The State Intellectual Property Office inaugurated the first batch of 23 national IP exemplary cities including Jinan, capital city of Shandong province, on June 25.

In recent years, Jinan has been attaching great importance to intellectual property development and has made substantial progress in creating, utilizing, protecting and administrating intellectual property rights. In 2011, the city saw its patent grants and invention patent grants hit 11,329 and 1,623 respectively with invention patents per every ten thousand residents reaching 7.12. Those three indicators of the city have been ranking the first place in the province for several years in a row. In addition, the city has held 39 Chinese Well-known Trademarks and 214 Shandong Famous Trademarks.

At the ceremony, the city's Mayor Yang Luyu said Jinan is greatly encouraged by obtaining the honor, which represents not only the glory but also the responsibility, adding that the city will continuously further IP strategies and proactively explore approaches on harnessing intellectual property for local economic growth.

(Source: IPR in China)