Guangzhou issued pro-SME IP policies

2013/01/16

A set of new guidelines were issued by the municipal government of Guangzhou, capital city of southeast China Guangdong Province, to support small and medium-sized enterprises, in which the policies highlighted the necessity to set up a mechanism to subsidize those businesses in patent filing.

The guidelines, published in the form of an official document entitled Several Opinions on the Policies to Promote SMEs Development in Guangzhou, stressed on a reinforced financial support to such enterprises especially on technical innovation and patenting activities, while provided to enhance their IP creation and protection by improving the management of specialized funds dedicated to IP-related subsidizing, establishing a mechanism to nurture robust patent filers and rewarding SMEs that stand out from their peers in patent filings. Requests for reducing filing fees and expedited examination by SMEs and micro businesses will be processed with high priority, and IP-collateralized loans will be further promoted, said the document.

The Opinions prescribed in an explicit way that government procurement should first target products or services of SMEs and micro enterprises to enhance their growth, while providing that the special funds in the city should play a supportive and encouraging role in promoting indigenous innovation. Competent authorities should help such enterprises explore global markets and facilitate national authorities to address typical problems those companies might encounter, such as discrimination in foreign policies, trade protection and IP infringement.

Among the requirements and recommendations in the document, to cultivate robust patent filers is a creative approach proposed by Guangzhou Municipal IP Office, an administration that has been paying great attention to the positive influence of IP in companies' business development, and thus the scope of the subsidy has been successfully extended to cover not only patent filing, but also the more general IP creation, exploitation and protection.

(Source:IPR in China)