Patent grants in Zhongshan, a city of Guangdong Province, had increased by 31.6% on a year-on-year basis from January to November in 2011, while their quality had also been greatly enhanced, reported from Zhongshan Science and Technology Office.

During the same period, the city's patent applications hit 12,074, growing by 31.6% and the patent grants reached 8,932, up 13.1%; the figures for invention patents were 1,132 and 322, up 36.9% and 125.2% respectively. Longcheng, a local pram manufacture, won Zhongshan's first-ever Provincial Gold Prize for Patent.

Meanwhile, China's only industry-oriented IP protection center was also set up in Zhongshan in 2011. Also known as China Zhongshan (Lighting Industry) IPR Protection Center, the organization is the only IPR protection agency across the country that is targeted at a single industry. By formulating a series of procedures, launching a complaint receiving hotline and establishing a one-stop service platform, it now offers services including patent-related management & application, mediation and prosecution and expert consultation, and will further design a patent intelligent retrieval system and develop an expedited approach on patent examination.

Zhongshan received a grant of 3.54 million yuan from the provincial IP office last year after being recognized as a city to implement a pilot program that aims to link IPR service agencies with hundreds of local enterprises. At present, six patent intermediary organizations have already extended partnership with 104 businesses. A patent coalition for semi-conductor lighting industry has also been newly established to promote IP services for enterprises.

（Source:IPR in China）