A China (Zhuhai) Intellectual Property Protection Center will be established for speedy coordinated protection of the city's high-end equipment manufacturing, household appliance, and electric industries.

An efficient protection system that integrates rapid intellectual property examination, rights confirmation, and safeguards for the three Zhuhai pillar industries will take form. The center, approved recently by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), will also connect with administrative-law enforcement, legal aid, mediation, and justice entities.

This is designed to optimize intellectual property protection, boost creative and innovative development, advance industrial transformation and upgrades, and reinforce Zhuhai's standing as a National Intellectual Property Demonstration City.

Gree Electric Appliances of Zhuhai registers 1,739 patents in 2019, the sixth-largest number for companies in the Chinese mainland [Photo courtesy WeChat account: GREE-1991] 

A green channel for intellectual property authorization will share information with CNIPA. This will shorten the authorization period for invention patents from 22 to within six months, that for utility model patents from eight to one to two months, and for design patents from up to six months to seven or fewer working days.

Zhuhai has taken strong IP protection measures in recent years to be an innovation standout in the Greater Bay Area. As of late January, 167,763 patent applications, of which 62,810 were for inventions, were filed from the city. Another 2,773 are Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications seeking concurrent protection in contracting countries.

In addition, 99,169 patents were authorized, including 15,300 for inventions. There were 15,137 valid invention patents and the ownership of invention patents was 80.04 per 10,000 persons, which ranked 2nd in Guangdong Province.

At that time the city was home to 289 demonstrably advantageous enterprises at various levels, and 655 that had received National Enterprise Intellectual Property Management certification.