The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and Guangdong provincial government jointly invested 1.2 billion yuan to establish a patent examination coordination center in Guangdong. As a key part of patent examination organ, Guangdong center, which is under construction, will become the patent application headquarter of South China, said Tao Yiyuan, Director of Guangdong Provincial Intellectual Property Office, in a TV interview on February 7.

Tao said the center is not a local agency but a national patent examination agent. In the past, applicants had to go to Beijing to deal with patent examination, which cost them a lot of a time and money. The center in discussion will offer applicants in South China easy access to patent application and grant. 

Reportedly, Guangdong signed a co-establishment framework agreement with the SIPO on September 22, 2011. The center is located in Sino-Singapore Knowledge City and covers an area of 100 mu. It is expected to be completed and put into operation during the “12th Five-Year Plan” period. A staff of over 2 thousand national patent examiners will be enrolled to review 110,000 patent applications annually.

In addition, Guangdong IPO started to stipulate the Measures of Guangdong on Patent Protection during Exhibition. The Draft Measures has entered the review stage.

(Source: IPR in China)