Yangquan city has achieved quantitative quality improvements in intellectual property development, according to Yangquan's market supervision commission.

Yangquan had 893 patent applications and 665 patent authorizations in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 11.9 percent and 75 percent, respectively. The number of invention patents reached 35, up 16.67 percent year-on-year.

By the end of 2020, the number of valid invention patents per 10,000 people in the city amounted to 1.7, a year-on-year growth of 5.24 percent. 

"The growth in the number of patent applications and authorizations in 2020 was mainly due to the city's improved intellectual property protection measures in recent years, specifically the strong policy incentives, sound protection system and good competitive atmosphere," said an official from Yangquan's market supervision commission. 

Yangquan-based Shanxi Jiangong Shenhua HVAC Equipment Co was one of the beneficiaries. 

Liu Keqin, chairman of the company, said that the firm was previously unenthusiastic about patent application because its leaders thought the protections were useless. They worried that the patent protection was weak and that their patents could be copied by rivals. 

His thoughts changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. While most companies encountered operational difficulties due to the outbreak, Shanxi Jiangong Shenhua HVAC Equipment Co's product orders increased thanks to a number of patented technologies used in its products. 

Yangquan's market supervision commission did a good job in awarding patents and related work to address the company's aforementioned concerns. This effectively stimulated the enthusiasm of enterprises and individuals for intellectual property development. It also safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of intellectual property rights holders by jointly implementing intellectual property protection actions with local public security departments and the procuratorate. 

While expanding the total number of patent applications and authorizations, the commission also established a database of intellectual property experts, increased the frequency of on-the-spot services to enterprises and improved communication and contact mechanisms at all levels of local authorities. The aim was to improve the quality of patent applications and authorizations. 

Yang Lingling, the head of the technology department of Yangquan Huasheng Mining Equipment Co, said that when there are difficulties in applying for invention patents, there are many ways to consult the commission's staff members. Also, experts and staff members of the commission visited companies regularly to effectively improve the quality of patent applications and authorizations. 

"As a result, we smoothly filed three patent applications, two of which were for patents for inventions and utility models," said Yang. 

In terms of intellectual property trademarks, the number of trademark applications in Yangquan in 2020 was 1,089, up 7.5 percent year-on-year. By the end of 2020, the number of valid trademark registrations in the city was 3,868, a year-on-year increase of 16.57 percent.