The State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the municipal government signed an agreement on Nov 7 to build Chongqing into "a national intellectual property model city".

According to the agreement, a special coordination group headed by leaders from SIPO and the southwestern metropolis - a main venue of China Patent Week - will be established to advance the effort.

The first of planned biennial conventions to discuss major intellectual property events began immediately following the signing ceremony.

The meeting discussed a joint circuit administrative panel for patent review, efforts to combine judicial protection and administrative enforcement, and research on a credit ranking system for intellectual property.

Since the central government designated Chongqing as an economic hub in the upper reaches of Yangtze River, industrial restructuring has been a priority for the municipal government, said Vice-Mayor Tong Xiaoping.

New energy automobiles, high-end machines, wind power facilities and medical instruments are all listed as key sectors for industrial modernization.

Information technology (IT) is expected to replace automobiles and motorized bicycles to become the city's largest industry in the next five years, Mayor Huang Qifan said at the meeting.

Chongqing's IT industry generated 2 billion yuan (about $300 million) in value 10 years ago - "a considerably small part" of the nation's then total 2 trillion yuan from the sector.

IT in the metropolis is expected to generate 800 billion to 1 trillion yuan in 2015, equivalent to or even surpassing Shanghai and Jiangsu province, Huang said.

"Industrial transformation is not workable without the support of intellectual property," Vice-Mayor Tong said.

The city government plans to increase investment to around 25 percent of its annual revenue to promote technological progress, Tong revealed.

At the same time, a national patent industrialization center is under construction in the city.

The center is designed to bring more "sleepy technologies" from their dusty files and transform them into bustling factories, especially in electronic information, energy conservation and environmental work.

SIPO Commissioner Tian Lipu said Chongqing has been named one of the five regional information centers in China, the only one of its kind in the central and western regions.

In addition to recognizing local efforts to protect intellectual property, the status is expected to help local companies make better use of patent documentation and reinforce the city's position in vast western regions.

"We are not lacking enthusiasm for creation, but short of capital," Tian said.

He encouraged the integration of resources to ease financing difficulties in research and development.

The city government has earmarked 1 billion yuan to secure more investment, including venture capital, for improvement in information services, patent agencies, training, research, international cooperation and trade, Tong said.

"Intellectual property is not just about the results of research, but also impacts the market environment," said Gan Shaoning, SIPO vice-commissioner.

"Without effective protection in intellectual property, there will be a shortage of motivation for invention," he added.

Part of the China Patent Week, an annual event being held concurrently in more than 150 cities across the nation, the signing of the agreement in Chongqing is of significance to the city's goal of becoming a popular investment destination, said Yuan Jie, director general of the city's intellectual property office.

(China Daily)