The 2024 National Intellectual Property (IP) Publicity Week is underway. On April 22, the Information Office of the People's Government of Sichuan Province held a press conference on intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and development in Sichuan Province in 2023. The reporter learned from the press conference that in 2023, with focusing on high-quality development as a top priority, the province made solid advancements in patents, trademarks, geographical indications, plant variety rights, copyrights, and related areas, the IPR protection and development across the province demonstrating stability with steady progress, accompanied by an enhancement in the quality of these developments.

At the press conference, Chen Kai, Secretary of the Leading Party Members Group and Director-General of Sichuan Provincial Administration for Market Regulation (Sichuan Provincial Intellectual Property Office), provided an interpretation of Sichuan's initiatives, centering on its focus on high-quality development, its efforts to streamline the entire IPR chain from creation to utilization, protection, management and services, and the province's dedicated endeavors towards the in-depth implementation of the strategy to make the province strong in IPR, and he encapsulated these initiatives in three key terms.

Regarding "enhancing quality and increasing quantity," the province granted 33,300 new invention patents last year, marking a year-on-year growth of 30.96 percent. The total number of valid invention patents stood at 139,900, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 28.74 percent. Furthermore, the province achieved a density of 6.78 high-value invention patents per 10,000 people, representing a year-on-year growth of 33.99 percent, allowing the province to accomplish its objective for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) ahead of schedule. Sixty-six patent projects were selected for the Sichuan Patent Award, and seventeen patent projects were honored with the 24th China Patent Award. In terms of other IPRs, the province added 163,200 new registered trademarks, bringing the total number of valid registered trademarks to 1,626,100. It boasts a total of 296 geographical indication products, retaining its top national ranking. Additionally, 296,400 new works were registered for copyright, marking a year-on-year increase of 24.10 percent.

Regarding "demonstration and pioneering" efforts, two cities have been newly designated as demonstration pilot cities for the construction of national IPR power cities, nine counties have been recognized as demonstration pilot counties, and 130 enterprises have been identified as demonstration advantageous enterprises in the field of IPR power development. Sichuan also newly cultivated five high-value patent incubation centers and 31 provincial-level IPR power enterprises. Chengdu has been included in the first batch of National Intellectual Property Protection Demonstration Zones. The Chengdu High-tech Industrial Development Zone and the Mianyang Science and Technology City New Area have been respectively designated as a demonstration zone and a pilot zone for the high-quality agglomeration development of the national IPR service industry. Deyang City's approach to establishing a multi-layered and integrated IPR supervision and law enforcement system has been selected as a typical case in the national effort to make the country strong in intellectual property.

Regarding "establishing rules and regulations," Sichuan Province concentrated on pivotal industries, domains and entities, formulated and issued a series of documents encompassing the reinforcement of IPR work within industrial parks, aiding specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized enterprises in augmenting their IPR competencies, and fostering the high-quality development of the IPR service sector, constructing a set of policy combinations. The Sichuan Provincial Regulations on Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Promotion (Draft) has passed the second review by the Standing Committee of the Sichuan Provincial People's Congress. This marks the province's first comprehensive legislation on IPR protection, and it is of profound significance in constructing and refining an institutional framework that equally emphasizes the protection and promotion of IPR within the province.