madrid system for international trademark registrations recorded 548 applications, a 14.88 percent increase from the previous year.

The city also experienced dynamic activity in the transfer of patent rights, with 5,013 invention patent application rights and 25,831 patent rights transferred. Patent and trademark pledge financing was used in 1,370 projects, surging by a whopping 163.97 percent, with the total pledge amount hitting 22.76 billion yuan ($3.14 billion), an 87 percent gain.

By year's end, Shanghai had approved eight new geographical indication products and 18 geographical indications used as collective or certification trademarks, with 229 business entities authorized to use the geographical indication marks.

Shanghai's IP service sector has expanded, now housing 2,038 IP agencies, including 340 patent agencies and 1,698 trademark agencies. The city last year achieved a remarkable 96 percent authorization rate for invention patents and a 90.92 percent authorization rate for trademarks.