The number of patent applications in Liuzhou city, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, surged 47.56 percent year-on-year to 859 between January and May.

Out of the 859 patent applications, 332 applications were filed for invention patents, 93 applications were related to design and the others related to functions.

The Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has set a target for Liuzhou to achieve 2,050 patent applications this year. But it is not all about applications. The number of patents granted to Liuzhou has also surged 86.08 percent year-on-year to 655 between January and May. For every 100,000 people in Liuzhou, there are 9.6 valid invention patents.

Liuzhou city has set up a goal to double the number of patent applications every year between 2011 and 2015. In order to reach the goal, the local government in Liuzhou has made more efforts to bring more inventions, including securing more research funding for companies and offering more rewards to those who are granted the patents. The number of patent applications has been included as an indicator to evaluate the performance of local government in Liuzhou.

Edited by Michael Thai

(Source: China Daily)