Shanxi province has made progress in intellectual property (IP) development in recent years, bringing innovative vitality to its high-quality development.

Since September 2021, the China (Shanxi) IP Protection Center has focused on taking advantage of the rapid patent pre-examination business to improve the efficiency of patent authorization and IP protection, promoting the transformation and application of innovation achievements. 

As of the end of August this year, the center had completed the pre-examination and registration of 525 enterprises and institutions in the province and the pre-examination and registration of 190 patent agencies across the country. 

It has received 1,007 patent applications of various types, accepted 956 applications, marked 785 applications and authorized 527 patents. 

The province has issued an action plan for comprehensively promoting a strong IP province and a circular on strengthening IP protection, and created a favorable environment for innovation. 

It has promoted the construction of a collaborative IP protection system, signing IP protection cooperation agreements with five provinces in North China, six provinces in Central China, and nine provinces along the Yellow River. 

Relying on the China (Shanxi) IP Assistance Center, the province has set up 12 sub-centers and 110 workstations, achieving full coverage of municipal-level IP assistance agencies. 

Three national-level information service centers have been built and operated in the province. Taiyuan University of Technology and Shanxi University have been identified as national college IP information service centers. 

The number of trademark acceptance windows authorized by the China National Intellectual Property Administration has increased to seven, and 63 trademark and brand guidance stations have been established to provide convenient services for innovative entities.